Leaders of the Pack

When everything accumulates a healthy layer of snow, it’s only natural to smoosh a handful of the stuff into the vague semblance of a ball and hurl it at a friend. Call it child’s play, intuition or old-fashioned fun. Or replace its spontaneous nature with a set of meticulous guidelines and call it yukigassen.

With the goal of grabbing the other team’s pennant at the opposite end of the field or tagging opponents out via a clump of flying snow, the game borrows elements from dodgeball and capture the flag: If you’re struck by a snowball then you’re toast, and if your team’s flag is captured then your whole team is toast. Each nine-minute match is divided into three grueling sets that are won by either having the most players left when the