Stuck in the Mud Tag & variations

Of the many varieties of tag one of the best is Stuck in the Mud. In case you don't know how to play it...One person is 'on' and tries to tag the rest of the group. If anyone is caught they must remain standing at the place they were tagged with their legs shoulder width apart. And they remain like this for the rest of the game unless one of the un-tagged players can release them. To do this they must crawl between the immobile players legs whilst avoiding being tagged themselves. With the right number of players the game becomes a frenzied one of avoiding being tagged and trying to release team-mates.

Toilet Tag: I've written about Toilet Tag before but it is such a good variation that I make no apologies for highlighting it again. It is played exactly as Stuck in the Mud except that if you are tagged you have to remain immobile in the 'shape' of a toilet: crouched down, knees bent, with one arm held out to your side. Now to be released your team mates simply have to press down your 'flush arm'.

And from regular Strange Games contributor Daryl Hrdlicka comes a variation requiring only a small puppy! Daryl writes, "My daughter and friends have come up with the game of Puppy Tag. They have a small puppy who loves to run and chase people and jump on them, so the rules are you have to stay in motion as much as possible (no standing still for more than 5 seconds) unless the puppy touches you, in which case you freeze until someone touches you and says "Woof woof". When you run the puppy goes after you, but if you stand still he loses interest so it works out nicely. A good way for everyone to get a lot of exercise. I suppose grownups could play it with a larger dog as well, you just need to make sure it's a friendly one!"