Name & Purpose Banana Tag is an everyone’s-it tag game with a chain-reaction twist. Every player is both chaser and target. Get tagged and you sit β but keep watching the person who tagged you. When they go down, you pop back up. It rewards awareness, patience, and strategic movement.
a.k.a. Chain Reaction Tag, Tracker Tag, Link Tag
Age Band / Group Size / Time / Space Ages 8β16 | 10β40 players | 10β20 minutes | Open field or gymnasium with clear boundaries
Materials Cones to mark boundaries. No other equipment needed.
Quick-Run Card
- Set boundaries with cones.
- Everyone is IT. Tag others on the knees or below only.
- Tagged? Sit where you are β remember who got you.
- Your tagger gets tagged β you stand back up instantly!
- Simultaneous double-tag? Rock-paper-scissors β loser sits.
- Last player standing wins. No definitive winner? Call ‘Everyone up!’ and play again.
Setup & Boundaries Mark a rectangle with cones β roughly 15 m Γ 10 m for 20 players. Scale up for larger groups. All players start standing and spread across the boundary. Brief: ‘Tag below the knee only β no pushing, no jumping into people. If you are tagged, sit exactly where you are and track your tagger. When your tagger sits, you stand.’ Demonstrate the knee-tag mechanic before starting. Brief the rock-paper-scissors rule for simultaneous tags. Start with a countdown: ‘3 β 2 β 1 β Go!’
How to Play Every player is active from the start. Players move through the boundary, tag others on the knee or below, and track who tagged them. A tagged player sits in place immediately β they do not move from that spot β and watches their tagger. The moment their tagger is tagged and sits, the first player stands back up and is fully active again. This creates chain reactions: one player going down can bring up multiple others at once. Simultaneous tags are resolved with rock-paper-scissors β the loser sits. Play continues until one player remains standing, or until the group agrees to stop. If two players remain and cannot resolve it quickly, call ‘Everyone up!’ and start a new round.
I-OPt Roles Three simultaneous roles throughout the game:
- Chaser (Active): Move fast, tag as many players as possible, and avoid being tagged. High energy.
- Tracker (Strategic): Sit when tagged, watch your tagger closely, and time your re-entry perfectly. Active mental engagement while seated.
- Survivor (Conservative): Move slowly and deliberately, avoid large groups, and last as long as possible without tagging many players β patience over aggression. All three coexist simultaneously throughout every game.
Inclusion Supports
- Seated players (Trackers) are fully active β they watch, they anticipate, they spring back up. The game honours the seated role.
- Players who cannot easily get to the floor can tap their foot on a cone instead of sitting β same mechanic.
- Reduce the boundary for groups with limited mobility β smaller space, more action per step.
- Walk-only version: same rules, walking pace β works brilliantly with older or lower-energy groups.
Stewardship After the game, collect cones together. Take 30 seconds: ‘Everyone who sat down during the game, raise your hand. Now everyone who came back up β raise your hand. That is resilience. You came back every time. That is worth celebrating.’
Consent Pre-brief: Tags are on the knee or below β not a kick, not a shove. Demonstrate gently. Ask: ‘Is everyone comfortable with that contact? Any ankle or knee concerns? Let me know and we will adjust your role.’ Mid-game check-in: After 3 minutes, call a quick pause. ‘Is the space working? Anyone need the boundary adjusted?’ Opt-out/Re-entry: Any player raises a hand and steps to the boundary edge β they are a sideline Tracker for a minute. They re-enter by stepping back in as a standing player when ready.
Risks & Mitigation
| Risk | Likelihood | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| Players kick instead of tag | LowβMedium | Demonstrate correct tag technique before play; redirect immediately |
| Seated players tripped over by runners | Medium | Brief runners to watch for seated players; clear, spread-out space |
| Dispute over who tagged whom first | Medium | Rock-paper-scissors resolves it β no arguments; play on |
| Game stalls with two players standing | Low | Call ‘Everyone up!’ and reset β celebrate the final two |
Warm-Up Suggestions
- ‘Toe Tag’: in pairs, try to tap each other’s feet β get comfortable with low-body tagging safely.
- Quick agility drill: side-shuffle between two cones five times.
- ‘Sit & Spring’: practise sitting and standing quickly five times β warm up the movement used in the game.
Debrief What? ‘Did you notice a chain reaction β where one player going down brought up lots of others?’ So what? ‘How did watching your tagger feel β was it frustrating or exciting?’ Now what? ‘When in life do we need to wait for someone else to act before we can move forward?’
Cleanup & Reset Collect cones. Check that all seated players have stood up. Clear the space and celebrate the round.
