How to Play Hide and Go Seek

Hide and seek is a timeless game that has been played by children throughout the ages. It isn't only children who enjoy it - a natural instinct for parents is to play a facial form of hide and seek with their children from the earliest age, as it teaches children about attachment and detachment in a safe and caring environment. Leaving aside the psychology, however, the outdoor game provides wonderful interaction amongst children, is easy to play and never gets boring.

Steps   [edit]

  1. Select the players. The first thing you need to do to play "Hide and Seek" is to recruit players. At least three players are needed to play the game. Naturally, however, the more players you have, the better.
  2. Find a suitable location. An outdoor location works best, although indoors is fine for rainy days. Establish a "home base" at an easily recognizable landmark, such as a tree or a patio. It will be necessary to set boundaries for hiding or you will have players running off to too many far-off locations. If playing indoors, some rooms may be "out of bounds" to protect fragile objects and furniture.
  3. Determine who will be "It". Working out who is "It" can be done a variety of ways, for instance - the youngest person might be "It" first; or the person whose birthday is next might be "It" first; or use an elimination word game, such as "One Potato, Two Potato" or similar game.
  4. Counting, 1,2,3
    Counting, 1,2,3
    Begin the game. Once the person who will be "It" has been chosen, he or she stays at home base, closes his or her eyes and begins counting out loud to a number from about 10 to 100. The number you choose should be based on how many people are playing the game and the distances to hiding spots. The more people, the higher the number should be.
  5. Hide. All of the players who are not "It" should run off and quietly hide from the player who is counting. The person who is "It" is not allowed to peek at the players hiding from him or her.
  6. Begin the seeking. Once the player who is "It" has finished counting, he or she yells "Ready or not, here I come!". At this point, the player who is "It" must try to find and tag all of the other players who have hidden. At the same time, all of the players who hid try to get back to "home base" without being tagged by whoever is "It".
  7. Change the person who is "It". The player who gets tagged first becomes "It" in the next round of the game. If no one is tagged, and all players make it back to home base untagged, then the player who was "It" remains "It" until he or she tags another player.


Tips   [edit]

  • If you have younger children, you can play this right inside the house. When you hide and the little ones find you, they laugh in delight.
  • Try to find different places to hide, but do not make it too hard to find you. Younger children can become frustrated when they cannot find you.
  • If some of the hidden players do not return home before a predetermined period of time, the person who is "It" should give the universal "all clear" signal. Yell, "Olly, olly, otsinfree!" or "All, all outs in free." The person who is "It" must take another turn as "It" or appoint a willing volunteer to take his or her place.