Tip and tricks on how to succeed in Hide and Seek

1. Blend in with your surroundings, or, for lack of a better term, camouflage yourself: The seeker is taking in so much information at any given time that it’s common for them to overlook the odd hider. Sometimes this is as simple as pulling up a newspaper and reading it in a crowd, or wearing blue and sitting next to a recycling bin. As odd as it sounds, sometimes the most difficult things to find are things sitting right in front of you — like when you can’t find your phone, because it’s in your pocket. If you can blend in with the things around you, you’ll be incredibly difficult to find.

2. Scout out the area beforehand: The best hiders know where to go so no time is wasted while the seeker is counting. Plan your route before the game and scout out a few potential hiding spots so you can get not only a good spot, but you also have time to make yourself comfortable — if you did a good job, you’re going to be sitting there for a while. The last thing you want is to rush into a hiding spot and find yourself in a confined squatting position for a prolonged period of time.

3. Stay Low: The more you can avoid being at the seeker’s eye level, the more likely you are to succeed. Seekers try to cover as much visual area as possible and often overlook the ground. Don’t be afraid to get a little dusty and dirty. It’ll be well worth it.

4. Peep and creep: Corners are a hider’s natural enemy because no one knows what’s on the other side. When going around corners, take a peek before committing to moving. You don’t want to commit to moving and move right into an unsuspecting seeker. Suss out the situation and your environment beforehand, move stealthily through the area and make your way past corners carefully.

5. Think outside the box (or in): We’ll leave this one open to interpretation, but recycling bins are surprisingly clean and comfortable (just not for hiding any longer than five minutes).

6. Keep moving: Statistically speaking, you’re more likely to be found if you stay sedentary for the length of the game. Keep moving, especially if you’re able to double back to the area where the seeker started. The seeker rarely ever checks the place they started counting, so if you have a chance to make it back to their starting point, you are almost certainly in the clear.