Dead Ant Tag
A crazy tag that involves a little co-operation.
At A Glance
Upon being tagged, a person is obliged to lie on their backs with arms and legs extended into the air, and wait to be lifted by others to a designated spot, at which point they can return to the game.
What You Need
- A large, flat open space with boundaries.
- Minimum of 10 ants.
- 5 – 10 minutes.
What To Do
Make up whatever story you care to tell your group (such as “someone has just kicked off the top of an ant-nest, and all of the ants are now frantically searching for their home”), and then spread your “ants” all about your space. Then clearly designate one or more areas as “ant farms.” Ask for a volunteer who would like to be “it” first, and on “go,” this person runs around trying to tag everybody else. Pretty basic set up so far.
Next, explain that when a person is tagged, they are obliged to suddenly drop to the ground and, lying on their backs, wiggle their arms and legs into the air exclaiming “dead ant, dead ant” ad nauseam. This will act as an emergency signal to all other still-in-the-game ants to rescue one of their own. These paramedic ants (no more than four) will grab one or more limbs of the dead ant, and lift them gently to the safety of the closest “ant farm”. As long as the paramedic ants remain in contact with the dead ant, they can not be tagged by “it,” ie this is just one incentive to save souls.
Upon being gently placed (notice, I have used the word gently twice now!) onto the spot of the ant farm, the dead ant will experience a miraculous recovery and swing back into the game. And so it goes on.
Variations
- For really large groups, introduce two or more ants.
- Designate an area that is somewhat to the periphery of the action representing an “abandoned picnic”. Each ant is now called to visit the picnic –eating the scraps, so to speak – as many times as possible, by placing any part of their body inside the designated area. For each visit, the group gets a nominal point (or crumb), and collectively the group will work to earn as many points as possible. Of course, they must continue to save lost souls in the process.
- Just for the fun of it, call “dead ants” anywhere, anytime (ie long after you have played), and watch as people just drop to the floor and wiggle their way through a impulsive “dead ant, dead ant” chorus.
Taken from ‘No Props: Great Games with No Equipment’
If you know of a cool variation to this activity, please add a comment…
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