Four Corners (game)

Four Corners is a children's game, often played in elementary schools. The goal of the game is for players to choose corners of the room and not get caught by the designated "It" player until they are the last remaining participant.

Gameplay

To begin, four corners (or general areas) of the room are marked from the numbers one to four. One player is designated to be "It," or the "counter." This player sits in the middle of the room, closes his eyes, and counts to ten. The remaining players choose any one of the corners and quietly go and stand in that area. When the "It" player has finished counting, he calls out one of the numbers. All players who had chosen that corner or area are out of the game, and they sit down. Then, "It" counts again and the renaming players move to a different corner. Unless the corner is out.

The last person to still be in the game wins, and usually becomes the new "It."

If "It" calls out a corner containing no players, he either calls out another number right away or the players rotate to a new corner, according to different versions of gameplay.

Canadian Four Corners

A very different 5-player children's game is played in Canada under the name "Four Corners". The Canadian version is played on a large square drawn in chalk, usually in a schoolyard or other similar area. Four of the children stand on one of the corners of the square, while the fifth player is designated "it" and stands in the middle of the square. The four corner players then attempt to trade places without being tagged by the player who is "it", or without vacating a corner long enough for the player who is "it" being able to stand in the vacant corner. If a corner player is tagged or stranded without a free corner to stand in, they become "it". Common strategy is to try to swap corners while the player who is "it" is chasing other players who are trying to swap corners.

References

[http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson169.shtml Ten Games for Classroom Fun]