Most of the time, we run traditional tank battles.  But every once in a while, we get that hanker'n for something new.  The folks in H*E*A*T and Doug Gasser have come up with a number of alternative play styles:  Zombie Town, Team Deathmatch, Flag run, etc.  The most radical new type of battle is Tank Football. I know, I know, "this is an abomination to both tanking and football", etc, etc.  Sure.  But if you want to have some fun and want to try something new, give this one a spin, it really is a lot of fun.

Here is a video from the June 2009 battleday of a good sized run.  Note: this style of play works best on clean, flat surfaces.

The Rules:

These have been being tweaked continuously, but the most recent version are as follows:

1)  Flip a coin to see who "receives".  The team that "kicks off" starts by shooting one of the receiving players. The first player hit becomes the "quarterback". In tank football, only the quarterback may shoot.  

 2)  The point at which the new quarterback is hit becomes the line of scrimmage. The quarterback may not drive past the line of scrimmage, but can drive anywhere behind it.  No other players (offensive or defensive) have any driving restrictions other than the "3-foot" distance rule, (give them some room to breathe, at least).

3)  The quarterback may shoot to "pass the ball". When he shoots, the first tank to light up becomes the new quarterback at that spot. If the first player is on the other team, you have an interception and that player becomes the quarterback and play instantly switches direction.  Note: there are no huddles in tank football, play is continuous, so be careful if a defender drifts behind your quarterback.

4)  When an offensive player is hit in the end-zone, we have a touchdown.  This is followed by another kick-off. 

5)  There are no "downs" in tank football, (so it's probably more like soccer or ultimate frisbee). At any rate, you need a referee to call out the first hit.  If you have simultaneous hits, the ball goes to the defense.  If a reception causes a tank to die, continue play as if that tank did not exist.  (We have generally allowed dead tanks to rejoin play, but they had to go to the sideline first).  Also, we have always run with all tanks having the same number of hits...for instance, "heavy" mode.

That's about it.  These rules are pretty fast and loose, so feel free to change them as you need, to make it fun for your group. If you have suggestions, please post them to our forums, we'd love to hear from you.

Thanks!