Tag game

 Tag (also called chase, tig, it, tiggy, tips, tick, on-on and tip) is a playground game involving one or more players chasing other players in an attempt to "tag" and mark them out of play, typically by touching with a hand. 

There are many variations; most forms have no teams, scores, or equipment. Usually when a person is tagged, the tagger says, "It!" or "Tag, you're 'It'!" 

The last one tagged during tag is "It" for the next round. The game is known by other names in various parts of the world, including "running and catching" in India and "catch and cook" in the Middle East.

Tag

A Dutch cartoon of children playing tag, 1860s
Players	2 or more
Setup time	0 to 1 minutes
Playing time	No limit
Chance	Low
Skills	Running, stalking, hiding, observation
Materials required	None

Origin of name

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The game has many different names in different parts of the UK: 'tig' in Yorkshire and Scotland, 'tick' in the North West of England, and 'it' in the South of England. In the United States of America the game is usually called 'tag', and in Australia it is sometimes called 'tips'.^{[citation needed]}

In 2018, the internet meme "How old were you when you found out ____" began circulating, which stated that the origin of the word tag was an acronym meaning 'touch and go'.^[1] Investigation by snopes.com found this to be false.^[2] According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the origin of the name 'tag' is unknown,^[3] while the Oxford Dictionary of English speculates it to be a variant of 'tig',^[4] which itself is possibly a variant of 'tick'.^[5]

History

[edit]Tag-like games have been played throughout history since as far back as the fourth century BC. The Greek poet Erinna, in her poem The Distaff, speaks of a tag-like game where one girl, the "tortoise", chases other girls, and the tagged girl becomes the new "tortoise".^[6] Ancient Greek boys also played the Ostrakinda.^[7]