Catch the Barrel is a cosplay game played every year in the halls of Anime Boston. It does not require you to sign up in advance and anyone may play, but you must be in full costume to participate - cosplayers in street clothes and those in partial costume (i.e. just wearing a jacket or a headband over plain clothes) may not play. Attendees dressed as non-Japanese characters may also participate.

RULES for 2010:

Catch the Barrel - Past vs. Present vs. Future!

Anime Boston is being threatened by Time Manipulators! The past, present and future are at risk! Starting Friday, three Barrels marked "Catch the Barrel" will circulate in the halls; each Barrel is a High-Tech Time Manipulator which can rip Time apart in one direction: Past, Present or Future. The forces of Chaos want to use these to throw All of Time into Chaos! For Time to be saved, we need to Reverse the Polarity on all the Time Manipulators to turn them into Time Stabilizers before the Forces of Chaos complete their evil plot! But the Polarity of a Time Manipulator is determined by the Temporal Origin of the person who possesses it...

HOW TO PLAY: All Anime Boston cosplayers are invited to play (full costume is required -- a ninja headband doesn't count). Choose your team from Past, Present, Future or Chaos, depending on what your character represents (if you're unsure, just pick one; you can switch if you change costumes). If you see someone on an opposing team carrying a barrel, challenge them to a single combat of rock-paper-scissors; the winner keeps the barrel until it is taken in another challenge. Once one team gets 150 captures on a barrel, they've officially secured that barrel and can bring the barrel to Masquerade Headquarters or the Information Desk, where a Cosplot staffer will take the barrel and give credit to the winner and their team.

If Past, Present or Future secure a Barrel, their timeframe is safe, but they then need to make sure their team doesn't also capture a second Barrel, or they will doom one of the other timeframes. If Chaos secures a barrel, they Reverse its Polarity, and whoever who gets the 150th capture gets to decide which timeframe to attack with it: Past, Present or Future!

More combat means faster victory. The full rules are available on fliers at the Information Desk and Masquerade Headquarters and are also printed on the Barrels, so watch for them in the halls!

In the end, the "Barrels" must be delivered to Main Events Chess on Sunday Morning at 10:30 AM; prizes will be given to those who deliver them.

DO NOT wrestle, run or cause a disturbance. DO NOT Challenge inside showings or events. DO NOT intentionally ruin your rival Team's events or photo shoots. If you want to attend an event or leave the convention for a while, give the "Barrel" to a teammate first. If you can't get rid of a "Barrel", leave it by Masquerade Headquarters. DO NOT open the "Barrel" or something horrible will happen. DO NOT hide the "Barrel" or keep it among a small group without giving others a turn.

IF YOU CHEAT AND RUIN THEIR FUN, GREED AND OROCHIMARU WILL HOLD YOU DOWN WHILE HOLLOWS BEAT YOU TO DEATH WITH TAMAKI'S WALLET!

Catch the Barrel is now part of the Continuing Cosplay Plotline! Starting in 2007 an overarching story involving rivalries between different groups (Ninjas, Alchemists, Pirates, Shinigami and more) has continued through all the main cosplay events (the Anime Dating Game, Masquerade, Cosplay Human Chess and Catch the Barrel) knitting them together into a single story. This Cosplay Plotline will continue at Anime Boston 2010, and have its spectacular finale at Cosplay Chess! For more details, how to participate in the Continuing Cosplay Plotline, and a summary of what has happened so far, see the Continuing Cosplay Plotline Page.