Greeks already counted to hide in Pollux’s second century
Hide-and-seek needs at least two players, and usually more, with one seeker counting blind while the rest conceal themselves. The Greek writer Julius Pollux described the same pattern in the second century, when it was known as apodidraskinda, and children still pass its rules on by word of mouth.
One player, called it, closes their eyes and counts while the others hide, then calls out a warning such as ready or not, here I come. Often the first player found becomes the next seeker and the last one found wins; in home-base versions hiders can race back and touch base to be safe. A call like olly olly oxen free summons any remaining hiders back.
In sardines, one person hides and each finder squeezes in beside them until the last seeker loses; A. M. Burrage built his 1931 ghost story Smee around the game, and Peanuts featured a version called Ha Ha Herman. The British variant forty forty, in which a spotted hider must race the seeker back to base, goes by block one two three in Scotland and North East England, mob in Bristol and South Wales, and pom pom in Norwich.
Other ancient Greek names included phyginda. A painting from Herculaneum of around the second century AD shows the game. Psychologists use it to study theory of mind and self-control, since a seeker must resist peeking, and the Onge of Little Andaman Island use a father–son version to teach skills.
A Hide-and-Seek World Championship, based on the Italian nascondino, ran from 2010 to 2017, starting in Bergamo as a CTRL Magazine joke and later moving to the ghost town of Consonno; winners received the Golden Fig Leaf. In 2013 Japanese professor Yasuo Hazaki campaigned to add hide-and-seek to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Source: Hide-and-seek
