Back in elementary school, we all played many games and sports that slowly faded away as we got older. But this does not mean that these games are no longer fun, and it definitely does not mean that they should not be played by a bunch of 20-year-old college students. While we might not have a playground and an hour set aside every day for us to run around anymore, we still have an entire Quad — and two swings — to use to our full advantage.

My favorite game during recess was always capture the flag. If you don’t know how to play, here is a quick recap. You split into two teams, set your base sides, and a boundary line in the middle. Each team has a flag, a jail, and a safe zone. The game begins, and the two teams try to sneak onto each other’s sides to capture the flag. If you get caught, you get sent to jail and hope that one of your teammates will brave the journey to rescue you. The game ends if someone is able to outsmart the other team, capture their flag, and bring it over to the other side.

This could be fun for team bonding, to play with your club, or just with a bunch of friends. Here at St. Olaf, we have 11 miles of sidewalks and four miles of roads; let’s use them to our advantage. Make boundaries from the Center for Art and Dance all the way to Old Main, or for less running, Mellby lawn. Set the rules, make sure everyone knows what is out of bounds, and set a time to play. I recommend playing on the weekends or at night, so your game does not interfere with passing periods. If you want to be less in the middle of campus, there are always places like the Natural Lands or the bottom of Old Main hill.

Arguably, in college, we are more stressed than we ever have been before, so we are more in need of the fun escape of running around. No one ever said that capture the flag has an age limit, so with the weather hopefully about to get warmer, go outside and have some fun.