The Dilemma: Everyone’s running around in total chaos (and you kind of want to join in).

People You Can Impress: Anyone who knows what kabbadi is.

The Quick Trick: Are the players over 10 years old? Congrats, you’re watching kabaddi (we hope!)

The Explanation:
Tag is a simple child’s game. Kabaddi is a simple child’s game taken to maddening heights of silliness. To clarify “tag,” we’re talking about freeze tag, blob tag, “you’re it” tag, team tag, and any other of the variations of the game where the object is to touch another person, thereby rendering him or her “out” or “it.”

To clarify “kabaddi,” we mean breath-holding, scary, chanting tag. Enjoyed primarily in India, kabaddi is a team sport played on a bisected field about the size of a volleyball court. Each team consists of twelve players, with seven of them taking the court at a time. The teams alternate offense and defense. The offensive team designates a “raider”—a player chosen to infiltrate enemy territory and “tag” as many opposing players as he can. The tricky bit? He’s only allowed one breath’s time to do all his tagging. To prove that he hasn’t drawn another breath, the raider is required to chant the name of the sport the entire time he’s on enemy soil. “Kabaddikabaddikabaddikabaddikabaddi . . .” If he can’t get back to his team’s side before stopping his chant, he’s out. Strangestrangestrangestrangestrange. . . .

Good to Know
While you probably won’t need a translation service to join in a foreign game of tag, you just never know (kids can be so cruel). So, in an effort to make sure words don’t provide any sort of stumbling block, we’ve provided a handy translation guide to help
you out.

Tag’s Pseudonyms Across the Globe

Japan: Onigokko (where “It” is called “Oni”)
England: It, dobby, tic, or tig
Ireland: Chasing
Brazil: Pega Pega (“catch catch”)
Australia: Tiggy, tips, or chasey
Finland: Hippa
Colombia: La Lleva (“the carrying”)
France: Chat (“cat”)