What Franklin states
The published specification
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Players | 8, for 4 on 4 |
| Belts | 8 |
| Flags | 2 per belt |
| Colours | Four red and four yellow |
| Belt length | 34 in |
| Flag release | The entire belt detaches when a flag is pulled |
| Field marker | Bright orange bean bag |
| Case | Carrying bag included |
| Ball | Not included |
| Age floor | Not published |
| Field footprint | Not published |
Two of those lines deserve more attention than the rest.
The whole belt detaches rather than a single flag pulling free. That is a design choice with a real consequence at a party: the reset between plays is longer, because a tagged player has to re-thread and re-clip a belt rather than reattach one flag. For a school field day with a queue behind you that matters; for a Sunday afternoon it does not.
34 inches is published, which is unusual and useful. Measure it against whoever is playing before you order — this is a youth set and the number is honest about that.
Crowd
Eight players is the reason to own it
Almost everything on this site tops out at four. Cornhole is 2 or 4. Kan Jam is exactly 4. Spikeball is 4. Bocce is 2 to 4. The only published counts above that are kubb at 2 to 12, croquet at up to 6, and this set at 8.
That makes flag football one of a very small number of purchases that genuinely solves the “eight people and one four-player game” problem described in yard games for large groups. It is also, with Spikeball, one of only two things here that is properly athletic — see yard games for teenagers.
Before the first game
What else you need
- A ball. Not included. A foam or junior football is the sensible choice for a mixed group; a full-size leather ball changes who can catch.
- End zones. One bean bag marker comes in the box. Two more markers — or four shoes — turn a lawn into a field in about thirty seconds.
- An agreed rulebook. There is no single governing body for backyard flag football, so the rules are whatever you say they are before you start. The version we would use is in flag football rules for a backyard.
The whole category, and what else belongs in it, is on the field and chase games hub.
The picks in full
Every pick, with its published specs
Best for a 4 on 4 game
Franklin Sports 8 Player Youth Flag Football Set
Franklin Sports
Our spec score
7.0/10
- Spec completeness
- 7/10
- Footprint clarity
- 3/10
- Durability
- 6/10
- Pack-down
- 9/10
Scored on published specifications only. We have not played this set.
Eight 34 in belts with two flags each in two colours, a bean-bag field marker and a carry bag — everything a 4 on 4 game needs except the ball, which is not included.
Skip this if
Skip this if you were expecting a ball. Franklin publishes belts, flags, a marker and a bag, and nothing else — and the whole belt detaches when a flag is pulled, which some groups find fiddly to reset.
What works
- Published for 8 players, which is double what almost every other game on this site takes
- Belt length is published at 34 in, so you can check it against the players before buying
- A field marker and a bag in the box rather than sold separately
- Nothing goes into the ground, so it plays on a park or a rented lawn
What does not
- No ball, and Franklin says so plainly
- The whole belt detaching rather than just the flag means a longer reset between plays
- No published field dimensions, so how much lawn you need is entirely up to you
Published specifications
- Players
- 8, for 4 on 4
- Belts
- 8
- Flags
- 2 per belt; four red and four yellow
- Belt length
- 34 in
- Flag release
- The entire belt detaches when a flag is pulled
- Field marker
- Bright orange bean bag
- Case
- Carrying bag included
- Ball
- Not included
- Age floor
- —
- Field footprint
- —
Source: Franklin Sports published set specification
Source: Franklin Sports published set specification
Source: Franklin Sports published set specification
Source: Franklin Sports published set specification
Source: Franklin Sports published set specification
Source: Franklin Sports published set specification
Source: Franklin Sports published set specification
Source: Franklin Sports published set specification
Not published by the manufacturer.
Not published by the manufacturer.
Manufacturer listing: Franklin Sports published set specification
FAQ
Questions people actually ask
What comes in a flag football set?
How many people do you need for backyard flag football?
How much lawn does flag football need?
Do the belts fit adults?
Why you can check our work
We have not played these. Every figure above is copied from a manufacturer's published listing or a governing body's published rules, and named so you can verify it. Where a maker publishes nothing, the field is blank rather than filled in. How we pick explains the whole method, including what would change a recommendation.
Read next
Related pages
Picks
Field & chase games
Running games for big open lawns — disc golf, capture the flag and gaga ball, and what each needs.
Guide
Flag football rules for a backyard
The six things to settle before kickoff, and why no published rulebook covers a backyard game.
Picks
Best yard games for large groups
The games that genuinely absorb a crowd, by published player count and turn length.
Picks
Yard games for teenagers
The games with a real skill ceiling — and the ones teenagers abandon in ten minutes.
Picks
Yard games for a school field day
Fixed rotations and thirty children a station — what resets fast and survives all day.
Picks
Best yard games for big lawns
The games that need 60 feet or more — and finally work when you have it.
Sources
Every figure on this page is copied from one of these sources. If you find one that is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it.