The Wake

“This isn’t flag football.”

The bewildered young man took in the scene that played out in front of Carlson. College students clad
in red and blue with flag belts on their waists dodged through the night. There was no ball, nor any goal lines in sight. No player had time to answer, and he was left to walk away in confusion. He had unwittingly stepped into a match of the game called Bucket Wars.

It started out in a study lounge in Middlebrook Hall, fall semester of 2007. Jeff Shockley wasn’t feeling the study vibe, so instead he began thinking about Capture the Flag. What if it could be played across East and West Bank? Jeff and his distracted study buddy Josh Kiley began dreaming about a BIG game of Capture the Flag.

The study session gone awry grew into a fever. Jeff wrote the rules for the new game the next day in class, and they began discussing it with their Middlebrook friends. They spent weeks fixing potential holes and ultimately defining the game.

Like Capture the Flag, the goal of Bucket Wars is to capture the other team’s flag. Unlike Capture the Flag, there are no “sides” in Bucket Wars. Anyone can be tagged out anywhere if deflagged. Once a flag is removed by an opponent, the only way the player can continue is to return to one of his team’s buckets to find a new flag. These buckets are placed on specific points of the playing field and can be captured by the other team—hence the name Bucket Wars.

Bucket Wars also differs from traditional Capture the Flag in that there are specific players—“Jimmys” and “Bucket Men”—who play key roles in the game.

Once the rules were established, it was time to make Bucket Wars a reality. Josh and Jeff gave a presentation to the Middlebrook Hall Council and received funding for the necessary equipment. Aided by their friends, the war supplies were constructed and the word was spread. Their efforts culminated with a successful first game on the night of Dec. 1, 2007.

The celebration afterwards in the season’s first snow was the best moment, Josh and Jeff agreed. The pair stood up to thank everyone for playing and the Bucket Warriors cheered. They had devoted countless hours to developing the game and to have seen it come together was an emotional moment.

Other memorable moments include triumphant victory runs with captured flags, and the collision between two Bucket Warriors that left one with a broken tooth and the other with stitches in his forehead.

The physicality that arose in the first two games was a surprise, said Josh. “We didn’t anticipate that
people were getting really, really into the game and so they became really aggressive, violent at some
points.” Josh and Jeff introduced cues about fair play and nonaggression to their pregame pep talks, but emotions can still run high. “It’s kind of a cool thing, actually,” Josh admitted with a laugh. “But still a problem,” added Jeff.

Bucket Wars is a new game, and though more people show up for every match, the creators don’t plan to change anything—yet.

“Part of Bucket Wars is being fucking weird, crazy, and unpredictable, so we’re going to make it weird,
crazy and unpredictable. You can pretty much count on something happening,” promised Jeff.

Bucket Wars has woven a thread of unity amongst the players, many of whom are former Middlebrook
residents. At each game the experienced players can reunite while new players are welcomed into the fold. While it’s “not just a cult thing,” according to Jeff, it has inspired a unique zeal in all who partake in the experience.

Keeping Bucket Wars alive takes some dedication. No longer Middlebrook residents, the now-sophomores finance the games themselves. Not playing is not an option, they agreed. If necessary, Josh vowed to donate plasma to fund Bucket Wars. It’s an admirable idea—as long as he doesn’t do it on the day of a Bucket Wars match. A Bucket Warrior must show no weakness.

Bucket Wars reconvenes on November 7, and everybody is invited. “It’s a game anyone can play,” Matt Fitzgerald said after his first match. He cited the importance of strategy over physical size or strength as a highlight of Bucket Wars. Intrigued? For more information visit www.bucketwars.com or Facebook “Bucket Warriors.”