To celebrate spring break’s imminent arrival, I decided to take a brain break and write my review over something insubstantial — the very real world of professional, competitive tag.
My understanding of the rules is entirely influenced by the World Chase Tag (WCT) YouTube account — I assume WCT is the leading expert in the sport, if not the only expert.
It’s relatively straightforward. There are two teams and 16 rounds takes place between one member of each team. One side acts as the ‘tagger’ and the other side acts as the ‘evader.’ Once each player is in position, a clock is started and each player has 20 seconds to achieve their goal — for the tagger this means tagging the other person, and for the evader this means not being caught. If the evader is successful, their team receives a point. If the tagger is successful, their team then acts as the evaders.
To add interest and stakes, the players are not simply let loose in an open area, but rather a parkour obstacle course. There are structures of metal bars, blocks to jump on, and various elevations for the players to run on. It’s not a complete game if someone doesn’t have an uncomfortable fall.
The simplicity of the game is its main appeal — once you start watching, it’s easy to get hooked by the fast-pace of the game, the ease of following, and the shenanigans pulled by the players. There’s a nice sense that this doesn’t really matter: these events aren’t make or break, and the players are having fun rather than obsessing over every detail.
Bonus points, too, for the announcers whose play-by-play commentary is hilarious and a nice distraction from the sound of scuffing feet and heavy breathing.
If you have time during spring break, I highly recommend checking out competitive tag and just having fun with it.
10/10 would think ‘I can do that’ again
Further breakdown:
Writing Quality: NA Enjoyability: 10/10
Pace: 10/10 Visual elements: 10/10
Plot development: NA Insightfulness: NA
Characters: NA
