HIDE AND SEEK

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 is "it" again in the next game. However, if he finds and tags someone before they are able to touch base, he calls out in a loud and repeated fashion "All ye all ye outs in free", "all ye, all ye, in come free",  which means a new "it" has been tagged and all the other hiders are safe to return back to base.

Skills children learn while playing this game:

to hide well

to be a thorough seeker

to run fast in order to win and save yourself in a race to the save tree against the it

to be part of a group effort to set rules

to follow the groups agreed upon rules

to accept that at least once you will become “it” too and it’s no big deal

to be magnanimous in winning (everyone hates a humbug)

to enjoy nature, i.e. the open spaces, the save tree, the moon and cool breeze

to enjoy without complicated toys or equipment

to learn to go home when called even if your friends are still playing