Bringing the Co-operative Spirit Into Play
You're It!

Tag may not be strictly a co-operative game, but its endless
variations have co-operative elements and plenty of scope for
creativity and laughter.

Moon Tag: The person who is "It" is called the Moon.  The other
players are Morning Stars. The Moon stands in a shadow while the
Morning Stars run about in the sunshine. When a Star flies into
the shadow, the Moon tries to tag it. Stars that are tagged stay
in the shadow with the Moon until all the Stars have been caught. 
Shadow tag is a non-contact version of tag. "It" tags a person by
stepping on her shadow.  Try this one in the moonlight or on a
day when the sun comes and goes behind the clouds.

Wok Tali Wok (Walk Round and Round) is a game from Papua New
Guinea. At opposite ends of the yard, mark two circles with
clothing or use the shadows of trees as circles. One circle is
called the sitting circle; the other is the standing circle. The
players stand inside the standing circle while "It" walks around,
chanting "Wok Tali Wok" (or make up your own chant or rap song).
Whenever they're ready, the players sprint away and try to make
it to the other circle without being tagged.  Anyone who is
tagged joins "It" as a chaser on the next round. Players who make
it safely to the sitting circle sit there until they decide to
jump up and bolt for the standing circle while everyone who was
tagged on the last round tries to tag them.  It's much harder
this time because they have to start from a seated position, and
there are usually more chasers.  The game continues between the
two circles until everyone has been tagged and become a chaser.

Frozen Tag: "It" keeps his hand over the spot where he was tagged
until he tags someone else.  Someone who is tagged on the heel or
between the shoulders may have a hard time, but a friendly runner
can tag "It" to unfreeze the part.  This game can be extended so
that when someone is tagged, the entire person must freeze - the
more dramatic or weird the resulting "statue", the better. 
Either continue until you have a gallery of statues or allow warm
tags from fellow runners to unfreeze the statues and keep the
game moving.

A cross between Tag and Follow the Leader is Mimic Tag, where the
person being chased performs antics (turning somersaults,
pretending to be a snake, rolling over). "It" must mimic each
action for the tag to count.


- Maureen Woodall
From September 1994 VICHA Newsletter (Newsletter of the Vancouver
Island Co-operative Housing Association).

Co-operative games allow everyone to take part without feeling
left out, without feeling like losers, and without hurting or
getting hurt. If you would like to share a co-operative game with
us, please e-mail Maureen Woodall: wj045@freenet.victoria.bc.ca