Tig: a game of skill.
Created | Updated Aug 1, 2007
Tig is a game for two or more players. The central concept of tig is that one of the players is "it". This player is the tigger.1 The tigger has the goal of transfering the property of being "it" to another player by touching or "tigging" them whilst simultaneously shouting the word "tig"2. The aim of all remaining players is to avoid becoming "it" by screaming incoherently and running away from the tigger.
Basic principles
The basic principles of Tig can be divided into two sections: those pertaining to the "it" player and those pertaining to the remaining players. The single uniting principle of Tig is that all players should be running, leaping and dodging to the best of their ability.
The Runners.
Running away from somebody is ofen more complicated than expected. In a game of Tig, which is usually played outside3 in a medium sized enclosure such as a school playground, a carpark or a campsite, players running can expect to encounter difficulties when straying too close to the boundaries of the playing area. Encountering the physical restrictions of fences or walls will have the effect of forcing a player to stop or change direction inncuring unwanted inertia as well as limiting the choices of direction available. A similar problem can be raised by other running players, in that one player's optimum escape route can cross or co-incide with a different player's route resulting in a collision.
Regional variations and terminology
Off-ground tig
Bulldog
Kabaddi
1Not to be confused with Tigger, a character from Winnie the Pooh2Or more commonly "Your "it" bum 'ed"3Tig is not exclusively played outside. See Games you can play in the office
