Zarnitsa (game)

Zarnitsa was a massive children's war game organized within the Young Pioneers organization, formally called the All-Union Young Pioneer military sports game Zarnitsa. The Russian word zarnitsa literally means heat lightning. The game imitated military actions such as reconnaissance and battles. Its rules are based on capture the flag: two teams each hold a base with a flag, and the goal is to take the opponent's flag while keeping one's own. Every player wears two shoulder straps that act as health indicators and can be torn off by opponents, one lost meaning wounded and two meaning dead. It was intended for schoolchildren in classes four to seven, aged ten to thirteen, and was revived in modern Russia.