Who's it? picker

Fair turns at being it

Most playground ways of choosing it are not random. A counting rhyme lands wherever the counter starts it, "not it" always catches the slowest kid, and the same child can end up it game after game. This picker draws from the players who have not been it yet this round, so a group of six plays six games before anyone is it twice, and the table shows the count for every player. Turn on "Never the same it twice in a row" and the last it is skipped even when a new round starts.

For a big group, set two or three seekers: they are drawn together, never the same player twice in one spin, and the round still keeps everyone even. When the yard is loud, "Big screen" turns the phone into a sign with the name and the count in type you can read from across the grass. Indoors, quiet mode drops the beep and the spin.

Why do rhymes like "eeny, meeny" feel fair when they are not? The page on how to pick who's it fairly has a counting checker that shows where to start to land on any player.

The games and their levels

Each game's level changes one rule, so younger kids can play with older ones. Pick a level above, or let the difficulty spin choose.

Tag

Whoever is it counts to 10, then chases. Tag someone and they become it. Agree on the edges of the play area first.

• Easy: A home base where nobody can be tagged, for up to a slow count of 5.
• Medium: No base, and no tagging back the person who just tagged you.
• Hard: Two players are it at once, inside a smaller play area.

Freeze tag

Tagged players freeze in place. A free player unfreezes them with a touch. It tries to freeze everyone.

• Easy: Unfreeze with a touch on the hand.
• Medium: Unfreeze by crawling through a frozen player's legs, or by circling them once.
• Hard: Two players are it at once, and frozen players must hold a pose until freed.

Hide-and-seek

The seeker closes their eyes and counts while everyone hides, then calls out and starts looking. The first one found is often the next seeker.

• Easy: Hide only in two or three rooms or one part of the yard, and the seeker gets a hint: warmer or colder.
• Medium: Anywhere in the agreed area. Found players help look.
• Hard: Hiders may move once while the seeker is not looking, and the count is shorter.

Sardines

The opposite of hide-and-seek: one player hides and everyone else counts, then searches. Each finder quietly squeezes into the hiding spot, until the last searcher finds the whole group packed in.

• Easy: Hide somewhere with room for everyone, inside the rooms you agreed on.
• Medium: Anywhere in the agreed area, lights on.
• Hard: A two-minute limit to find the spot, and no talking once you are in.

Red light, green light

The caller stands at the finish with their back turned. On "green light" everyone moves forward; on "red light" the caller turns and anyone still moving goes back to the start. First to touch the caller is the next caller.

• Easy: A wobble is fine; only big steps send you back.
• Medium: Any movement sends you back to the start.
• Hard: The caller can also call "yellow light": move only in slow motion.

Duck, duck, goose

Everyone sits in a circle. The picker walks around tapping heads and saying "duck" until they choose a "goose", who chases them around the circle. If the picker reaches the empty spot first, the goose picks next.

• Easy: Walk fast instead of running.
• Medium: Run, but only around the outside of the circle.
• Hard: The picker and the goose both skip instead of running.

Marco Polo (pool)

It keeps their eyes closed and calls "Marco"; everyone else must answer "Polo". It swims toward the voices and tries to tag someone. Play only with an adult watching the pool.

• Easy: Stay in the shallow end, where everyone can stand.
• Medium: Fish out of water: anyone caught standing on the side of the pool becomes it.
• Hard: Everyone answers "Polo" in a whisper.

Consequences on the spin are kept short and kind: do five jumping jacks, hop to the base on one foot, say the alphabet as fast as you can, tell a joke (groans count) and similar. Leave the consequence spin off for anyone who would not enjoy it.

Questions about picking who's it

How does it stop the same kid from always being it?

With "Everyone is it once before anyone is it twice" on (it starts on), a player who has been it waits until every other player has had a turn. The table under the wheel counts how many times each player has been it, so the group can see the rounds are even. "Never the same it twice in a row" also covers the start of a new round, when the last it could otherwise be picked again straight away.

Can more than one player be it?

Yes. Set "How many are it" to 2, 3 or 4 for a team of seekers or taggers. Nobody is picked twice in the same spin, and each seeker counts as a turn for the fairness table.

What are the consequence and difficulty wheels for?

Both are optional. The consequence spin gives a short, silly task, such as five jumping jacks or a penguin walk, for whoever was tagged or found first. The difficulty spin picks easy, medium or hard and shows that game's rule change, so a game can get harder as the group warms up. You can also just choose a level yourself.

How does the hide-and-seek count work?

Pick 10, 20, 30 or 60 seconds and press Start count. The number counts down in big type and the screen says when the seeker can go. A beep plays at the end unless quiet mode is on. Use the count instead of trusting the seeker to count out loud.

Will it work outside on a phone?

Yes. "Big screen" fills the whole screen with the name and the count in large, high-contrast type, and it works on phones that do not allow full-screen pages. Everything runs on the phone itself, so it keeps working with a weak signal once the page has loaded.

Is anything saved or sent?

The players, the fairness counts and your settings are saved in this browser so the next game picks up where you left off. Nothing is uploaded and there is no account. "Clear counts" starts the fairness table over.

Other ways to pick: the spin the wheel page for any list, the random name picker for calling on a class, and the team generator to split everyone into sides for capture the flag.