Let's Play Tug!

The game of Tug! This addictive game has been the most popular playground game around Beltimore.

The player selected to be "it" chases the others, attempting to get close enough and succeed in lassoing the captured one's waist with a piece of rope, while the others try to escape. Once the rope encircles a player's waist, that player is considered captured and must immediately give up all struggle and stand still while "it" gets a whole minute (measured with a hourglass) to tug the rope around the captive's waist all he likes. The rope must be soaked in oil or grease to make it nice and easy. All other players come close to watch the tugging. After the minute passes, the captive becomes the next "it" and gets the rope from the previous "it", then counts to ten to let everybody escape.

A more adult version of the game that older boys like to play, includes a real lasso allowing to capture players from afar. In this version "it" also wears a cowboy hat, while the others wear decorative animal horns. All players in this version play topless with their bodies oiled.

The game doesn't really have a winner and is played continuously just for the fun of playing. Or it can be also said that the loser is the winner in this game because getting tugged is the most pleasant part of the game, because of that it's considered polite to let each player get captured at least once during the playtime.

It won't be easy to find people willing to play something like that...

When in doubt, pinky out! 😉

The illustration of the boy with the rope in his hands, gave a moment's inspiration to write some game submissions to find people willing to run and tighten each other's waists.
I changed the rules a bit and now you have to get out of the knots of ropes by yourself)

Luca

I think it would make a great circus act, getting tied up ridiculously tight and having to find the way out of the tight ropes in under 5 minutes. I've actually always wondered what kind of a stage act could be done with waist-cinching, my only two ideas were belted bellydancing and being cinched by a tightrope that is loose at first and then is tightened up by assistants until it's so tight it lifts the performer in the air by the waist, allowing for all sorts of acrobatics/contortions on a tightrope while being bound by it.

The idea with the knots is great, would add a brand new show to their repertoire, an escapist act that still looks great even if the performer fails to escape in the end 🤣