Vish Amrit (Freeze Tag)

Players

5 or more

Time

15 minutes

You need

Open ground

Ages

5 and above

Type

Traditional Indian games

Who it suits and when to play

Vish Amrit suits five or more children from about five years, in a park, a courtyard or a school ground. It needs no equipment. It is a running game with a kind heart, because a frozen player can always be freed by a friend. That makes it good for mixed ages: the small ones are rescued again and again.

How to play

1. Choose one chaser, the "den". Everyone else runs.
2. When the den touches a runner and says "Vish", that runner must freeze on the spot.
3. Any free runner can touch a frozen player and say "Amrit" to set them free.
4. The den wins when every runner is frozen at the same time.
5. The first player who was frozen becomes the next den.

Tips and variations

• In a big group, use two dens.

Common problems and how to fix them

• The same child is the den for too long. Change the den after two minutes, or as soon as three players are frozen.
• Frozen players move away. A frozen player sits or stands with arms folded on the spot until a team-mate touches them.
• Tagging becomes pushing. A tag is a light touch on the arm or back. A push does not count.

More traditional Indian games

• Pitthu (Seven Stones) 20 to 30 minutes
• Stapu (Hopscotch) 15 minutes
• Langdi 15 to 20 minutes
• Oonch Neech 15 minutes
• Chain Tag 10 minutes

Need fair teams or someone to go first? Use the team maker. See all 45 games.