Capture the Flag — the greatest FPS mode is endangered
It never got better than capture the flag. The classic CTF mode blends casual fun and competitive depth in a way few multiplayer modes can match.
FOV 90 — a column from Morgan Park. FLAG STOLEN. FLAG DROPPED. FLAG STOLEN. FLAG DROPPED. Those calls were the anthem of capture the flag, a pillar of multiplayer FPS that’s been around for over three decades. Popularized by Dave “Zoid” Kirsch’s Threewave CTF mod for Quake, the mode etched itself into the memories of '90s and '00s players. Two teams, two flags, two bases: a tense mix of last-ditch heroics, disciplined defense, and unexpected upsets. CTF manages to be both casually fun and strategically deep—at once a communal heist and a test of coordination and daring plays, a mode I’d call nearly perfect.
