Capture the Flag Yard Game

What you need

• Bandanas or dish towels, 2, or 2 socks

How to do it

Grown-up prep: Pick a safe, open play area where you can see everyone at all times, and check the ground for holes, rocks and slippery spots.

1. Split into two teams and pick a team name.
2. Lay sticks or jackets in a line down the middle. This is the center line.
3. Choose a jail spot near the back edge of each half.
4. Put your team's flag in your half, out in the open.
5. On your own side you are safe. On their side you can be tagged.
   Ask: Which sneaky plan will you try first: a fast dash, or a sneaky sidestep?
6. If you are tagged, walk to the other team's jail and wait there.
7. Jailbreak: a teammate runs into the jail and tags your hand to free you.
8. If everyone on a team is in jail, the other team wins the round.
   Ask: How could your team make sure someone is always free to do a jailbreak?
9. Grab their flag and carry it back over the center line to win the round.
10. Swap sides and play again! Play best of three, or pick new teams.
    Ask: Where could you hide your flag in plain sight to trick the other team?

Play it again

• Two flags: each team hides two flags and must capture both.
• Night owl: play at dusk with a glow stick on each flag.
• Guard switch: every few minutes, the guards and sneakers swap jobs.
• Two players: the grown-up hides the flag somewhere in their half, and the kid gets 3 tries to sneak in and grab it. A tag ends a try.