How to Play Heads Up Seven Up: Easy Instructions

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Learn this quick and simple kid’s game with our guide
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If you want a fun classroom game to play with your students, Heads Up Seven Up is the perfect choice for any age group. Heads Up Seven Up is great for building deductive reasoning and critical thinking, but it’s super easy for new players to jump in right away. Keep reading for all the rules to the basic game plus some fun variations to try out.

Heads Up 7 Up Rules: Quick Overview

Choose 7 students to be the first “pickers” and have everyone else put their heads down and thumbs up. Each picker chooses one person and taps them before saying “Heads up, seven up!” Anyone who was tapped gets 1 guess at who picked them.

Section 1 of 3:

Heads Up Seven Up Rules

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  1. Choose the students at random and have them stand in the front of the class. Have the rest of the students put their heads down on their desks and stick one of their thumbs up. Have the students at their desks close their eyes and tell them that no peeking is allowed. [1]
    • If you have students who tend to disrupt class or have trouble focusing, choose them to be the pickers first. They’re more likely to get involved in the game if they feel like they’re your “helpers”.
    • You can also have the students at the desk put a closed fist on their desk without sticking their thumb up.
    • Heads Up 7 Up works best if you have at least 14 people playing, but you can adjust if you have fewer people. Just make sure there are at least twice as many players as there are pickers.
  2. Once all the students have their eyes closed, the pickers walk around the classroom and each tap the thumb of a student with their head down. When a student gets their thumb tapped, that student puts their thumb down signaling that they have already been picked.
    • Children can only be picked once in a round. If the students have their thumbs down to begin with, they will put their thumb up when they are picked.
    • When you’re a picker, try to move silently around the room so no other student recognizes your voice or the sound of you walking by.
    • If you have your head down, try to listen really carefully as the pickers walk past you. If someone taps your thumb, try to remember how the person sounded or how their hand felt.
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  3. After all of the pickers choose someone, have them go back to the front of the room. When the pickers say the name of the game in unison, the other students will open their eyes and lift their heads. [2]
  4. Have any student who got picked stand up at their desk and let them each take 1 guess. If a student guesses who picked them correctly, that student becomes a picker in the next round and the other person sits down. If the student guesses incorrectly, then the child who picked them remains a picker in the next round.
    • Trying to decide who picked them is good for a student’s reasoning skills. They can analyze all the pickers to see which one looks “guilty.”
    • If you’re a picker, don’t give away who you chose until all the students have made their guesses. Try to keep a straight face so people don’t suspect you.
    • If you’re trying to figure out who picked you, take a moment to remember any details, like the sound of their shoes as they walked by, before making your guess.
  5. Heads Up Seven Up is a very popular game and your students will likely want to play it several times. Try to play a few rounds so that everyone has a chance to pick or guess. Keep track of the children you have already chosen to be “it.” Try to give as many kids a chance to be “it” as you possibly can.
    • Use the game as a reward for good behavior. Say things like, “If everyone is good today, we’ll play Heads Up Seven Up for the last few minutes of class.”
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Section 2 of 3:

Heads Up 7 Up Variation with One Picker

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  1. Instruct all the children to put their heads down and close their eyes. Make sure the children have their fists outstretched on their tables where they can be easily reached. As the teacher, walk around the classroom and tap one child on the hand. That child will be “it” and be the only picker for the round.
    • Make sure the child who is “it” does not talk after you have chosen them. You don’t want them to give away their identity to the rest of the class.
    • Encourage the kids to behave by saying things like, “I’m only going to choose a student who is being quiet and following all the rules.”
  2. Have the student who is “it” walk around the room and tap 6 other students on the hand. When a student is picked, that student gets up from their seat and walks to the front of the class. After everyone has been chosen, the picker returns to the front of the class and everyone standing up says “Heads up, seven up!” Then, all the students at their desks lift their heads up and open their eyes. [3]
  3. Give the students at their desks a chance to examine the 7 students in the front of the class. Tell them to raise their hands if they think they know which student is “it.” Select one student at a time, and let them tell you their guess. Keep selecting students until someone gets the answer right.
    • Suspense will build as students are ruled out from being "it" by process of elimination. Be ready to calm your students down if they get overexcited.
    • Make the game more fun for the kids by giving a prize to the child that guesses correctly. Let the winner choose one item from a bag filled with assorted candy or small items like pencils and erasers.
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Section 3 of 3:

Educational Variations of Heads Up 7 Up

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  1. During a normal game of Heads Up Seven Up, have the children spell a word instead of choosing who picked them. If the child spells the word correctly, then they get to be a picker for the next round and whoever picked them sits down. If they spell the word incorrectly, the picker remains the same.
    • Be sure to use words that are appropriate for your students’ level of education.
    • Make sure to use the same word until one of the students gets it right so all the other students can hear it spelled correctly.
    • Write the word on the board or projector after the students have spelled it to give your students a chance to review.
    • Have all the students spell the word in unison after it is used to help the entire class practice.
  2. If you’re an English teacher, make the game more relevant to your class by having the children use proper grammar when guessing. Instead of just blurting out a name, have children ask, “Was it Anne?” Then Anne can reply, “Yes, it was me.” [4]
    • Have your students write their guesses on the board to practice their written grammar.
    • Writing down their guesses can help your students learn how to write in complete sentences, when to use a question mark, and how to capitalize words.
  3. When students are picked, make them answer a question about the math lesson they’re currently learning. If your students are learning their multiplication tables, you might ask a question like “What is five times nine?” If the student gets the answer wrong, ask the next student the same question. If the student gets the answer right, they get to be a picker for the next round. Either way, make sure to review the answer clearly to everyone in the class. [5]
    • Use questions with the appropriate difficulty level. You don’t want your kids to be bored with a bunch of easy questions, but you also don’t want them to be discouraged by questions that are too difficult.
    • Repeat the rule that corresponds to each question after it is used. For example: For the question, “What is nine times five?” the answer would be 45. Say, “Remember that whenever a number is multiplied by five, the answer ends in five or zero.”
  4. Make review questions for a science lesson you just taught them. If your students are learning about the periodic table of elements, ask something like, “What do the letters 'Fe' stand for on the periodic table?” If the student answers “Iron,” allow them to be a picker for the next round.
    • The game might run smoother if you write your questions on pieces of paper and place them in a hat. Let your students choose a question from the hat to answer when they are picked.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    Do kids play heads up seven up in school?
    Community Answer
    Depends on the school. But most every school and class I went to played it and loved it all the time.
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  • Question
    Do you tell the person next to you that you've been picked?
    Community Answer
    You want to stay completely silent during a game of heads up seven up until it's time to guess who picked you.
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  • Question
    What are some strategies for guessing who picked you?
    I_l1ke_gam3s
    Community Answer
    Rely less on your friends if your friends are one of the seven seekers. This is the trap that most students fall in and get it incorrect. Instead, pick a random person that you don't really talk to. There's about an 80% chance of getting the right answer if you do it this way.
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      Tips

      • Allow students who answer correctly to claim a prize from a goody bag to help motivate them to pay attention to the game.
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      • If you don't have a group of at least fourteen people, just play the game with fewer pickers.
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      • Try to include everyone. If you see someone hasn’t been picked for a while, try to get them into the next round. Whisper to one of the pickers to pick the person who’s been left out or choose them as “it” for the next round.
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      Tips from our Readers

      The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.
      • Make sure everyone has their heads completely on the table. Otherwise, they can peek at the shoes of whoever tags them.
      • It doesn't have to be an even number of people, it's fine if not everybody is tagged.
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      Warnings

      • Watch out for cheaters, like people who are peeking or always seem to guess the picker correctly. Students are likely to get upset with other children that are cheating. If you catch someone cheating, have a rule that they are disqualified from the next round.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.cynicalparent.com/how-to-play-heads-up-7up/
      2. ↑ http://www.gameskidsplay.net/games/mental_games/heads_up.htm
      3. ↑ https://www.funology.com/heads-up-seven-up/
      4. ↑ https://gameonfamily.com/seven-up/
      5. ↑ https://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/learninggames/learninggame034b.shtml

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      To play "Heads Up 7 Up," select 7 students or children to be the pickers for the first round. Everyone else should lay their head down on their desks and hold 1 of their thumbs up. While the room is silent, the pickers should go around the class and each pick 1 student by touching their thumb. If a student's thumb is touched, they should put it down so they are not picked again. After all 7 pickers have selected someone, each student will guess who picked them. If they guess correctly, they get to be a picker in the next round. To learn how to make Heads Up 7 Up educational, keep reading!

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