How to Play the Four Corners Game: Setup, Rules & More

Four Corners is a fun and easy game you can play in the classroom or with a group of friends. All you need to is four corners, a group of people, a few sheets of paper, and a pen or pencil. In this article, we'll teach you how to play the game, go over the rules, and even explore different cultural variations! Read on to learn everything you need to know about Four Corners.

How to Play the Four Corners Game

In a four-corner room, designate colors, letters or numbers to each corner.
Designate one person as “it” and send them to the middle of the room.
Gather the rest of your players and split them evenly between the corners.
Have the person who’s it count down from 10 with their eyes closed.
Have the rest of the players shuffle between corners.
Once time’s up, have the middle player point to a corner with their eyes closed.
Whoever is in that corner or the middle of the room is out.

Section 1 of 5:

How to Set Up Four Corners

Download Article

1
Number the four corners of the room. Put up a sign at each corner, numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4.
- You can label the corners with colors or words instead. If you're a teacher, try using something related to today's lesson. ^{[1]
  X
  Research source}
Clear the area near all four walls, so children can easily move between corners. ^{[2]
X
Research source}

Section 2 of 5:

How to Play Four Corners

Download Article

You can play Four Corners with four or more players. You must have someone count and someone to stand in each corner. Once you’ve gathered your players, have them evenly split between corners. ^{[3]
X
Research source}
2
Choose someone to be "it" and have them count down from 10. Once the players have gathered into their corners, select a player to be “it.” Once you’ve selected the person who’s “it,” have them stand in the middle of the room and count down from 10. Once the time is up, they must point to a corner with their eyes closed. ^{[4]
X
Research source}
- If the middle player points to an empty corner, any student who’s out gets to return to the game.
While the person who is “it” is counting, the corner players can either stay where they’re at or move to another corner. Once the counter reaches 0 and points to a corner, anyone who is in that corner must sit down. Whoever is in the middle of the room or outside of a corner must also sit down. ^{[5]
X
Research source}
After each round, the person in the middle can open their eyes and see who they knocked out. Then they can close their eyes again and counts from 10 to 0. Each round works the same way. Whoever is in the corner they choose each round has to sit out for the rest of the game.
5
Adjust the rules once most people are out. Once there are only a few people left, the game can take a long time to finish. Add extra rules to speed it up: ^{[6]
X
Research source}
- Once there are eight people or fewer, each corner can only hold 2 people maximum.
- Once there are four people or fewer, each corner can only hold 1 person maximum.
Once one person is left, that person gets to move to the center and count. Everyone else can stand up again and play for another round.

Section 3 of 5:

Optional Rules to Add to the Game

Download Article

Instead of choosing any number, the person in the middle can try to name the loudest corner. This makes sneaking around extra important, and might be a good way to prevent roughhousing.
If the person in the middle has trouble remembering which corner is which, he can point instead. This variation is good for young children.
3
Switch the person in the middle every few rounds. If no one want to be in the middle, have each person take a turn counting for five rounds each.
- After the first round, you can ask someone who's out of the game to count instead.

Section 4 of 5:

Cultural Variations of Four Corners

Download Article

1
Canadian Four Corners The Canadian version of Four Corners is similar to the U.S. version. Have four players stand in each corner of a room or a chalk-drawn square. Have another player stand in the middle of the square designated as “it.” The players must try to trade places without being tagged by “it” or letting “it” stand in their corner. ^{[7]
X
Research source}
- The French variation of Four Corners is played the same way as the Canadian game, but the fifth player is called the “chamber pot.”
2

Four Pillars (Nalugu Stambalata) Four Pillars, also called Nalugu Stambalata, is the Indian variation of Four Corners. To play, make a square out of four poles or pillars (or use a four-squared room with the corners as pillars) and have one person stand at each pillar. With one person in the middle designated as “it,” each player must move between pillars while the middle player tries to steal their pillar. Whoever’s pillar is stolen becomes the next person in the middle. ^{[8]
X
Research source}

Section 5 of 5:

What's the Haunted Four Corners game?

Download Article

Haunted Four Corners is a game that identifies ghosts and demons in a room. Walk into a room, have everyone say their names out loud, and turn off the lights. Like Four Corners, have someone stand in the middle and have the remaining three people stand in corners facing the wall. Have the person in the middle count down from 3. Once they reach zero, move clockwise to the next corner. If there’s a demon or ghost, they will apparently appear in the missing corner. ^{[9]
X
Research source}
- This game is fairly simple. Like Bloody Mary , it’s unclear if ghosts or demons will actually come after you or if it’s just for fun.

Community Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Question

Does it have to be 1, 2, 3, 4?

JP1078

Community Answer

No. If you are playing after a class or waiting for the bell to go, you can use words related to the lesson or you can use colours (e.g. red, yellow, blue, and green). (See Part 1 step 1)

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 7 Helpful 11
Question

What if there were two people in the same corner and the picker chooses them? Is there a winner?

Jerry Walker

Community Answer

No. The person who was It goes again and if that keeps happening chose the person who wants to be it and hasn't gone.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 5 Helpful 0
Question

I don’t understand this game. Could you please be more and show a video of children playing this game?

Jerry Walker

Community Answer

Just search up a video of kids playing four corners, then click on youtube results. There is a wikihow video also. I recommend you click that one.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 1 Helpful 3

See more answers

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Video

Read Video Transcript

Tips

Play one or two practice rounds first, then start again. This makes sure everyone understands the rules, and makes people who had to sit down right away less frustrated.

Thanks
Helpful 17 Not Helpful 6
Instead of capping the number of people who can be in a corner, you can remove a corner when there are only a few people left.

Thanks
Helpful 4 Not Helpful 2

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.

Instead of counting slowly, you can have the person in the middle count fast and point to the loudest corner.

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Name

Please provide your name and last initial

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

Log in

How to Play the Four Corners Game: Setup, Rules & More