Hide & Seek variations
Fun twists on this classic game like Sardines and Hide & Seek Tag
Hide & Seek is, in our opinion, one of the most classic and universally-recognised ways to play.
Its simplicity, relatability and level of fun is exactly why we based our name on it - not to mention the whole “we're here to help you seek play ideas” thing! ☺️
Did you know there are many Hide & Seek variations played across the globe? For instance, there’s Taguan or “Twilight game” in the Philippines (where my parents were born), which is played at sunset or in the evening, originally...
Play
1. The original: Pick one person to be the seeker, who will close their eyes and count up to a number (usually 10) while everyone else finds a place to hide. When the seeker finishes counting they announce something like, "Ready or not! Here I come!" and attempts to find everyone. Once everyone is found, the game then restarts with a new seeker.
2. Sardines: Like the original, but backwards! A great one for helping a group of kids bond & get into giggle fits. Pick one person to be the hider, while the rest seek. If someone finds the hider, they switch sides and join their hiding spot trying to keep quiet. The game ends when the last seeker discovers the (probably giggling) bunch of "sardines" crammed together.
3. Teaming up: the main difference here is you don't want any other hiders to spot your hiding place! same steps as the original, but when someone is found, they join the seeker to look for the others.
4. Hide & tag: Here, the seeker stands at the designated "safe spot" (e.g a tree) then closes their eyes and counts as normal while everyone hides. When the seeker is looking, everyone tries to run or sneak back to the safe spot without getting caught by the seeker.
5. Hide in the dark: Turn the lights off or play outside in the dark for another level of suspense! You can use torches to tag hiders, or add a version of "Marco Polo" where the seeker calls "Marco!" and the hider/s reply "Polo!" to give them audible clues.
6. Hot & cold: This time you'll have a seeker, hider/s, and an additional clue-giver. Whoever is designated as the clue-giver gets to see where the hiders went, and then keeps the seekers updated if they're "cold" (too far) or close ("hot"). e.g. "You're getting warmer!", "Oops, you're freezing cold right now!", or "You're hot like fire!"
7. Hide the treasure: Make it a scavenger hunt instead. Everyone picks a special thing (or multiple objects) to be the treasure to hide, e.g. toys, chocolate coins. Whichever team or individual is hiding will go hide the treasure while the seeker/s count. As a creative addition, the hiding team can draw up a rough map for the seekers to follow, or give clues as they go.
