Wednesday I was totally fortunate to play 2 games of Capture the Flag in downtown Vancouver. It was organised by Manhunt Vancouver which also has a Facebook page. You can view my photos on either Flickr or Facebook.
For those people, that don’t know the rules of Capture the Flag, each team tries to capture the flag of the other team by sneaking into their territory. If caught, one is then placed into a jail. Once in jail, by being tagged by a team member that sneaks in, one can be rescued and can go back to one’s side with immunity. If you hold hands as a chain, then everyone is free if one person is tagged. It involves alot of running as you are generally being chased or are chasing people through the streets.
This was the first Capture the Flag game of the summer, the first I had played since elementary school, and it became a fierce battle between the ninjas and the pirates. Each game has a maximum limit of 1 hour, and we were about 15 - 20 people on each side.
Basically we divided into 2 teams, we were then given a white band (ninjas) or an orange band (pirates) in order to distinguish ourselves. As noted in the photo, some people were also appropriately dressed as was requested. I chose the ninja side and was dressed in black, however as shall be noted later, costumes may not have been the best choice.
The boundaries were set as four streets to create a box and certain rules were debated. Should cell phones be allowed? yes — because you can’t enforce their non-usage. Should there be immunity (can’t be immediately recaptured until re-enter enemy territory) for people that are released from prison by a teammate? yes. Should there be no-man’s land where neither the flag can be hidden or people can be captured? yes.
After the ground rules of the game were established, we broke off into our two groups. As one of the ninjas, we headed off to find a location to place our flag (must be visible from the street) as well as find a location for our prison. Both needed to be defended. In the first game, there were not any significant concerted efforts to steal our flag, although the pirates were able to free their prisoners. Eventually we won. I didn’t note any strategies involved during gameplay.
The second game brought out a number of changes.
Observations
Ordinary people on the street were amused to see us guarding our flag in the street in the second game after we tagged the enemy running with our flag (just steps from no-man’s land). I heard some people talking about how this was a street version of capture the flag that people play in different cities. For a brief moment, one of the ninjas and myself played zone defense while four pirates stood on the edge of our territory trying to find a way past us.
People watching on the street were generally amused to see us playing a street game or would look at me inquisitively as I stood on the corner standing guard while intently watching passerbys for the tell-tale orange ribbon.
In the second game one of the ninjas removed her mask in order to blend in more with the crowd while on stealth missions into enemy territory. Wearing the mask made her stand out. Although being in costume may have helped with her role playing it had a contrasting effect in limiting her abilities in enemy territory. In the first game she was responsible for guarding the flag and she stood within a few metres of it. In the second game she want a different role and realised that she needed to look less like a ninja.
Some of the pirates used strategies in order to help accomplish their goals. Ninjas (including myself) that were guarding the prison were looking for individuals or people that disguising themselves from the crowd by dodging traffic, running around, hiding behind people… When a couple holding hands crossed the street and walked towards the jail I thought nothing of it until they tagged the prisoners we were guarding. It was an effective strategy as our expectation about how the pirates team members would act was used against us. Just like if someone walked up pushing a baby carriage I would not expect that person to be a pirate. I will be alot more on my guard next game.
Relevance: Playing street games in alot of fun and provides a different perspective about a familiar environment.
