Sardines Game: Rules, Fair Hider Picks and Safety

Sardines is hide and seek turned upside down: one player hides and everyone else seeks. When a seeker finds the hider, they quietly squeeze into the hiding place too, until the whole group is packed in like sardines in a tin. It is a favourite for birthday parties, sleepovers and big houses on rainy days. Here are the rules, how to choose the hider fairly, and how to keep it safe.

Rules

1. Agree on the play area and any rooms that are off limits.
2. Choose one player to be the hider (see below for a fair way).
3. Everyone else closes their eyes in one room and counts slowly, usually to 50 or 100, while the hider finds a spot big enough for several people.
4. Seekers then spread out and search on their own, not in groups.
5. When you find the hider, do not shout. Wait until nobody is watching and squeeze in beside them.
6. As more seekers find the spot, the hiding place fills up and gets harder to keep quiet.
7. The last seeker to find the group loses that round. In many groups, the first seeker who found the hider becomes the next hider; in others, the last one does.

Choosing the Hider Fairly

Hiding is the best job in sardines, so children notice quickly if the same person keeps getting it. Picking a random player each round sounds fair, but it can take a long time before everyone has had a turn. Here is the average number of rounds until every player has hidden at least once, compared with a shuffled order:

With 8 players, random picks take about 22 rounds on average to give everyone a turn, and some games would end long before that. A shuffled order gives everyone one turn in 8 rounds. Put all the names into the Random Name Picker and remove each name after it is picked, or write names on slips and draw them from a hat. For the very first round, a coin flip between two volunteers works too.

Good Hiding Places

• Behind long curtains or under a big bed.
• Inside a walk-in wardrobe or pantry (never one that locks).
• Behind a sofa pulled away from the wall.
• Under a table covered with a long tablecloth.
• In the garden: behind a shed or a thick hedge, if the play area includes it.

A good sardines spot has room for half the group. A spot that fits only the hider ends the round too quickly.

Safety Rules

• Never hide in anything that can lock or close by itself: car boots, chests, freezers, old fridges or washing machines.
• No hiding on roofs, near pools or ponds, or in sheds with tools or chemicals.
• Agree on a call, such as “Come out, come out!”, that ends the round and brings everyone back.
• Set a time limit, say 10 minutes, after which the hider shows themselves.
• An adult should know the play area and count heads after every round.

Variations

• Sardines in the dark: played at dusk with the lights off and torches allowed, for older children with an adult nearby.
• Team sardines: two hiders in two places; seekers join whichever group they find first, and the bigger group wins.
• Silent sardines: any noise from the hiding place lets the remaining seekers ask one yes-or-no question about where it is.

For more party games, try blind man’s bluff or musical chairs.

FAQ

How do you play sardines?

One player hides and everyone else seeks alone. When a seeker finds the hider, they join them in the hiding place. The last seeker to find the group loses the round.

Who hides next in sardines?

It depends on house rules: often the first seeker to find the hider, sometimes the last. For fair turns, use a shuffled list so everyone hides once.

How is sardines different from hide and seek?

In hide and seek one player seeks and everyone hides. In sardines it is reversed: one player hides and everyone seeks, joining the hider when they find them.

How many players do you need for sardines?

At least four, but it is more fun with six to twelve so the hiding place really fills up.

Why is the game called sardines?

Because the players end up squeezed together in the hiding place like sardines packed in a tin.