This is a team hide-and-seek game.

You don't need anything but players.

Divide all the players into two equal teams and choose a captain for each one.  One team starts as the Searching Team and the other one is the Hiding Team. 

Choose a "goal" or "home" that the players must reach and decide how high the Searching Team must count before going to look for the Hiders.    All the kids on the Searching Team stay at the goal and hide their eyes.  While they count, everyone on the Hiding Team except the captain runs to hide. 

After they finish counting the Searching Team goes looking for the Hiders.  The captain of the Hiders goes along, or wherever he or she pleases.  If one of the Searchers finds a Hider, he or she tells the Hiders' captain, who calls out, "Run, my good sheep, run!" 

At that signal, all the Hiders race for the goal.  The first one to get there without being caught by a Searcher and before a Searcher gets there wins for the Hiding Team.  Then the teams change places and play again.

If none of the Hiders gets to the goal without being caught, the teams play the same positions again.

The captain of the Hiders doesn't have to wait until one of the Searchers has found someone on his or her team before calling out, "Run, my good sheep, run!"  The captain can call for them to run to the goal any time it looks like one of them can make it to the goal before a searcher without being caught.

"Bluff" makes more sense, but both books and people use "buff" more often.  I've found it written and pronounced both ways.

This is a tag game.

You need something to use for a blindfold.

One Way to Play Blind Man's Bluff
Choose one kid to be "It" (the chaser).  Decide how many chances It will have to identify the runner later.  Make a circle and put It in the middle, blindfolded.  Someone turns It around and around several times and then joins the circle. 

The kids in the circle walk to their left or right in the circle until It claps hands three times.  Then they stop and It points toward the circle.  If It points to a gap where no kids are standing, they start circling again and It tries again.  When It points to one of the kids in the circle, that kid enters the circle and It has to chase him or her. 

When It catches the runner, It tries to figure out who the runner is by touching him or her.  If It can't identify the runner in the number of chances given, he has to be It again.  If It does tell who the kid is, they trade places and the runner becomes It the next time around.

This is a circle tag game.

You need a handkerchief, or a  piece of fabric the size of a handkerchief,
or a folded piece of paper. 

One Way to Play Drop the Handkerchief
Have all the players make a circle and choose one to be It.  Give it a handkerchief.  (If you don't have one, a piece of fabric will do.)

It walks around the outside of the circle, quietly drops it behind one of the players in the circle, and keeps on walking, trying to get around the circle before the player discovers the handkerchief behind him or her.  If you're one of the other players, don't give it away!

If It gets all the way around the circle without the player noticing the handkerchief behind him or her, that player becomes a "dead fish" that has to stand in the middle of the circle.  It gets to drop the handkerchief again.

If the player DOES discover the handkerchief, he or she chases It, trying to catch him or her before It gets back to the empty place in the circle.  If he catches It, he gets to take his place in the circle again and It has to drop the handkerchief again.  If he doesn't catch It, he has to become It and drop the handkerchief, while the kid who was It takes that place in the circle.

A player who is a "dead fish" can try to get back into the game in one of two ways.  He can snatch the handkerchief from behind a circle player before that player notices it, and try to catch It.  Or, a circle player can take the handkerchief from behind himself and toss it into the circle behind a dead fish.  Then the dead fish can pick it up and chase It.

A tisket, a tasket,
A green and yellow basket,
I wrote a letter to my love
And on my way I dropped it,
I dropped it, I dropped it,
And on my way I dropped it.
Somebody here has picked it up
And put it in your pocket;
It isn't you, it isn't you . . 
It's YOU!"

The "It isn't you" can be repeated as many times as It wants until he or she drops the handkerchief.  On the words, "It's YOU!" It drops the handkerchief behind a player and keeps on running.  That player picks it up and runs around the circle in the other direction, trying to get to the empty place in the circle before It does.  The one who gets there first gets to keep that place and the other one become It for the next game.

This is a guessing game played in a circle.

You need a button.

Choose someone to be It and give the button to him or her.  The rest of the players stand in a circle with their hands in front of them, palms together. 

It holds his or her hands the same way with the button hidden in between them and goes around the circle to each player.  It passes his or her hands downward between those of each other player, not letting the others know whether he has left the button in their hands or not, but leaves the button with one of them. 

After It has been around to all the players, he or she asks, "Button, button, who's got the button?"  Each player makes a guess until the one who has the button is found.  The one who makes the right guess gets to be It the next time around.

This is an object-finding game.

You need a thimble.  If you don't have one, you can use another small object.

The game we've described here is 
a version of "hot and cold."  

There may be other variations of 
"Find the Thimble" that are quite different.  If you know one, please email us about it.

Choose one player to be It and send him or her out of the room.  While It is out of the room, the rest of the players agree on a place to hide the thimble.  It has to be in a place where It can actually see it if he or she looks carefully in that area of the room, so don't put it inside something or behind something where it can't be seen.

When the thimble is hidden, bring It into the room.  As It moves around the room, the rest of the players call out clues to help It find the thimble. 

If It is far from the thimble but moves in the right direction, the players call out, "You're getting warmer."

As It gets closer, they change "warmer" to "very warm," then "hot" or "very hot," and so on.

If It moves away from the thimble, the other players say,
"You're getting cooler," "very cool," "cold," "very cold," and so on.

When It finds the thimble, he or she can choose the next person to be It and he or she can hide the thimble.

You can set a time limit for It to find the thimble. If he or she doesn't do it in that time, the group can choose the next person to be It.