Ninja Tag

A game about stealth, and ninjas.

The Original Base Game

The founders played, three players, in a half acre back yard, with some cover, was about right for all of them, rounds about 15 minutes long.

Have play zones aimed at large, little open space, lot's of cover, and it's size around a snug size for the amount of players.

There is the Hunter Ninja, and one or more Prey Ninjas. One person is chosen to be the hunter, the rest are prey. The first person to die becomes the new Hunter Ninja, even if they were already the hunter.

The Hunter counts to a preset number while prey hide. When done counting, the hunter shouts "I'm a ninja!"

All players must remain in the game boundaries. These boundaries are determined beforehand.

The Hunter can use ranged weapons, and at most, a dagger for a melee. Prey can use anything, but is suggested for small, concealable weapons. Hunters can have a small, weak flashlight, only when extremely dark.

To be killed, the Hunter must sustain:-

• 3 shurikens hits to the front, 1 to the back, 1 to the head, or 5 to the legs/arms. {Best stealth weapon}
• 2 blow gun hits to the front, 1 to the back, 1 to the head, 3 to the arms/legs. {Best weapon, best range}
• 2 front, 1 back, 3 arms, 3 legs, 9999 head with a melee weapon. {Worst Stealth Weapon}

(People have raised awareness that they think this might be sarcasm about the swords hits. It is not. This is to discourage hitting heads. Be smart. Be safe.)

A Prey Ninja needs just one hit. Yes, the prey needs stealth to win.

Prey Rules

Your objective is to survive for as long as possible, while getting the most points. You can hide, and assassinate the enemy, or rely on skills of attacking and an ally to help you.

Hunter Rules

Try to kill all the ninjas in your patrol zone, hunt them down. Avoid combat, as you can die, rely on finding where they are hiding, then sneaking up on them.

The Point System

• Killing the opponent(prey can't kill prey, ect.) ~ 1 base point
• Shuriken kill ~ 1 bonus point
• Stealth Kill ~ 2 bonus points
• Strangle/Neck snap ~ 3 bonus points

Optional points:

• Prey Survival (Survive 15-30 minutes) ~ 1 point
• Hunter Bloodlust (Kill in 5 minutes) ~ 1 point

Tips

Ninja Prey

All three of the founders have simply went prone on the ground to hide; Dyllon hid partially covered by twigs, Tristan lay camouflaged in the grass, and Alex lay in the shadows of the grass. The normal human doesn't naturally look up or down. Use it.

Move low, and slow. Tristan caught Dyllon simply because he ran. Tristan NEVER would have seen him had he not ran.

Keep moving, never let your best spot get known.

Break up your shape. Human forms are not natural. Simply curling up makes you look less suspicious.

Hunters

Check frequently places you've been. Stay away from clearings.

Go prone and crawl to a hiding place. Wait for the prey to reveal themselves. They will. Always.

Host Instructions

Try to keep it going smoothly, if there are enough players, sit out the rounds to video tape it, call shots, etc.

The way you determine the winner:

• Hold a number of rounds, where each round ends when a person dies.
• When the rounds are done, tally the scores.

Here is where it splits.

• If there is a tie, hold a sudden death match between the tied parties, in a small area.

Everyone has one hit/die, and cannot hide. The last man standing is first, last to die is second, second to last to die is third, ect.

• There are three clear top three winners. (Or two)

In this case, you add a win points, how many times a person won a game. This is how it goes:

• 1st 3 wins
• 2nd 2 wins
• 3rd 1 win

After a number of games( the collection of rounds) You tally the wins, and top 3 are chosen.

Or, just have fun, and don't bother with points. ( Better with more people.)

Try to explain the rules as best as possible, and send game reports.

Resources

• Survival Topics article on H.I.P.S.

(Hiding in Plain Sight)

• Making a mask from a shirt

Credit and Kudos to Vern Reid.

• Simple way to make a shuriken (Hira)

Please wait for this link to how to make boffers (From the S.C.A.) to come up.

Samurai Guard variant

One person is the ninja, and everyone else is the Samurai Guard.

The samurai choose a patrol route, then stay on it unless the see, hear, smell, or feel something out of place.

The ninja must get the objective, something such as, say, a paper, or assassinate a target.

Samurai take one hit to die, and have melee and touch kills. Ninjas take one hit to die, and can use anything.

eXtreme Samurai Guard variant:

Same as Samurai guard, except the ninja cannot attack, and is by her/himself.

Thief game variant

(Direct from the E-Mail)

1. (At least) two guards per Ninja.
2. Ninjas can't attack but guards can melee attack and tag.
3. Ninjas can go solo or work in groups.
4. Ninjas must steal an item from a area that is guarded.
5. Guards must patrol area of a minimum of twenty feet.

Ambush variant

Everyone except for one person is a hunter.

The prey must go from point A to B, and can choose their route. The hunters set up ambushes along the way, trying to kill the prey.

The prey takes two shots to die, the hunters take one shot to die.

The prey can use anything, while hunters can use anything but shurikens. Hunters need to coordinate with each other to kill the prey.