Do you consider handcuffs part of the "tie up universe", or are they a different fantasy?

[ILoveHandsUp]

So the question is simple:
Do you consider games with handcuffs a separate theme from tie up games, or do you think they also belong in the same category?

[Kyle]

If it can physically restrain a person, it can qualify as part of "the universe" (I have never thought about it quite like that).

[captured_prize]

As long as it can bind or gag someone, it's part of the universe.

[GagFan96]

They are definitely a part of the tie up universe as far as I'm concerned.

[Happytie]

Leather cuffs or board metal 'bracelets' are best. Also, just found some special plastic cuffs that snap shut and need a needle in a hole to undo them, great for self bondage when used with an "ice lock".

[copperfox]

It seems like the question revolves around the “innocence” of TUGs and whether or not handcuffs are too extreme to be considered a part of such things (at least that’s the way I’m interpreting it).

That said, there are many innocent (i.e., not adult/bondage-related) TUG scenarios that might specifically be looking to use handcuffs as part of the theme, such as those involving cops and robbers or other interrogation-type games.

So, yes…they are part of the TUG universe!

[ILoveHandsUp]

I guess I should continue with another question: do you consider games of "cops and robbers" where ONLY handcuffs are used a tie-up game? Again, there is no rope, no gags, only handcuffs.

[Snozzberry]

If they can be used to bind, or prevent a Boy from moving, they are legitimate part of TUGs.

[Kyle]

I would. I don't really think binding method is what makes the determination. Admittedly, I only had a passing interest in arrest scenes/stories/etc. for a long time, though that's changed in recent years for reasons I can't explain. Handcuffs are still not my favorite restraining tool, but they have their place.

[tiedinbluetights]

I guess I should continue with another question: do you consider games of "cops and robbers" where ONLY handcuffs are used a tie-up game? Again, there is no rope, no gags, only handcuffs.

Yes, most definitely. At least for me, a "tie-up game" does not require rope, so long as there is a person being restrained in some way (how I define "tied-up") for fun and games. Handcuffs, either just on self or to an object like a bedpost or chair-arm, do the trick.

[ILoveHandsUp]

Yes, most definitely. At least for me, a "tie-up game" does not require rope, so long as there is a person being restrained in some way (how I define "tied-up") for fun and games. Handcuffs, either just on self or to an object like a bedpost or chair-arm, do the trick.

So when I was a teenager, and I was babysitting a younger boy who was playing arrest games with me: he was a cop with a gun and handcuffs, and I was the criminal being arrested ("Hands up! Don't move! You are under arrest!") and handcuffed. There was nothing in this game beyond me being handcuffed with my hands behind my back.
You still say that I did play a tie up game? If so, it makes me feel more like I belong in here despite not having a background of "actual" tie ups.

[tiedinbluetights]

Yep! I'd say you played an innocent kid's tie-up game, for fun. I presume the handcuffs were probably play-handcuffs, easily escapable with a release latch, but even if they were real genuine handcuffs, then even more so.

As some posters have pointed out how innocent or adult the game is, it is still a game for fun, and likewise so whether it is proper bondage rope, just tape, or only handcuffs (cheap plastic toy ones, or real cop ones by professional restraint manufacturers), it is, in my most humbe opinion, still a tie-up (i.e restraint) game.

But other people's opinions may vary so I suspect there are some who would disagree, but I think it a minority, as, on the flip-side, people who disapprove of tie-up games would disapprove irrespective of whether rope was used or only handcuffs. Just my two cents!

[Jeffpa1967]

I'm not big into metal cuffs but love leather cuffs.