Forty Forty Rules: Block One Two Three And The Other Names

Hide and seek with a race to base and a shout that everyone remembers and nobody can spell. It's the most physical of the hiding games and the one that filled a whole summer evening.

Here's how it works and what it's called near you.

The rules

• Pick a base - a lamppost, a tree, a garage door. Somewhere obvious.
• One player is on. They close their eyes at the base and count to forty out loud while everyone hides.
• The seeker then leaves the base to hunt. This is the whole risk of the game.
• When the seeker spots someone, they must race back to base, touch it and shout 'forty forty, I see [name]'. That player is caught.
• But a hider who reaches the base first and touches it shouts 'forty forty home' - and they are safe, and in most versions everyone caught is freed.
• The game ends when everyone is caught. The first person caught is on next.

The tactics

• The seeker who goes too far from base loses everybody. The seeker who never leaves it catches nobody.
• Hiding close to base beats hiding well. Everyone learns this on the second game.
• Two hiders creating a distraction so a third can reach base is the standard team play.
• Caught players wait at base, which means they can see everyone left and must say nothing.
• Time limit of ten minutes, or the last hider will simply sit in a hedge until dark.

Block one two three

• The same game with a different call. The seeker touches base and shouts 'block one two three, I see [name] behind the shed'.
• You must name the hiding place as well as the person, which makes a wrong call cost you.
• A hider reaching base shouts 'block one two three, home free' and frees everyone.
• Common in the north west and parts of Ireland.
• Often played with a stick or a tin can on the base that must be knocked over rather than touched.

The other names

• Forty forty, forty forty home, forty forty I see - the south and south east.
• Block one two three, block 123, block - the north west and Ireland.
• Relievo, relieve-o, relievio - the north east, Scotland and Ireland, with the emphasis on freeing caught players.
• Kick the can, where the base is a can to be kicked rather than touched.
• Hide and seek home, tin can tommy, and mob - all local names for close relatives of the same thing.
• Every version has the same three parts: a count, a base and a shout. Only the words change.

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How to write it so it lands

• Hide close to base, not well.
• A seeker who never leaves base catches nobody.
• Ten minute limit or someone sits in a hedge till dark.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the rules of forty forty?

One player counts to forty at a base while everyone hides. The seeker then hunts, and on spotting someone must race back to base and shout 'forty forty, I see [name]'. A hider who reaches the base first shouts 'forty forty home' and frees everyone caught.

What is block one two three?

The same game as forty forty with a different call - the seeker must touch base and shout 'block one two three, I see [name] behind the shed', naming the hiding place as well as the person.

What's the difference between forty forty and hide and seek?

Forty forty has a base. Spotting someone isn't enough - the seeker has to get back and call them in, and a hider who beats them to the base is safe and usually frees everyone already caught.

What is relievo?

The north east, Scottish and Irish name for the same game, where the emphasis is on relieving - freeing - the players already caught by reaching the base first.

Do you sell games or play equipment?

No - we make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. Every game here needs a wall, a ball, a piece of chalk or nothing at all, and the only products on this page are our own cards.