Seven Up (game) facts for kids

Heads Up, Seven Up (sometimes called "Seven Up", "Thumbs Up, Seven Up" or "Heads Down, Thumbs Up") is a game where each selected participant guesses the person who pressed down their thumb or in some versions of the game, the players have to guess who tapped their heads.

Gameplay

To start the game, seven or another number of individuals are selected and come to the front of the room. The teacher (or selected player) says, "Heads down, thumbs up!" or "Heads down all around!". The children who are not selected then put their heads down, and close their eyes. The chosen seven circulate through the room, secretly pressing down one thumb each and then returning to the front of the room. A variation is simply tapping the person. This part of the game takes about one minute.

The teacher/selected player then calls, "Heads up, seven up!" or "Heads up, stand up!" All children raise their heads and the children whose thumbs were pressed stand up. Each in turn names the person they think pressed their thumb or tapped their head. If they are correct, they sit down and the winning child takes their place. The game then starts again.

Children who go later have an advantage, especially if one or more pickers have been eliminated. To make the game fair, the teacher can alternate the order in which the children are called each time (e.g. front to back, or left to right of the room, or around the room).

History

The origin of this elementary school game being played in American classrooms goes back to at least the 1950s, perhaps earlier.