The TAG game type is really a reverse-tag or king of the hill game type. The goal is to kill the player who is it, and then you become it. At the end of the round, the player who is it for the most amount of cumulative time is the winner. The top 5 players ordered by time are displayed for all to see.

The TAG game type is one of the two asymmetric Alti+ game types. In this type, the player who is it changes, and game play should continue based on time. This is different from the MDG game type, which ends with a goal (team annihilation).

TAG game type maps come in either FFA or TDM game modes. The should either start with ffa_tag_ or tdm_tag_. The choice of which one to use should be based on balance. If the advantage leans to the chasers, then the FFA game mode is better. If the advantage leans to the one who is it, then the TDM game mode is better.

There are three aspects to the TAG game play which revolve around the player who is it which each map needs to balance. To ensure a proper balance, some TAG maps may disable certain planes or weapons.

Hiding from chasers is a key feature of many TAG maps, but not all. There is no requirement in the TAG game type to provide hiding spots. Hiding spots are places where you are not visible, even with parallax disabled, to your fellow players. This is normally done by placing an object (tree, box, building, …) on the map which is not collidable, and players may stop “behind” it. You will likely be found eventually.

All TAG maps need to allow running in some way. Some maps will be more open, and so running will be very difficult, others will be filled with obstacles and trick or skill corridors which make running easier. The fewer hiding spots a map has, the more it needs to be designed for running. If a TAG game type map focuses its efforts on running, but is too open, the map should be of FFA game mode. In this mode, the chasers have to be more careful about killing each other, adding a little advantage back to the one who is it. If a map is designed so that alluding capture is very easy, then the TDM game mode should be used to allow the chases to be as aggressive as possible.

The best defense is a good offense! Sometimes, your best option may be to turn and fight. If you are it, and a 1-on-1 situation arises, killing your chaser may be the best way to not get caught. Additionally, some maps may have specifically designed strong-holds which can be easily defended by the right player.

Map design should be similar to classic FFA or TDM game mode maps, but updated with either (or a combination of) hiding, running, or fighting design to compensate for this being an asymmetric game type.