Seven Up (game)
Encyclopedia
Seven Up is a traditional children's game that is played in primary schools, and to a lesser extent at parties. The goal is for each selected participant to correctly guess the person who pressed down his or her thumb. It takes a minimum of 14 children to play the game in its truest sense, but if there is a smaller group to start with, fewer than seven can be picked at the start. The game was known prior to 1859, where it was referred to as "seven up" in the Mark Twain
story River Intelligence.
This game is sometimes used by teachers to determine who the cheaters in the class are. If someone is especially "lucky", the teacher knows to keep an eye on them. The game is often used by teachers as a relatively quiet indoor pastime for schoolchildren when they cannot go outside to play at recess or lunchtime due to rainy or other inclement weather.
The teacher/selected player then calls, "Heads up, seven up!" or "Heads up, stand up!" All children raise their heads and the seven whose thumbs were pressed stand up. Each in turn names the person they think pressed their thumb. If they are correct, the thumb-presser sits down and the winning child takes their place. The game then starts again.
The child who goes last may have the advantage if other 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).
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
story River Intelligence.
This game is sometimes used by teachers to determine who the cheaters in the class are. If someone is especially "lucky", the teacher knows to keep an eye on them. The game is often used by teachers as a relatively quiet indoor pastime for schoolchildren when they cannot go outside to play at recess or lunchtime due to rainy or other inclement weather.
Gameplay
To start the game, seven children 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, close their eyes, and put up one thumb each. 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 seven whose thumbs were pressed stand up. Each in turn names the person they think pressed their thumb. If they are correct, the thumb-presser sits down and the winning child takes their place. The game then starts again.
The child who goes last may have the advantage if other 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).