Talk:Darebase

I've written this page without reference to anything other than facts from personal knowledge and experience, which I substantiated with others that played the game in other parts of the country. So, before someone points out that this doesn't adequately reference its sources: it doesn't have any. There are countless non-academic topics that cannot be referenced, but exist in the collective knowledge of humankind. Wikipedia should not be considered inferior for its unprecedented ability to use general human knowledge as a reference source. However, if anyone actually has actual references, by all means! DeepSkyFrontier 18:38, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Thank you to whoever removed the inappropriate picture of the "Darebase Vets." DeepSkyFrontier (talk) 21:54, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

Variation

There is a very similar variation to Darebase that has been played in Hawaii since I was a child (1970’s). It is called StealBase.

The game is played with two opposing teams each at an assigned base situated across a large open field. The concept of being “fresher” is referred to as power or mana (Hawaiian). When a person is touching their base they are fully charged and upon leaving their base their power begins to drain. So unlike using lines, hierarchies of who has the higher amount of mana (power) and can thus tag a lower power player is based on the order that a player leaves their base. Then can return to their base to “recharge” and reset their power level.

I think the one of the big concepts/challenge of this game is that it challenges participants to test their memory in that they need to know what the power hierarchy on the field is at any one time, which also requires a lot of verbal communication between team members.

I have played variations where power can be transferred to another team member person by touching (recharging) them, although this can make the game much more confusing when trying to keep track of who has the most power especially when large groups play.

Members who are tagged go to Jail with basically the same concepts. They must be touching a set Jail spot, can form standing/lying down chains, and the entire group can be rescued by touching any jailed member.

The game is won by touching or “stealing” the opposing teams’ base. Thus there is usually at least one person guarding the base at all times. The base us usually something substantial like a tire, pole, tree trunk or boulder….which is small enough to allow for a person to reasonably guard, but big enough so that it cannot be covered or moved (like a shoe or shirt).

The strategy is very similar in that it’s mostly about trying to lure opposing players far enough away in order to try and tag them with a higher power player.

Perhaps it could be added as a variation. As you stated I have never been able to come across any verifiable source for the history, origins etc for this game. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Opihimonster (talk • contribs) 16:05, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

That's fascinating. It's definitely a variation and I'd love to know more about its origin and whether one comes from the other or if they have a common ancestor. The concept of Mana sounds like it's the same thing as being Fresher- not based on position but based on how long it had been since you left the line. Until I know better, I'll label Stealbase as a variation of Darebase and include the salient differences. I need more data! DeepSkyFrontier (talk) 15:52, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

---

I have played Darebase for several years at summer camp, and was wondering if anyone knew if there were any group affiliations with the game? The two camps that I have found it played at were both Seventh-day Adventist sponsered. --Twillumson (talk) 01:06, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Darebase vs. Prisoner's Base

These are two different games, at least the way we played at the school I went to. The key difference is that in Prisoner's Base, captured people become prisoners, which can be freed if tagged. We usually played this with two teams arranged orthogonally along the soccer field with a line demarcating the base line of each team. In darebase, captured players became a part of the capturing team. Furthermore, in darebase, we used small bases, usually the concrete pad at the entrance to one of the school buildings. There could be more than two teams, although the more teams there are, the more difficult it is to be certain who is fresher.

The two games are similar, but the feel of the game is quite different. Because of the prison, in prisoner's base, the play is much more directional. In darebase, the targets are all over the place, so the feel is more random or chaotic. Victor Engel (talk) 19:24, 25 November 2012 (UTC)

I'd like to note that the "Prisoner's Base" game referred to in the Nero Wolfe novel is not this. It's the game we called "baserunner" when I was a kid. It is not a team game. It requires only three players, although other players can be substituted into the game. It requires a ball. It's essentially getting from one base to another without being tagged out. This game is also called "pickle" in some places. http://www.gameskidsplay.net/games/ball_games/pickle.htm It's also called "rundown" -- because it is a baseball game and a rundown is a baseball play. In the novel, Archie Goodwin says in Chapter 13, "... but this was more like prisoner's base. The phone in the living room was one base, and the elevator outside was the other, and it was up to Sarah Jaffee to make the run without being tagged." Wastrel Way (talk) 03:23, 3 October 2024 (UTC)Eric

Base vs. Bars

These are two different words. The word bars is more related to the French term barres. The English game of Bars is probably the same as Jeu de Barres in France and Barlauf or Barrlauf in Germany. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.108.125.220 (talk) 15:54, 21 February 2022 (UTC)