How to Play Chain He

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Chain He is a large-group chasing game in which a single catcher gradually recruits every player they tag into an ever-lengthening human chain. As the chain grows it can herd and corner runners in ways a lone catcher never could, making the game faster and more tactical as it progresses. It requires no equipment whatsoever and scales neatly from half a dozen children to a crowd of twenty.

Its appeal is straightforward: everyone is involved for almost the entire game, the growing chain creates genuine teamwork and strategy on the catching side, and runners must read the shape of the chain rather than just the speed of one pursuer. It is played most often in school playgrounds, parks, and open fields, and works on any reasonably flat open space free of serious hazards.

A little history

Chain He belongs to the broad family of tag and chasing games that appear across cultures worldwide. Its origins are unclear; chasing games of this general type are documented in British playground tradition at least as far back as the nineteenth century, and variants under names such as Chain Tag and Link Tag are recorded in folklore collections from that period. The specific chain-joining mechanic is found in playground surveys across the UK, North America, and Australia, though no single inventor or date of origin is established.

Setting up

1. Choose a playing area with clear, agreed boundaries. A school playground or field section of roughly 20 by 30 metres works well for 10 players; scale up for larger groups.
2. Agree the boundaries before play begins. Any player who runs outside the boundary is considered caught and must join the chain immediately.
3. Select one player to be He. This can be done by voting, by the previous round's winner taking the role, or by any agreed method such as a counting rhyme.
4. All other players spread out across the playing area. He stands in the centre.
5. Confirm any local rules about safe zones or resting before starting.

How to play

1. On a agreed start signal, He begins chasing all other players.
2. He tags another player by making clear physical contact with any part of that player's body using an open hand.
3. The tagged player immediately joins He by taking He's free hand. They are now part of the chain and must remain joined for the rest of the game.
4. The chain moves together as a unit. Players within the chain must keep hands joined at all times while chasing.
5. Only the two players at either end of the chain may make a legal tag. Players in the middle of the chain cannot tag runners.
6. Each time an end player tags a runner, that runner joins the nearest end of the chain, extending it by one person.
7. The chain may split into two separate chains once it reaches four or more players. If the group agrees to allow splitting, each resulting chain must contain at least two players, and both new chains continue under the same tagging rules.
8. A runner is also caught if they step outside the agreed boundary. They join the chain at whichever end is nearest to where they crossed the line.
9. Play continues until all runners have been caught and absorbed into the chain or chains.
10. The last player to be tagged is the winner of that round.

Winning and scoring

The last free runner to be tagged wins the round and is typically named He for the next game. There is no points system in the standard version; the honour of being last caught is the sole objective for runners. If the group wishes to play a series of rounds, a simple tally of wins identifies an overall champion across the session.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns whether a tag was legal, particularly when the chain is moving fast and contact is brief or glancing. The standard ruling is that the tagged player's own acknowledgement settles the matter; if they felt clear contact, they are caught. Disputed tags where the runner denies contact and no neutral player witnessed it are replayed: the runner is given a three-second head start before play resumes. A second dispute arises when the chain breaks mid-chase because players lose their grip. The correct ruling is that any tag made while the chain is broken is void. The chain must re-join before another legal tag can be made.

Boundary disputes are best avoided by marking the boundary physically before play begins, using cones, lines, or natural landmarks. When a runner claims they did not cross the line and the chain claims they did, the majority view of neutral bystanders or waiting players takes precedence. If no consensus is possible, the runner is given the benefit of the doubt on a first offence only.

How to win more often

• As He, target slower or less agile players first to build your chain quickly. A chain of three is far more effective at herding than a chain of two.
• Chain players should work as a unit and use the length of the chain to cut off escape routes rather than simply running at a single target.
• Runners should watch the shape of the chain, not just the nearest end. The chain will try to form a curved line to trap you against a boundary.
• As a runner, stay near the centre of the playing area early in the game when the chain is short. Move toward the edges only when the chain is large enough that corners become your only refuge.
• Chain players should communicate clearly and call out which direction they intend to sweep before moving, reducing the chance of the chain breaking at a critical moment.

Variations

Split Chain

Once the chain reaches six players, it splits into two equal chains which operate independently for the rest of the game. Each chain has its own two end-taggers. This variant keeps the game faster in the later stages when a very long single chain becomes unwieldy, and it is particularly useful for groups of fifteen or more players.

Frozen Chain

A tagged runner does not join the chain immediately. Instead they freeze on the spot with arms outstretched. A free runner can unfreeze them by crawling through their legs. He must tag all runners and prevent any unfreezing long enough to have every player frozen simultaneously to win. This variant shifts the balance strongly toward the runners and suits older or more athletic groups.

Circle Chain

The boundary is a large circle marked on the ground rather than a rectangle. Runners cannot be cornered against straight edges, making the game harder for the chain and better suited to highly mobile players. The circular boundary also keeps the playing area very visible to all participants, which reduces boundary disputes significantly.

Multiple Starters

For very large groups of sixteen or more, two players begin as He and form a chain from the start. Both chains operate simultaneously and independently throughout the game. The winner is the last player caught by either chain. This version reduces the time the game takes and prevents the opening minutes from feeling slow when there are too many runners for a single He to manage.

Chain He: frequently asked questions