Editing Capture the flag (section)

==Software and games==
{{See also|Esports}}
[[File:Xonotic gameplay.png|thumb|A player standing close to the blue flag in a "capture the flag" round of the 2023 [[first-person shooter]] game ''[[Xonotic]]'']]
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In 1984, [[Scholastic Corporation|Scholastic]] published ''[[Bannercatch]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atarimagazines.com/v3n7/reviews.html |title=8-Bit Product Reviews: Bannercatch, Simulated Computer, Title Bout, MegaFont II, Boulder Dash, Operation Whirlwind, Songwriter, Video Billboard, Relax, The Institute, Montezuma's Revenge, CityWriter |publisher=Atarimagazines.com |access-date=2012-06-15 |archive-date=2012-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521205234/http://atarimagazines.com/v3n7/reviews.html |url-status=live }}</ref> for the [[Apple II]] and [[Commodore 64]] computers. An [[educational video game]] with recognizable capture-the-flag mechanics, ''Bannercatch'' allows up to two humans (each alternating between two characters in the game world) to play capture the flag against an increasingly difficult team of four AI bots. ''Bannercatch''{{'}}s game world is divided into quadrants: home, enemy, and two "no-mans land" areas which hold the jails. A successful capture requires bringing the enemy flag into one team's "home" quadrant. Players can be captured when in an enemy territory, or in "no-mans land" while holding a flag. Captured players must be "rescued" from their designated jail by one of the other members of the team. Fallen flags remain where they dropped until a time-out period elapses, after which the flag returns to one of several starting locations in home territory. The 2D map also features walls, trees and a moving river, enabling a wide variety of strategies. Special locations in the play area allow humans to query the game state (such as flag status) using binary messages.

In 1992, Richard Carr released an [[MS-DOS]] based game called ''Capture the Flag''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.carrsoft.com/ctf/capture1.html|title=Capture the Flag Game: Capture the Flag Download & Capture the Flag Shareware|website=www.carrsoft.com|access-date=2004-09-24|archive-date=2004-10-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041009185753/http://www.carrsoft.com/ctf/capture1.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It is a turn-based strategy game with [[Real-time computing|real time]] network / [[modem]] play (or [[Play-by-mail game|play-by-mail]]) based around the traditional outdoor game. The game required players to merely move one of their characters onto the same square as their opponent's flag, as opposed to bringing it back to friendly territory, because of difficulties implementing the [[artificial intelligence]] that the computer player would have needed to bring the enemy flag home and intercept opposing characters carrying the flag. {{Citation needed|date=December 2007}}

===Computer security===
[[File:DEF CON 17 CTF competition.jpg|thumb|A team competing in the CTF competition at [[DEF CON]] 17]]
{{Main|Capture the flag (cybersecurity)}}
{{See also|Wargame (hacking)}}

In [[computer security]] Capture the Flag (CTF), "flags" are secrets hidden in purposefully-vulnerable programs or websites. Competitors steal flags either from other competitors (attack/defense-style CTFs) or from the organizers (jeopardy-style challenges).<ref>{{Cite web |title=An Introduction to Cybersecurity, Capture the Flag Contests, and Basic Security Concepts |url=https://medium.com/better-programming/an-introduction-to-cybersecurity-capture-the-flag-contests-and-basic-security-concepts-80f3fbf62bbc |last=Dubey |first=Siddhant |date=2019-12-01 |publisher=Medium |language=en |access-date=2020-05-21 |archive-date=2020-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521222110/https://medium.com/better-programming/an-introduction-to-cybersecurity-capture-the-flag-contests-and-basic-security-concepts-80f3fbf62bbc |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Švábenský |first1=Valdemar |last2=Čeleda |first2=Pavel |last3=Vykopal |first3=Jan |last4=Brišáková |first4=Silvia |title=Cybersecurity knowledge and skills taught in capture the flag challenges |journal=Computers & Security |date=March 2021 |volume=102 |issue=102154 |page=102154 |doi=10.1016/j.cose.2020.102154 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167404820304272 |arxiv=2101.01421 |s2cid=230523819 |access-date=2021-02-04 |archive-date=2022-01-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121043109/http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167404820304272 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ctftime.org/ctf-wtf/|title=CTFtime.org / What is Capture The Flag?|website=ctftime.org|access-date=2023-03-06|archive-date=2023-02-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230224112858/https://ctftime.org/ctf-wtf/|url-status=live}}</reF> Several variations exist, including hiding flags in hardware devices.