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Four corners is a fun and easy game you can play in the classroom or with a group of friends. All you need to play four corners is a group of people, a few sheets of paper, and a pen or pencil.
Steps
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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
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Make space at the sides of the room. Clear the area near all four walls, so children can easily move between corners. [2] X Research sourceAdvertisement
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Ask for a volunteer to be "It". The volunteer gets to stand in the middle and count down. [3] X Research source
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Explain the rules. Tell the players the rules of the game: [4] X Research source
- The person in the middle will cover their eyes and count down from 10 to 0, loudly and slowly.
- Everyone else moves to one of the four corners, very quietly.
- When the person in the middle finishes counting, they choose a number from 1 to 4 (with her eyes still closed). Anyone standing in the corner they chose has to sit down.
- Anyone who isn't in a corner when the counting is done has to sit down.
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Keep playing with the remaining students. 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.
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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: [5] 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.
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Play until there's one winner. 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.
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Point to the loudest corner. 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. [6] X Research source
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Point instead of naming numbers. If the person in the middle has trouble remembering which corner is which, he can point instead. This variation is good for young children.
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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. [7] X Research source
- After the first round, you can ask someone who's out of the game to count instead.
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Community Q&A
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QuestionDoes it have to be 1, 2, 3, 4?JP1078Community AnswerNo. 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)
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QuestionWhat if there were two people in the same corner and the picker chooses them? Is there a winner?Jerry WalkerCommunity AnswerNo. The person who was It goes again and if that keeps happening chose the person who wants to be it and hasn't gone.
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QuestionI don’t understand this game. Could you please be more and show a video of children playing this game?Jerry WalkerCommunity AnswerJust 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.
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Things You'll Need
- 15+ people
- A room with four corners and plenty of space
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
- 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
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References
- ↑ https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/four-corners
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PVAPA9B_yU
- ↑ https://www.thegamegal.com/2014/06/03/four-corners-classroom-game/
- ↑ https://www.playworks.org/game-library/four-corners/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PVAPA9B_yU
- ↑ http://www.playworks.org/blog/game-week-four-corners
- ↑ http://www.playworks.org/blog/game-week-four-corners
About This Article
Article Summary
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To play four corners, start by assigning each corner in the room a different number from 1-4. Then, have 1 player stand in the middle of the room with their eyes closed and count to 10. While they're counting, have all the other players pick corners to stand in. When the player in the middle is done counting to 10, have them choose a number between 1 and 4 without opening their eyes — whichever players are in that corner lose! Continue playing until there's only 1 player left. To learn how to play fun variations of four corners, read on!
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- "It is helpful, because all my students are bored without proper guidance on selecting fun activities to do during free time. Finding wikiHow makes my job much easier." ..." more
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"It is helpful, because all my students are bored without proper guidance on selecting fun activities to do during free time. Finding wikiHow makes my job much easier."
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"I am looking for fun games for family night and children's classes at church. This sounds great, and I like the idea of naming the corners to tie in with the lesson."
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"I am familiar with the elementary-aged children playing four corners. Thanks for the suggestion using colors for kindergartners. "
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