7 Ways To Make Wide Games More Extreme

Continuing in the vein of making games cooler (ie stupider), here we look at everybody’s camp favorite: Wide Game! A good wide game goes way beyond capture the flag – it takes some serious creativity and leaves lasting impact. Try out some of these ideas and comment yours below:

Obvious disclaimer – think carefully about your group, do your risk assessments and have enough leaders to keep it safe (including a first aider… they’re usually needed!)

1. Replace the flags with flour and eggs
   Rather than grabbing a pretty piece of cloth, change it up for a bucket of eggs or flour wrapped in cheap cling-film; grab one at a time – no points if its broken! End the session with an egg & flour fight… then shower!
2. Add some ‘enforcers’
   Enforcers are just a couple of leaders dressed in full camo with water pistols. No team affiliations – they’re just there to cause more chaos.
3. Replace lives with Velcro tabs or pieces of gaffer tape
   So you loose your life when you loose it – or someone wrestles it off you.
4. Add scenarios & protagonists
   Come up with a theme, back story and scenario to play out. Have the team rehearse an opening goading script and then stay in character for the game! Give everyone maps with extra secret objectives.
5. Rambo up!
   Buy a bulk load of war paint – or make your own from mud. Spend 30 minutes in the wooded area you’ll be in making your own camouflage bunkers. We once had leaders playing in chain-mail!
6. Do it at night!
   Give everyone a head-torch, make the lives glow-sticks and the flags lanterns… need I say more? – Don’t warn them either…. just wake everybody up at midnight in character and set the scenario mood!
7. Add teams… and an elite squad!
   Classically wide games only have two teams, but why? It’s so much more chaotic and requires so much more sneaky strategy when there’s three or four. If you’re playing a few games you can take best performing individuals and make a smaller ‘delta squad’ for fun new rules too!

8? Got any more?
Done some epic wide games? Invented new epic wide game rules? Let us know by commenting below!