• 20 games
  • Checked October 2026

Tag Games for PE

Hot Dog Tag, Flag Alley and Knee Tag in numbered steps, opening on tags that keep a full class running.

Tag Games for PE

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  1. Change-the-Move Tag: Skip, Gallop, Slide1. Tag in which nobody runs. The teacher names a way of moving, such as skipping, and everyone travels that way, the two taggers too.2. A tag is a touch on the arm or the back. A tagged player takes the tagger's pinnie and becomes the tagger.3. Every thirty seconds the teacher calls a new move: gallop, slide sideways, hop, march with high knees, tiptoe.4. A player caught running does five of the called move on the spot, then goes on.Ages: 5 to 8. Players: 8 to 30. You need: two pinnies.
  2. Thirty-Second Taggers: Count Your Tags1. Tag in short turns, scored by the taggers. Four taggers each carry a pinnie in one hand. Everyone else runs inside the lines of the court.2. A tagged runner turns around once on the spot and runs on, so nobody stops for long.3. Each tagger counts their own tags. After thirty seconds the teacher calls stop, and the four say their numbers.4. The taggers hand their pinnies to four new players. Play until everyone has been a tagger. The class adds each four into a score for the next four to beat.Ages: 8 to 14. Players: 12 to 40. You need: four pinnies.
  3. Number Call Tag: The Called Number Chases1. Tag in which the taggers change on a call. Count the class off in ones, twos, threes and fours. Everyone jogs inside the lines.2. The teacher calls a number. Every player with that number is a tagger, runs with one hand held up and tags with the other, on the arm or the back.3. A tagged runner crouches down on the spot.4. After twenty seconds the teacher calls a new number. Everyone crouching stands up and runs, and the new number chases. Finish by calling two numbers at once.Ages: 8 to 14. Players: 12 to 40. You need: nothing.

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PE tag games for large groups 11

  • All Change: Every Whistle, a New Corner 1. Tag with four safe corners. Mark off each corner of the gym with cones. Three taggers stand in the middle. Everyone else starts in a corner, where nobody can be tagged. 2. On each whistle, every runner leaves for a different corner and has to cross the middle to get there. 3. A tagged runner goes back to the corner they just left and tries again on the next whistle. 4. A runner scores one for every new corner reached. After ten whistles, compare scores and change the taggers. Ages: 8 to 14. Players: 12 to 40. You need: cones for the corners and three pinnies.
  • Change-the-Move Tag: Skip, Gallop, Slide 1. Tag in which nobody runs. The teacher names a way of moving, such as skipping, and everyone travels that way, the two taggers too. 2. A tag is a touch on the arm or the back. A tagged player takes the tagger's pinnie and becomes the tagger. 3. Every thirty seconds the teacher calls a new move: gallop, slide sideways, hop, march with high knees, tiptoe. 4. A player caught running does five of the called move on the spot, then goes on. Ages: 5 to 8. Players: 8 to 30. You need: two pinnies.
  • Dead Ant Tag: Four Touches and You Are Up 1. Tag with a rescue made of four small jobs. Three taggers tag with a touch on the arm or the back. 2. A tagged runner is an ant on its back: lie down with both hands and both feet in the air. 3. A free runner going past touches one hand or one foot and runs on. The ant lowers each hand or foot as it is touched. 4. When all four are down, the ant stands up and runs. No runner touches the same ant twice in a row, so it takes at least two friends. Ages: 5 to 9. Players: 10 to 30. You need: three pinnies.
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PE tag games for large groups, continued

  • First-Day Name Tag: Say the Name to Set Them Free 1. Freeze tag for a class that is still learning names. Three taggers chase. A tagged runner stops with one hand up. 2. A free runner sets them going by saying their first name and giving a low five. 3. A rescuer who does not know the name asks, hears it, says it back and then gives the low five. 4. Every two minutes the taggers change, and each new tagger says their own name to the class before the whistle. Ages: 6 to 14. Players: 10 to 36. You need: three pinnies.
  • Hot Dog Tag: Two Buns Lie Down Beside You 1. Tag with a rescue that takes two. Three taggers wear pinnies and tag with a touch on the arm or the back. 2. A tagged runner is a hot dog: lie down on your back where you were tagged, arms by your sides. 3. Two free runners set the hot dog free by lying down as the buns, one on each side. All three count to three aloud, stand up and run. 4. Nobody is tagged while lying down or getting up, and runners go around anyone on the floor. Pick new taggers after two minutes. Ages: 6 to 11. Players: 12 to 36. You need: three pinnies.
  • Math Fact Rescue Tag: Show Fingers, Say the Sum 1. Freeze tag with a sum as the rescue. Three taggers chase. A tagged runner stops and holds up any number of fingers on one hand. 2. A free runner stops in front of them and holds up fingers too. 3. Both say the sum aloud. When they agree, both run on. 4. With an older class, say the product. A tagger may not wait beside a stopped player. The pinnies go to new taggers every two minutes. Ages: 6 to 11. Players: 10 to 36. You need: three pinnies.
  • Number Call Tag: The Called Number Chases 1. Tag in which the taggers change on a call. Count the class off in ones, twos, threes and fours. Everyone jogs inside the lines. 2. The teacher calls a number. Every player with that number is a tagger, runs with one hand held up and tags with the other, on the arm or the back. 3. A tagged runner crouches down on the spot. 4. After twenty seconds the teacher calls a new number. Everyone crouching stands up and runs, and the new number chases. Finish by calling two numbers at once. Ages: 8 to 14. Players: 12 to 40. You need: nothing.
  • Rock Paper Scissors Tag: Win the Throw to Get Back In 1. Tag in which tagged players free each other. Three taggers chase, and a tag is a touch on the arm or the back. 2. A tagged runner jogs to the center circle and holds out a fist. 3. Two players in the circle play one throw of rock paper scissors. The winner runs back into the game. The loser stays for the next player to arrive. After a tie, throw again. 4. A player who loses twice in a row goes back in anyway. New taggers take the pinnies every two minutes. Ages: 7 to 14. Players: 12 to 40. You need: three pinnies.
  • Roll the Die Tag: The Number Is Your Way Back 1. Tag with a die that decides the way back in. Put a large foam die in a hoop in each corner. Three taggers chase. 2. A tagged runner jogs to the nearest hoop and rolls the die. 3. Do that number of jumps over the nearest line, then run back in. A six is a free pass: no jumps. 4. Three new taggers start every two minutes. With an older class, let the class decide before the game what each number stands for. Ages: 6 to 11. Players: 12 to 36. You need: four large foam dice, four hoops and three pinnies.
  • Thirty-Second Taggers: Count Your Tags 1. Tag in short turns, scored by the taggers. Four taggers each carry a pinnie in one hand. Everyone else runs inside the lines of the court. 2. A tagged runner turns around once on the spot and runs on, so nobody stops for long. 3. Each tagger counts their own tags. After thirty seconds the teacher calls stop, and the four say their numbers. 4. The taggers hand their pinnies to four new players. Play until everyone has been a tagger. The class adds each four into a score for the next four to beat. Ages: 8 to 14. Players: 12 to 40. You need: four pinnies.
  • Waiting Cone Tag: The Next One Tagged Sets You Free 1. Tag with a short wait that the taggers end themselves. Stand four cones along one wall. Four taggers chase the class. 2. A tagged runner jogs to the nearest empty cone and waits beside it. A cone holds one player. 3. When all four cones are taken, the next tagged runner goes to any cone, and the player waiting there runs back in. 4. So no more than four players ever wait, and busy taggers keep the wait short. Each tagger counts their own tags, and four new taggers start after two minutes. Ages: 8 to 14. Players: 16 to 40. You need: four cones and four pinnies.

Flag tag games 5

  • Bodyguard Flag Tag: One Wears the Flag, One Protects It 1. Flag tag in pairs. One partner wears a flag at the back of the waistband. The other is the bodyguard and wears none. 2. Bodyguards pull the flags of other pairs. They protect their own partner only by getting in the way: no holding, pushing or spreading the arms. 3. A pair that loses its flag takes it back from the puller, walks to the nearest wall, swaps jobs and comes back in. 4. A bodyguard counts one for each flag pulled. Play three minutes, then make new pairs. Ages: 9 to 14. Players: 8 to 36. You need: a flag for each pair.
  • Flag Alley: The Pullers Stand in Hoops 1. A flag-pulling game with pullers who cannot chase. Lay eight hoops in two rows down the middle of the gym, a wide step apart: the alley. One puller stands in each hoop. 2. Everyone else wears a flag on each hip and jogs through the alley one at a time, three steps behind the runner ahead. 3. A puller keeps both feet in the hoop and may pull one flag from each runner. 4. Runners count the trips they finish with a flag left, collect their flags at the far end and line up again. Change the pullers after two minutes. Ages: 6 to 11. Players: 12 to 36. You need: eight hoops and two flags for each runner.
  • Flag Crossing: Each Puller Guards a Third of the Gym 1. A crossing game with flags. Divide the gym into three zones across its width with cones. Two pullers stand in each zone and may not leave it. 2. Everyone else wears a flag and starts behind one end line. On the whistle, cross all three zones to the far end line. 3. A runner whose flag is pulled takes it back from the puller, jogs along the side wall to the start and crosses again. 4. Score one for every crossing made with the flag still in. After six whistles, change the pullers. Ages: 8 to 14. Players: 14 to 40. You need: a flag for each runner and cones for the zone lines.
  • Flag Duel in a Square: One Against One 1. A flag-pulling game for two. Each pair marks a square four steps across with four cones. Both players tuck a flag into the back of the waistband, most of it hanging out. 2. On the whistle, try to pull your partner's flag while keeping your own. Stay on your feet and inside the square. No holding, and no covering the flag with a hand. 3. A pull scores one. Hand the flag back, tuck in and go again. 4. After one minute, the winners move one square along to meet a new partner. Ages: 8 to 14. Players: 2 to 36. You need: a flag for each player and four cones for each pair.
  • Flag Freeze Tag: A Friend Brings Your Flag Back 1. Freeze tag with a flag as the tag. Everyone wears a flag at the back of the waistband. Three taggers wear pinnies and no flag. 2. A tagger pulls a runner's flag and drops it on the floor right there. That runner freezes with one hand up. 3. Any free runner may pick up the flag and hand it back. The frozen runner tucks it in, and both go. 4. A tagger may not stand guard over a dropped flag. After two minutes, three new taggers hand in their flags and take the pinnies. Ages: 6 to 11. Players: 12 to 36. You need: a flag for each player and three pinnies.

Partner tag games 4

  • Knee Tag: One Against One 1. Tag for two, on the spot. Partners face each other an arm's length apart in a small space of their own, knees bent and hands open. 2. On the whistle, try to touch your partner's knee with a flat hand while keeping your own knees away. Feet keep moving. No grabbing or holding. 3. Each touch scores one. Stand tall and step back after every touch, so heads stay apart. 4. Play thirty seconds, then one line of partners moves along by one place, so everyone meets a new partner. Ages: 9 to 14. Players: 2 to 40. You need: nothing.
  • Only Your Partner Can Free You 1. Freeze tag with one rescuer each. Everyone has a partner, but partners spread out and run alone. Three taggers chase. 2. A tagged runner freezes with both arms up and calls their partner's name. 3. Only that partner can set them free, with a low five. 4. If both partners are frozen at once, they call "both", walk to each other, touch hands and start again. Taggers change every two minutes. Ages: 7 to 11. Players: 12 to 36. You need: three pinnies.
  • Swap-In Pair Tag: The Chasing Pair Never Grows 1. Chain tag in which the chain stays at two. Two players hold the ends of one pinnie between them and chase together. Everyone else runs alone. 2. Either of the two tags with the free hand, a touch on the arm or the back. 3. The tagged runner takes that tagger's end of the pinnie, and the tagger runs free. 4. So the pair changes with every tag, and nobody chases for long. With more than fifteen players, start two pairs. Ages: 7 to 14. Players: 6 to 36. You need: one pinnie for each chasing pair.
  • Tag Out, Partner In: Half the Class Rests 1. Tag in pairs that take turns. One partner of each pair plays on the court. The other waits on the sideline with a hand out. 2. Three taggers chase. A tagged runner jogs to the sideline and gives their partner a high five, and the partner runs in. 3. A runner who has not been tagged may swap out the same way at any time. 4. Taggers have partners too. They swap every thirty seconds and hand over the pinnie. Play four minutes. Ages: 8 to 14. Players: 12 to 40. You need: three pinnies.

How this list was compiled: Our list for a gym class, with flag and partner sets. The wording, the ages and the player counts are ours. Hot dog tag and dead ant tag are played in many versions, and the steps here are one version of each. Tags are a touch on the arm or the back, nobody is put out of a game for good and nothing is thrown at a player; those are our own rules for play. Checked on 12 October 2026 at Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ followed by the name): Educational stage, for the ages of each United States grade. Licence: own work

How it works

Every PE tag game here says what a tagged player does next, so nobody sits out. A tag is a touch on the arm or the back, and each game prints its ages, players and equipment.

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Three sets in one menu

The page opens on PE tag games for large groups: eleven tags for a full class. The menu under the button holds Flag tag games and Partner tag games.

By grade

Every game but one is written for grades 3 to 5. Under More filters, K to 2 keeps the games that suit kindergarten to grade 2, eight across the three sets, such as Dead Ant Tag. Middle school keeps those that suit ages 11 to 14, twelve in all.

Questions and answers

What are good tag games for middle school PE?

Knee Tag and Flag Duel in a Square are one against one, and Thirty-Second Taggers scores the taggers. Under More filters, Middle school keeps the games that suit ages 11 to 14, twelve in all.

What are fun tag games for elementary PE?

Hot Dog Tag and Dead Ant Tag suit kindergarten to grade 2. Rock Paper Scissors Tag and Waiting Cone Tag work from grade 3. All four have a quick way back into the game.

Which PE games with flags suit elementary classes?

Flag Alley is the gentlest: the pullers stand in hoops and cannot chase. In Flag Freeze Tag a friend hands your flag back. Both are in the set Flag tag games, with three more from grade 3.

Which are fun tag games to play outside?

Every game here works on grass. All Change needs four marked corners, Flag Crossing uses the width of a field, and Tag Out, Partner In rests half the class at a time.

What are good PE first day tag games?

First-Day Name Tag frees a tagged player when a classmate says their first name, so the class learns names while it runs. Number Call Tag needs no equipment at all.

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