Mr. Ballantyne says, "This game usually ended in a promiscuous 'catching' and 'touching' game, each lad trying to catch the lass he liked best, and some lads, for the fun of the thing, would try and get a particular girl first, her wishes and will not being considered in the matter; and it seemed to be an unwritten law among them for the lass to 'gang wi' the lad that catched her first,' yet I have known lassies take this opportunity to favour the lad they preferred. It was the correct thing for the people to visit each other's farms in rotation to play 'the stacks.'" This game was played when all the crops of grain were in the stackyard under thack and rape (?nape). Then it was customary for the servant lads and lasses of neighbours' "ferm toons" to gather together and play at this game. Mr. Ballantyne considers it was the third of three festivals formerly held at the ingathering of the crops.
A boys' game. One boy issues forth and tries to "tig" another, previously saying this nominy, or the first two lines--
Stag, stag arony, Ma' dog's bony, Them 'at Aw catch 'Ill ha' to go wi' me.
When one boy is tigged (or "tug") the two issue forth hand in hand, and when more, all hand in hand. The other players have the privilege of breaking the chain, and if they succeed the parties forming it are liable to be ridden back to the den. At Lepton, where the game was publicly played, the boundaries were "Billy tour end, Penny Haas end, and I' Horsin step." So played in 1810, and is still.--Easther's _Almondbury Glossary_.
In the Sheffield district it is called "Rag Stag," and is usually played in the playground, or yard, attached to a school. Any number can play. A place is chalked out in a corner or angle formed by the walls or hedges surrounding the playground. This is called the den, and a boy stands within the den. Sometimes the den is formed by chalking an area out upon a footpath, as in the game of "Bedlams." The boy in the den walks or runs out, crying, "Rag-stag, jinny I over, catching," and having said this he attempts to catch one of the boys in the playground who have agreed to play the game. Having caught him he takes him back into the den. When they have got into the den they run out hand-in-hand, one of them crying, "Rag-stag, jinny I over, touching," whilst the other immediately afterwards calls out, "Rag-stag, jinny I over, catching." They must keep hold of each other's hands, and whilst doing so the one who cried out "Touching" attempts to touch one of the boys in the playground, whilst the one who cried "Catching" attempts to catch one of such boys. If a boy is caught or touched, the two boys who came out of the den, together with their prisoner, run back as quickly as possible into the den, with their hands separated. If whilst they are running back into the den any boy in the playground can catch any one of the three who are running back, he jumps on his back and rides as far as the den, but he must take care not to ride too far, for when the boys who are already caught enter the den they can seize their riders, and pull them into the den. In this case the riders too are caught. The process is repeated until all are caught.--Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_.