Sardines

Choose a space people can comfortably share

Count 4–10 active players, including the host; observers are extra and do not enter the search. Get the occupant's permission and tell everyone else using the space which areas are in play. Walk the permitted rooms together. Choose a meeting point outside the hiding spots, and name the limits precisely: for example, the living room and adjoining dining room, but no hallway beyond the dining-room door.

Keep the lights on and the route on one level. Pick several places that screen people from the room entrance while leaving open space to gather, such as beside a sofa or around an interior corner. Every allowed spot must accommodate the full active group without pressing together, moving furniture, blocking an exit or climbing. If the only options are cramped, plainly visible or inaccessible to players, choose another space or another game.

Bathrooms, private rooms, cupboards, storage containers, appliances, locked spaces, stairs and outside areas are out of bounds. Leave internal doors open. Searchers may look around permitted furniture; they may not rummage through belongings, move furniture, crawl into enclosed spaces or surprise people who are not playing.

Agree that anyone may call Stop game for a pause or to leave. Test that the call can be heard throughout the area before play. Everyone returns to the meeting point on that call. Choose the willing hiders and their order aloud; no one has to hide alone. Plan one round for each willing hider, with the option to finish earlier. This is the guide's house format, not a purchased edition or a universal tournament ruleset.

Hide once, then let the group grow

Keep the last seeker included

Before the first round, ask whether searching alone and staying beside others sound comfortable. Someone may search in one round and sit out the next; hiding is always voluntary. Sit-out players stay at the meeting point and do not reveal locations. If anyone wants to leave during a round, they call Stop game first so the group can regroup and update its active headcount. Restart only with at least four willing players; otherwise finish or choose another activity.

Do not leave one person wandering while the rest silently wait. Any seeker who is stuck may call Clue please; the original hider gives a truthful broad clue, such as the room name, and repeats with a more specific location if needed. This help is part of this house format and carries no penalty. Anyone may instead stop the round. Do not hide in a forbidden place to make the game harder or keep moving away from a particular player.

If someone laughs or is accidentally seen joining, play continues: the visible group has become easier to find. There is no silence penalty. If someone deliberately broadcasts the spot, stop and restart with another willing hider. An out-of-bounds hiding spot also ends the round without a result; fix the boundary misunderstanding before replaying.

When a stop call happens, all players answer and return promptly. If someone does not respond or return, the game remains stopped while the host accounts for them. Never assume that a missing person is simply good at hiding. Regrouping takes priority over keeping a secret spot.

Comfortable joining may mean standing apart in the same alcove rather than crouching behind furniture. Ask what routes, postures and signals each person can use; a walking-only rule does not make the game fully seated or guarantee access. Ordinary footsteps, counting, clues and laughter mean this is not a guaranteed quiet activity.

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