All nine games

🦗 How to play Hide and Seek with kids

The seeker counts with eyes covered while everyone hides; or hide one thing that makes a sound and hunt for it together.

Ages 2+ · Players 2 or more · Time 10–20 minutes · You need good hiding places

Rules

1. The seeker covers their eyes while the count goes out loud.
2. Everyone else hides before the count ends.
3. Stuck? Ask for a clue: every hider has to make a little sound.
4. Variation, find the cricket: a grown-up hides something that chirps, and everyone hunts for it.

Make it fit the youngest player

• Ages 2–4: Count to 10. The cricket chirps loudly and often.
• Ages 5–7: Count to 20. The cricket chirps every few seconds.
• Ages 8–10: Count to 30. The cricket is quiet and shy.

Nobody is ever out: a mistake becomes a wiggle or a giggle, so the littlest player keeps playing.

No phone? No problem

Count out loud yourselves. For clues, the seeker shouts "Marco!" and hiders must answer "Polo!"

Or let the phone run it

Romparoo counts for the seeker, so even a toddler can be the seeker, and tells hiders to squeak when the seeker needs a clue. Or a grown-up hides the phone and it chirps like a cricket until someone finds it. Hide & Seek is one of nine games in Romparoo, a free iPhone app with no ads, no accounts and no tracking. It is coming soon to the App Store.

Play safely

Clear the floor, keep cushions low and never climb on furniture. A grown-up should always be around when little ones play.