Hide-and-seek

For other uses, see Hide and Seek (disambiguation).

Hide and seek

Three children playing "hide and seek" in a forest
Players	2 or more
Setup time	1 minute
Playing time	no limit
Chance	Low
Age range	no limit
Skills	Running, Hunting, Tracking, Hiding, Observation

Hide-and-seek or hide-and-go-seek is a variant of the game tag, in which a number of players conceal themselves in the environment, to be found by one or more "seekers". Numerous variants of the game can be found worldwide.

Variants

In some variations players may move to other hiding spots while "it" isn't looking, and those who can remain hidden the longest are considered to be the best players.

In a more active variant, hide and seek can be combined with the game of tag. Instead of "it" simply spotting players, he or she has to tag them instead to get them out. Hiders can make a dash for 'Home Base', which is usually a landmark next to where whoever is "it" counts off. Touching the base area makes a hider safe, and the aim of the game is to touch base without being tagged; this game was, and may still be known as Pom Pom Home by school children in Berkshire (UK), which may be a variant of Pom Pom Runaway, as outlined below.

In Sweden, a variant of this game is called "burken" (the can). Here, the person who's "it" has to search for the other players and, if someone is found, run back to home base, get there before the other player and call out that persons name. The first player to be tagged in this way is "it" in the next round. However, if the last player remaining can make it to home-base without being tagged and yell "burken är sparkad. 1,2,3" ("The can is kicked. 1,2,3.") the person who's currently "it" has to be "it" in the next round as well.

One form involved Grant Owens, the multiple kabaddi world champion, hiding for up to 3 days during one match that was climatically finalized after his dog, Levi, sniffed him out due to Owens having some cheese in his pocket.

Another form similar to the above game involves tagged players becoming another "it". Rather than having a base, the aim is simply to survive as long as possible without being tagged, and the last one to not be tagged is the winner.

A derivative game is called Sardines. In this variant, only one person hides and the others must then find the person that's hiding and hide with them. The last person to find the group that's hiding is the loser. If playing indoors, turning the lights off may make it easier to hide large groups of people. A. M. Burrage calls this version of the game 'Smee' in his 1931 ghost story of the same name.

Yet another derivative game, similar to Sardines, is Bloody Murder. As in Sardines, in this variant, only one person hides, while all other players search for the hiding "it". Once "it" is found, the player who spots "it" shouts out the phrase "Bloody Murder!". The game then becomes a game of tag. All players must run to "Home Base" and the last person that "it" tags becomes the next "it".

Another name to call it is Yaki 123, where there is a home base in which the person who is it guards but has to also look for the players, the hiders try to make their way to the home base either undetected or if seen by the person who is it must get to homebase before them and call out Yaki 123. The hiders who are victorious have to stay near homebase til the end of the game, but they can also help the other hiders by distracting the person who is "it".