by L Wiles - 2008-08-01
Water bomb tag is an active, wet, chasing game played with 2 or more players, typically outside in a large grassy area when the weather is warm.
In this variation of Tag the player who is IT tries to “tag” other players by hitting them with a water bomb. If you are tagged by a water bomb you become IT (and get very wet) then chase the other players around until you tag one of them with a water bomb, then they become IT (and also get very wet).
Before the game starts prepare as many water bombs as you think you'll need and store them at home base. The player who is IT carries as many water bombs as he or she can hold while running around trying to tag players. When the player who is IT runs out of ammo, he or she replenishes by going to home base and getting more water bombs. If he or she has ammo left over when a new player becomes IT, he or she can either hold on to the ammo for future use or return the ammo to home base. When a new player becomes IT, that player must then go to home base to get his or her water bomb ammo.
Please, please, please, throw your water bombs with appropriate force. This game can be a very fun way to cool off on a hot summer day and there is no need to hurt anyone while playing. Be especially aware of your throwing force when playing with smaller or more gentle players.
Usually Water Bomb Tag is played within certain physical game boundaries.
Some versions of tag allow a safety zone or rest zone typically called home base. In Water Bomb tag home base is typically reserved only for the water bomb stock pile, but you could also allow players to use home base as a rest zone if you like. You could also have a second home base for the player safe zone.
One Water Bomb Tag variation is less a tag game and more of a war game. In this version there is no one player who is IT. All players have their own water bomb ammo and everyone water bombs everyone else. The player who is least wet at the end of the game wins (although usually no one really cares). Players can either prepare their water bombs ahead of time, each player keeping their own ammo in their own personal specified area. Or players can opt to fill their ammo as needed based on how much they can carry (in arms, buckets, bags, etc.).