"Find five red things. Go!" No game is quicker to set up. There is nothing to make and nothing to tidy away first, and it works in any room.
While they run about, children are practising something useful. They keep one rule in mind, scan a room full of distractions and ignore everything that doesn't fit. And once the finds are lying in a pile, there is plenty to count and sort.
The basic game
- Set a timer for two minutes. A sand timer is ideal, because children can watch the time running out.
- Call the rule: "Something red!"
- Players bring what they find to a mat or a table.
- When the time is up, look at the finds together.
Three house rules keep it safe: only things you can carry easily, nothing breakable or sharp, and everything goes back to its place at the end.
The check at the end is where the thinking happens. "Is this red or orange? This cup is red with white dots: does it count?" Don't decide for your child. Agree on a rule together, such as "it counts if most of it is red".
What to do with the pile
- Count. How many things did each player find? Who has more, and how many more?
- Line up. Put the finds in order from smallest to biggest.
- Sort. Toys here, clothes there, kitchen things over there. Or from light red to dark red.
- Keep a tally. Play a round for each colour and make a mark for every find. Which colour is the most common in your home?
Changing the rule
| Rule | Example | What gets harder |
|---|---|---|
| A colour | Something red | One feature to hold in mind |
| A shape | Something round | Seeing shapes in real objects |
| Two features | Something red and round | Two features at once |
| A number | Something with four legs, things that come in pairs | Counting while searching |
| "Not" | Something that is not red and not blue | Ruling things out |
| A material | Something made of wood, something soft | A feature you feel more than see |
Move down the table slowly. A rule with two features is a real step up from a single colour.
Calmer versions
The game doesn't have to be a race.
- Eyes only. Everyone stays on the sofa and names red things they can see. No touching, no moving.
- Look, then remember. Look around for thirty seconds, close your eyes and list the red things you noticed.
- One team. The whole family works together: can we find twenty blue things before the timer runs out?
With children of different ages, give each one their own rule. The younger child looks for "something red", the older one for "something red and smaller than your hand".
| Rough age | What to try |
|---|---|
| 4–5 | One colour and three to five things; no timer, or a generous one |
| 6–7 | A timer; counting and comparing the piles; shape rounds |
| 8–9 | Two features and "not" rules; a tally of which colour is most common |
| 10 and up | Inventing rules for the others; estimating how many red things are in a room, then checking |
Ages are only a rough guide, and every child is different.
In Dologi, "Sort into groups" puzzles in the Logic topic ask children to put things together by what they have in common. A colour hunt is the same idea, with the whole house as the board.
In short
- A timer and one rule, such as "something red", are the whole game.
- Checking the finds together and settling the doubtful ones is the most valuable minute.
- The pile can be counted, lined up by size, sorted and tallied.
- New rules, from shapes to two features to "not", keep the hunt challenging.
Read more: How long is a minute? Helping children get a feel for time