History Main / CaptureTheFlag

* The ''VideoGame/{{Unreal}}'' series has used this in every incarnation so far. ''VideoGame/UnrealTournamentIII'' has a two-in-one LampshadeHanging and HandWave: Reaper, the main character, is initially confused as to why their mercenary team is apparently playing a game. His sister and fellow merc Jester explains that the flags are actually '''F'''ield '''La'''ttice '''G'''enerators which power the teams' respawners, and if they capture enough of the enemy's [=FLaGs=], it'll shut down the respawners for good and let them [[FinalDeath kill the enemy soldiers for real]]. Reaper's response? "It looks like a flag, it waves like a flag, it's a flag."

* ''WesternAnimation/CraigOfTheCreek'': It's revealed that in "Ancients of the Creek'' that the first game since the foundation of the Creek ended up GoesHorriblyWrong to the part it became an all-out war between different Creek kids to the point the Founders left the Creek and the result of it became a mystery which lead to Craig finding the flags used for the game in ''The Last Game of Summer'' before keeping them away from anyone. This all comes back in the Season 3 finale "Capture The Flag" special, when Craig uses the flags in form of a GodzillaThreshold to [[spoiler:challenge King Xavier in a winner-takes-all for the liberation of the Creek from his tyranny.]]

-->--''Machinima/RedVsBlue''

%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1610233618044391800
%% Please see thread to discuss a new image.

* ''VideoGame/JazzJackrabbit 2'' is a rare sidescrolling version.

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/TeamFortress2 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tf2ctf.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Dissimile}} And by flag we mean a glowing briefcase.]]]]

* A common Paintball scenario.

** After the Blue Flag is recovered near the end of the first season, the flags of the Blood Gulch bases are only ever brought up once later, when the Reds consider asking for it in a hostage negotiation but decide against it when he fear taking it again would result in [[ActionGirl Tex]] kicking their asses to get it back again.\\

* [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1776 SCP-1776]] of the Wiki/SCPFoundation uses MindManipulation to get people to play Capture the Flag, but makes them think it's real rather than a game. Anyone who's been a member of a military force, been a PrivateMilitaryContractor, or been a member of LaResistance will view SCP-1776 as a flag of their country or unit, and believe that anyone near SCP-1776 is an enemy who intends to destroy the flag. Those affected will use any means necessary, including very real violence, to get the flag, and then will find the closest flagpole to hoist it on, spreading the effect to others.

* [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1776 SCP-1776]] of the Wiki/SCPFoundation uses MindManipulation to get people to play Capture the Flag, but makes them think it's real rather than a game. Anyone who's been a member of a military force, been a PrivateMilitaryContractor, or been a member of LaResistance will view SCP-1776 as a flag of their country or unit, and believe that anyone near SCP-1776 is an enemy who intends to destroy the flag. Those affected will use any means necessary, including very real violence, to get the flag, then will find the closest flagpole to hoist it on, spreading the effect to others.

* The first issue of KOL's ''WesternAnimation/PrincessNatasha'' (published by DC) centered around a school contest to capture a opposing team's flag. Natasha participates in the search while trying to recover the Zoravia national flag, which her evil uncle Lubek has stolen.

* ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' has two odd variations on the formula with Rainmaker and Ride the Tower.

** In Ride the Tower, the flag takes the form of a mobile tower at the centre of the map. If a player jumps on top while there are no enemy players on it, the tower will move along a fixed path toward the goal; if no side occupies the tower for a few seconds, it will move back to the centre. As with Rainmaker, if neither team makes it all the way to the goal, the winner is whoever gets further.

* An early shareware game portrayed the actual outdoor sport, with the player running a team of kids in a field strewn with trees and rocks. It incorporated line-of-sight mechanics, and the goal was the same as in a real game: to reach the other teams hidden flag, steal it, and return it to your side while preventing the other side from doing the same to you.

* ''[[VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga Jedi Outcast]]'', in addition to your normal Capture the Flag, also has "Capture the Ysalamiri", a little reptile that nullifies the Force when in close proximity to it, which means you can't use your Force powers but nobody can use them against you either.

* The shareware game ''[[http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/capture-the-flag Capture The Flag.]]''

* ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' has an odd take on the formula with Rainmaker. In this mode, the eponymous Rainmaker sits on the center of the stage as a single "flag", with the objective being to take hold of it and carry it to the enemy base. The Rainmaker gives its holder access to a slow but powerful ChargedAttack; however, it slows the holder down severely, constantly marks their location to opponents, and it self-destructs if they hold on to it for too long, doing it faster if they try to retreat. If no team manages to carry it all the way before time runs out, then the team that made the most progress to the enemy base with it is the victor.

* ''VideoGame/BioShock2'' has "Capture the [[CreepyChild Little Sister]]" as its CTF mode.

* Epic RealLife variant: [[http://www.cmukgb.org/activities/ctfws.php Capture the Flag with Stuff.]][[note]]Incidentally, the designer of the earliest version of this game was Andrew Plotkin, aka the well-regarded InteractiveFiction author Zarf.[[/note]]

** The Lunar New Year of 2018 (Year of the Dog) brought the mode back as part of the event, but this time with an official CTF map to go with it (previous versions were just reused Control maps). Along with this, the mode received balance changes so that the flag can ow be picked up instantly, but using any movement abilities (Tracer's Blink, Lucio's Wall Ride, etc) would drop the flag.

* The shareware game ''[[http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/capture-the-flag Capture The Flag]]''.

* Epic RealLife variant: [[http://www.cmukgb.org/activities/ctfws.php Capture the Flag with Stuff]].[[note]]Incidentally, the designer of the earliest version of this game was Andrew Plotkin, aka the well-regarded InteractiveFiction author Zarf.[[/note]]

* The Castle Wars game in ''VideoGame/{{RuneScape}}''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' offers Cephalon Capture as a possible type of match for Conclave. The Cephalons, being [=AI's=], will chatter with players throughout the match.

* ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}''; [[http://xkcd.com/569/ "This is the worst Capture The Flag server ever!"]]