Monarch Tag

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Demonstrate how passing and spatial positioning replace individual pursuit as a team grows.

Use it when: Use during active team sessions in an open gym or field when groups need a lively, physical tactical exercise.

Skip it when: Skip when the space is small, floors are slippery, or participants require a low-mobility, non-contact setting.

Group arrangement: Whole group in a single marked playing area

Timing: Suggested UWT duration for setup, game rounds, and short group debrief

Materials and tools

• 1 soft, tossable foam ball (dodgeball or foam trainer size)
• 4 boundary markers or cones

Before participants arrive

1. Inspect a flat, open area clear of furniture and obstacles.
2. Mark rectangular boundaries roughly 15 by 15 meters using cones or existing floor lines.
3. Confirm participants have appropriate footwear for sudden stops and pivots.

Say this to open

We are playing Monarch Tag. Everyone begins as a Monarchist inside our marked boundaries except one volunteer, our first Republican, who starts with this soft ball. The Republican tags Monarchists by gently touching them with the ball or tossing it below the waist. If you get tagged below the waist, you switch to the Republican team. While alone, the Republican can run with the ball. As soon as a second person joins the taggers, any Republican holding the ball must freeze in place and pass to teammates to make tags.

How to run it

1. Set boundaries and explain roles 3 minutes

   Walk the perimeter lines so everyone knows the out-of-bounds limit. Clarify the core safety rule: ball tags must land below the waist and be delivered gently. Explain that Monarchists who step fully outside the boundary automatically join the tagging team. Ask for one initial volunteer to hold the soft ball as the solo Republican tagger.

2. Run round one 5 minutes

   Call start. The solo tagger runs freely with the soft ball to tag Monarchists below the waist. Once the first Monarchist is tagged, enforce the freeze rule: any tagger currently holding the ball must keep their pivot foot planted and cannot run. Taggers without the ball may move freely around the area to receive passes. Monarchists dodge and run inside the boundary. Play until all runners are tagged or stop at five minutes.

3. Reset and run round two 4 minutes

   Select a new volunteer starting tagger. Prompt the taggers to notice where they position themselves off the ball to intercept runners. Play a second fast round using the exact same rules, concluding when the last Monarchist is tagged or time expires.

4. Debrief tactical shifts 3 minutes

   Gather the group in a standing circle. Ask two questions about coordination. Take two to three quick answers from the group before moving on.

Debrief questions

• How did the tagging team's strategy change once you were no longer allowed to run with the ball?
• What off-the-ball movements by taggers made it hardest for the remaining runners to escape?

Finished output: Completion of one or two tag rounds where all runners transition into passing taggers.

Remote

This active physical tag game cannot run online without changing into an entirely different method. If an online tactical cooperation exercise is needed, run a virtual escape puzzle or digital grid navigation game instead.

Hybrid

Hybrid delivery is not feasible because remote participants cannot share a physical chase and catch space with in-room players. Run Monarch Tag exclusively in person, or choose an online collaboration activity for everyone.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may opt to serve as line judges or boundary referees instead of running.
• Anyone may step out of the playing boundaries at any moment without giving a reason by raising a hand and walking to the sideline.

If the session gets stuck

Taggers run while holding the ball after the team has multiple members.

Blow a whistle or call freeze. Return the ball to the spot where it was caught and remind the tagger to establish a pivot foot before passing or tagging.

Taggers throw the ball hard at people's heads or upper bodies.

Pause play immediately. Reiterate that only gentle contacts below the waist count. Disallow any tag made above the waist and give the ball back to the runner.

Terms used here

• Pivot foot: Keeping one foot planted firmly on the floor while turning, without walking or taking steps.