Seven Up

Seven Up is a classic game that even you may have played in primary or elementary school. If it doesn’t sound familiar, perhaps you know this game by one of it’s other names, including: Heads Up, Seven Up; Heads Up, Thumbs Up; Thumbs Up, Seven Up; or Heads Down, Thumbs Up. Seven Up is sometimes played at children’s parties, too. The goal of the game is for selected participants to correctly guess the person who tapped their thumb or head during the heads down period. This is a great indoor game for a group of seven or more children.

Heads Down

In order to start the game, a leader selects seven students. These students come to the front of the room. The leader then instructs children to put their heads down by saying “Heads down all around.” In some versions, children are required to put their heads down and thumbs up. The children who are not standing at the front of the room should close their eyes, put their heads down, and put up one thumb, if that is the version being played. Then the chosen seven walk around the room and select one person each. They may select the person by either tapping their head or patting their raised thumb, according to the version being played. This takes approximately one minute, depending on the size of the group.

Heads Up

The seven selected participants should return to the front of the room once they have made their selection. Once they have all returned, the leader may call out, “Heads up, stand up!” or “Heads up, seven up!” Those children who have been tapped by someone during the heads down period should stand up or raise their hands. At this point, they go around the room and guess the name of one of the children standing at the front of the room, according to who they believe tapped their thumb or head. When a child chooses correctly, he or she may stand up and replace the child who tapped him or her. Once all seven children have made their guesses and possibly replaced the person whose name they guessed correctly, the game begins again.

Considerations

Children who guess first are at a disadvantage compared to those who guess last, since potential pickers are eliminated during the process. The leader can make the game fairer by changing the order in which children must guess. For instance, alphabetical order, birthday, or going from front-to-back or back-to-front in the room. It is important for the leader of the game to stay on the lookout for students who cheat by opening their eyes while the seven chosen players circulate. This can ruin the game for the other players.

Variations

This game can be played with smaller groups, in which it is a good idea to choose fewer than seven students to start at the front of the room. You will notice that the fewer students there are in general, the easier it is to guess the picker.