Do you remember playing Forty Forty?
You might have called it Relieve You or Kick the Can.
Up north, we called it Tinkernelly.
It’s a cross between hide & seek and tag. And seriously it’s the best game ever!
All the kids on our street from four or so up, played it for hours on end.
And I have these vivid memories of us all being out after dark – unsupervised! – still playing. I can feel the excitement now of trying to sneak back to “homie” without getting caught.
If I could give my seven year old anything in the world, it would be that lost freedom to play out!
That’s pretty hard on a car lined London street. But I’m trying. And luckily we have a lovely park at the end of the road and it’s full of great trees for hiding behind.
But it’s also great fun indoors!
And perfect when the whole family is stuck inside together whether through snow, rain or a quarantine lockdown.
It’s a brilliant way to burn off angry, anxious energy together and reconnect.
Just in case you’ve forgotten how to play Forty Forty, here’s how … you just have to pass it onto your kids!
How To Play Forty Forty
- one person is “it”
- they stand at “homie” (somewhere in the middle of good hiding places)
- the count to 40 while everyone hides
- when they finish counting, they go looking for the others … so far so hide and seek …
- but whilst they’re looking, everyone else is trying to sneak back to homie …
- … without getting caught!
Depending on how you and your kids view the status of being “it”, you can either play:
- first home without getting caught is “it” next
- or first caught becomes “it” … but if someone makes it home, they free everyone before them who got caught, if you get my drift.
If your kids don’t know it, you have to share it with them.
You hide, you run, you chase. It’s whoop out loud fun! What’s not to like?
Give it a go and let me know if your family enjoy it as much as mine and for simple, family games and activities indoors and outside follow me on Pinterest and check out these ideas:
Annabel says
We called it “1,2,3 in!” in Hampshire, I loved it!
Alice says
It’s the best isn’t it! I do think Tinkernelly (Staffordshire) has a lovely ring to it – my 7 year old trying v hard to convert south London to calling it Tinkernelly rather than 40 40 🙂