Capture the Flag in Airsoft - What is This Game?
Perhaps you've heard of the capture the flag game, but you've never really understood what the game is all about? Never fear. I will be more than happy to clear up any confusion and explain it to you. First of all, capture the flag is played by both children and adults alike.
Capture the flag is traditionally an outdoor game that is made up of two competing teams. However, it can be played indoors as well. Regardless of whether the game is played inside or outside, it's done on a playing field that is divided into two halves.
These two halves are known as territories. For starters, each team is given a flag. The flags are often made out of a piece of fabric. However, the "flags" can actually be any object that is lightweight and small enough to be carried easily by the players.
The purpose of the game is to try to capture the other team's flag that's located at their home base and then bring it back safely to their own base. Enemy players that are caught or tagged on the other team's territory and then forced to be out of the game, or sometimes they are considered to be "in jail".
The jail area is a spot on the team's territory that is specifically meant to hold tagged players from the other team. Sometimes, jailed members may be freed by members of their own team through the use of a jailbreak.
A jailbreak in capture the flag is when a player will run into the enemy's jail from their own territory in order to rescue their teammate. The freed players are usually expected to go back home to their territory before being allowed to try to grab the flag.
However, the player that rescued their team from jail has no such restrictions and may freely try to capture the flag while they are over there in enemy territory.
Also, sometimes the captured enemy players are made to join and help out the opposing team. It all depends on the particular rules of the game that the two teams decide to follow.
Whenever a player is in their own territory, they are considered to be safe as they're not allowed to be tagged there by players from the opposing team.
It's only when they enter the other team's territory that they are at risk for being tagged. The game is considered to be won and over with when a player manages to safely return to his own territory with the opposing team's flag, without first being tagged.
Here is a little background information about the history of the capture the flag game. For many centuries, it was very common in warfare to try to capture the enemy's flag. It didn't much matter to anyone how many soldiers were either killed or badly injured. Until that flag was captured, they felt as if victory over the enemy could not yet be declared.
Once that flag was captured, it was considered to be a very joyous occasion, despite how many dead or injured bodies were laying nearby. The only way to avoid having the enemy defeat you, was to work tirelessly in battle to prevent the enemy from taking your flag.
During the time of the Civil War, there were a large number of medals of honor that were given to soldiers for either saving the Union flag or for capturing the enemy's flag. The reason for this is that protecting your own flag was considered to be just like protecting and keeping safe your entire unit. Similarly, when one captured the enemy's flag, it was considered to be just like conquering an entire enemy unit.
Major General Arthur McArthur had a Medal of Honor bestowed upon him for saving the flag during the Civil War. More recently, the Boy Scouts have been playing their own friendly version of capture the flag for over 60 years now! There are now teams in various locations throughout the world that enjoy playing the capture the flag game.
It's a very popular game in the U.S., but it's also quite popular in other countries such as Japan, Spain and Ireland, just to name a few. One group in Orlando, Florida puts their own special twist on the game. They play it indoors under black lights, so that it's a glow in the dark version of the capture the flag! Another group in San Francisco, California has a very popular and active group that contains 146 members.
If you think you might be interested in giving the game capture the flag a try, just go to www.meetup.com for a list of many different flag football groups from cities all over the world.
Playing on a capture the flag team can really be a great way to meet new friends. It's also a really fun way to get in a fantastic workout from all that running around you'll be doing!
