Freeze & thaw

A tag that freezes instead of handing off a role, plus a second interaction that lets a free runner thaw a frozen one. This is the Freeze Tag shape.

State

playerJoinStates:
  - { it: true,  frozen: false }   # the tagger(s)
  - { it: false, frozen: false }   # runners (last entry repeats)

Show frozen players

theme:
  playerMarkers:
    - { when: { key: frozen, value: true }, color: "#60a5fa" }   # icy blue
    - { when: { key: it,     value: true }, color: "#dc2626" }   # tagger red
    - { color: "#16a34a" }                                       # free runner green

First-match-wins, so list frozen first if a frozen player could also be “it”.

Freeze on tag

A tagger touching a free runner freezes them — note we do not hand off it:

interactions:
  - verb: freeze
    label: "Freeze"
    rangeMeters: 5
    initiatorFilters: [{ key: "state.it", value: true }]
    targetFilters:    [{ key: "state.frozen", value: false }]

rules:
  - id: freeze
    when:
      kind: and
      children:
        - { kind: interaction, verb: freeze }                 # same = tagger, other = runner
        - { kind: state_equals, who: other, key: it, value: false }
    do:
      - { kind: set_state, target: other, key: frozen, value: true }
      - { kind: send_event, to: other, event: { type: toast, text: "Frozen! Wait for a thaw." } }

Thaw by a teammate

A free runner reaching a frozen one unfreezes them. Use a separate interaction so the player chooses to thaw:

interactions:
  # …plus the freeze interaction above…
  - verb: thaw
    label: "Thaw"
    rangeMeters: 3
    initiatorFilters: [{ key: "state.frozen", value: false }, { key: "state.it", value: false }]
    targetFilters:    [{ key: "state.frozen", value: true }]

rules:
  - id: thaw
    when: { kind: interaction, verb: thaw }                   # same = thawer, other = frozen player
    do:
      - { kind: set_state, target: other, key: frozen, value: false }
      - { kind: send_event, to: other, event: { type: toast, text: "Thawed — run!" } }

Win when everyone’s frozen

The taggers win the instant zero runners are unfrozen:

- id: all_frozen
  when:
    kind: and
    children:
      - { kind: count_state, who: any, key: frozen, value: false, n: 0 }   # no free runners left
      - { kind: state_equals, who: same, key: it, value: true }
      - { kind: state_equals, who: same, key: announced, value: false }
  do:
    - { kind: set_state, target: same, key: announced, value: true }
    - { kind: send_event, to: any, event: { type: toast, text: "All frozen — taggers win!" } }
    - { kind: end_game }

Note

count_state … value: false, n: 0 is “nobody is unfrozen.” Mind that taggers themselves have frozen: false; filter them out of the count (e.g. track runners with a runner: true flag and count runner=true, frozen=false) if your tagger count would otherwise keep n above 0.

This pattern is a variation on Tagging — same interaction machinery, different state effect (disable + revive instead of handoff). See the Freeze Tag game in the catalog.