Hide-and-seek or hide-and-go-seek is a variant of the game tag

Tag (game)

Tag is a playground game played worldwide that involves one or more players chasing other players in an attempt to tag or touch them, usually with their fingers. There are many variations...

, in which a number of players conceal themselves in the environment, to be found by one or more seekers.

Variants

Numerous variants of the game can be found around the world. In some variations players may move to other hiding spots while the seeker, generally known as "it", is not looking, and those who can remain hidden the longest are considered to be the best players.

Normal variant 1

In the normal variant, "it" counts to a number that was designated before the game started. Once "it" reaches that number he or she yells "Ready or not, here I come!" and then starts searching for the players who have hidden. When "it" finds a player, "it" will generally say something along the lines of, "I see you (player), you are hidden in (hiding place)," so that the player will know he or she has been spotted. The first person "it" finds will become "it" in the next round. But "it" continues searching for other players until all the players are found. The last person found doesn't get any prize or reward but it is accepted that he or she has the best hiding place. If "it" gives up, he or she can yell "Olly olly oxen free!" and the players will come out of their hiding places, a new round will ensue with the same "it", and the players may or may not choose the same hiding place.

Normal variant 2

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 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. The seeker continues to search for hiders and if he/she finds none then he/she is "it" again in the next game. However, if "it" finds and tags someone before they are able to touch base, he/she must call out in a loud and repeated fashion "All ye all ye outs in free", "all ye, all ye, in come free", or where the call has been changed and slurred "Olly Olly Oxen free!", which means a new "it" has been tagged and all the other hiders are safe to return back to base.

Burken

In Europe, a variant of this game is called "burken" (the can), known in English as "kick the can." Here, the person who is "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 person's 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.

Rabies

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.

Sardines

A derivative game is called Sardines

Sardines (game)

Sardines is the name of numerous children's games. All have in common an aspect where the players are required to lie side by side . The two most common versions of sardines are variations of hide-and-seek and knick-knocking....

. In this variant, only one person hides and the others must then find the person that is 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

A. M. Burrage

Alfred McLelland Burrage was a British writer.He was noted in his time as an author of fiction for boys which he published under the pseudonym Frank Lelland, including a popular series called "Tufty"....

 calls this version of the game 'Smee' in his 1931 ghost story of the same name.

Midnight

A derivative game is called Midnight. In this variant, the "it" counts the times on the clock up to midnight (one o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock, etc.) before beginning to seek for those hidden. Midnight is usually played outdoors at night, sometimes in a wide area. This game is very similar to plain hide-and-seek in the dark.

Bloody Murder

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".

40-40 It

Another game is called 40-40 It (a.k.a. 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 "40-40!" (or "Yaki 123!", depending on where you come from). The hiders who are victorious have to stay near homebase until the end of the game, but they can also help the other hiders by distracting the person who is "it". 40-40 It and Yaki 123 only have one other major difference, that being at the start of a round of "40-40 it", the person who is "it" will always either count to 40 or 80, depending on how the name "40-40" is interpreted; either as the number 40 in the name meaning that you should count to 40, or the two 40s being interpreted as meaning 40 + 40 = 80, meaning that you should count to 80. In Yaki 123 there is no restriction on the number that is counted to before starting to seek.

Hide-and-Tag

A mixture of hide-and-seek and tag. The game is initially hide-and-seek, and after the first person has been found, it turns into tag. This variation allows for two techniques: at first the players want to be in well hidden areas, and later they want to be in open areas where escape is easier.