# Deportment Tag Participants balance a bean bag or soft eraser on their head while playing a fast-paced game of tag inside a defined area. If a player is tagged, drops their object, or touches it with their hands, they are eliminated for the round. **Time:** 10 minutes. Source notes under 5 minutes; expanded to 10 minutes to support room setup, safety briefing, two active rounds, and a brief debrief. **People:** 4 to 24. Whole group together within a marked playing area ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Provide physical energizing and playful coordination practice through an elimination tag game governed by balance constraints. **Use it when:** Use as a dynamic, lighthearted physical energizer during in-person workshops when the room has low energy and sufficient clear floor space. **Skip it when:** Skip when meeting in cramped spaces, on slippery floors, with participants wearing formal footwear or clothing, or when participants have neck injuries or mobility restrictions that make balance games unsafe. ## Materials and tools - 1 small soft balanceable item per participant (such as bean bags, soft foam erasers, or small plush toys) - 4 marker cones or boundary tape to designate the playing area boundary ## Before participants arrive 1. Clear the central room floor of tripping hazards, chairs, and cables. 2. Define a clear boundary perimeter using floor tape or marker cones (roughly 8x8 meters for 12 to 16 players). 3. Set out one soft balance item per participant near the playing boundary. ## Say this to open We are going to play Deportment Tag. Everyone gets a bean bag to balance on their head. Once the round begins, your goal is to gently tag others on the upper arm or shoulder while avoiding being tagged. But there is a catch: you must keep your bean bag balanced without using your hands. If it falls, or if you touch it, or if you get tagged, you step outside the boundary until the next quick round. ## How to run it ### 1. Explain rules and distribute objects (2 minutes) Hand each person one small bean bag or soft eraser. Gather everyone inside the marked perimeter. Explain the rules: players walk briskly to tag others on the arm while avoiding tags; hands cannot touch the head object once play begins; players are out if tagged by a player who still has their balance object intact, if their own object falls, or if they touch their object with their hands. ### 2. Play round one (3 minutes) Instruct all players to place the object on the crown of their head and drop their hands to their sides. Signal the start of round 1. Players move within the boundaries, attempting to tag others while dodging. When an elimination occurs (tag or drop), the eliminated participant steps immediately outside the boundary cones to cheer or observe. End the round when one person remains or at the 3-minute mark. ### 3. Reset and play round two (3 minutes) Invite everyone back onto the floor. Offer a small tactical twist for round two, such as changing movement to speed-walking only or shifting the item to non-dominant hand balancing for those who requested an accommodation. Run round two until one player remains or 2 minutes elapse. ### 4. Debrief and recover breath (2 minutes) Gather the entire group in a standing or seated circle. Ask two participants to share what helped them retain balance while turning, and ask one participant how having to watch opponents changed their physical posture. ## Debrief questions - What body movements helped you maintain balance while moving quickly? - How did balancing an object change the way you assessed risk before trying to tag someone? - What strategies did you use to manage attention between your own balance and nearby threats? **Finished output:** A group energizer completed over one to three quick rounds until a final survivor or time limit is reached. ## Remote Deportment Tag cannot be run as a true remote activity because it depends on physical proximity and shared physical tagging. Running it via video camera turns it into an entirely different solo balance drill. For a remote group, run a non-tag balance challenge where participants see who can stand, turn, and sit while balancing an object on their head without it falling. ## Hybrid Hybrid delivery is not recommended because the core mechanic requires physical tagging and shared spatial awareness. Remote participants cannot participate in the physical tag game and should be invited to an entirely different movement or coordination icebreaker instead of trying to blend formats. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may choose to balance the item on the back of a flat hand or forearm instead of the head if neck or head balancing is uncomfortable or inaccessible. - Anyone who prefers not to run or tag may opt to act as a sideline referee or timekeeper without needing to give a reason. ## If the session gets stuck **Participants run too aggressively and risk collisions while looking upward.** Enforce a strict speed-walking rule. Anyone whose feet both leave the ground at once is eliminated for that round. **An eliminated participant feels self-conscious about being knocked out early.** Keep rounds very short (under 3 minutes). Frame early eliminations as inevitable test runs, and invite early outs to act as line judges who call tags. ## Terms used here - deportment: Traditional training or social standard in formal posture, stance, and upright carriage. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in Playmeo records, which attribute the activity entry to Mark Collard. Retained the core mechanic from Playmeo (Mark Collard): players balance an item on their head and play tag, with elimination if tagged or if the item drops or is touched. UWT adapted this by adding safety constraints (speed-walking instead of full sprinting to prevent collisions), boundaries, multiple short rounds so eliminated players are not sitting out long, specific accessibility adjustments, and debrief prompts. [Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/running-tag-pe-games/deportment-tag) [Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/running-tag-pe-games/deportment-tag/) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/balancing-tag-game-that-creates-fun-and-laughter-deportment-tag/