How To Play Four Corners: 10 Steps (with Pictures) - WikiHow

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Terms of Use wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Learn why people trust wikiHow How to Play the Four Corners Game: Setup, Rules & More PDF download Download Article Plus, learn cultural variations of the Four Corners game Co-authored by Marcus Pruitt, BS Reviewed by Ashton Wu

Last Updated: October 8, 2025 Fact Checked

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  • Setup
    • |
  • Gameplay
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  • Optional Rules
    • |
  • Variations
    • |
  • Haunted Four Corners Game
    • |
  • Video
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  • Q&A
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This article was reviewed by Ashton Wu and by wikiHow staff writer, Marcus Pruitt, BS. Ashton Wu is a Board Game expert at Shelfside. After delving into the Yugioh tournament community while growing up, Ashton launched himself into the board gaming community in 2014 and went into reviewing board games as a career full-time in 2019. His YouTube channel Shelfside has over 50K subscribers and over 4 million views, assisted by written reviews on the Shelfside website and BoardGameGeek.com. He also consults with gaming companies to build high-quality gaming products. Ashton is a tournament commentator, board game playthrough director, and host of the Shelfside Podcast, where he talks about board games with his business partner, Daniel. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in addition to the Technology Management Certificate. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 574,924 times.

Four Corners is a fun and easy game you can play in the classroom or with a group of friends. All you need to is four corners, a group of people, a few sheets of paper, and a pen or pencil. In this article, we'll teach you how to play the game, go over the rules, and even explore different cultural variations! Read on to learn everything you need to know about Four Corners.

How to Play the Four Corners Game

  1. In a four-corner room, designate colors, letters or numbers to each corner.
  2. Designate one person as “it” and send them to the middle of the room.
  3. Gather the rest of your players and split them evenly between the corners.
  4. Have the person who’s it count down from 10 with their eyes closed.
  5. Have the rest of the players shuffle between corners.
  6. Once time’s up, have the middle player point to a corner with their eyes closed.
  7. Whoever is in that corner or the middle of the room is out.

Steps

Section 1 of 5:

How to Set Up Four Corners

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  1. Step 1 Number the four corners of the room. 1 Number the four corners of the room. Put up a sign at each corner, numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4.
    • You can label the corners with colors or words instead. If you're a teacher, try using something related to today's lesson.[1]
  2. Step 2 Make space at the sides of the room. 2 Make space at the sides of the room. Clear the area near all four walls, so children can easily move between corners.[2]
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Section 2 of 5:

How to Play Four Corners

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  1. Step 1 Gather 4+ players and split them evenly among the four corners. 1 Gather 4+ players and split them evenly among the four corners. You can play Four Corners with four or more players. You must have someone count and someone to stand in each corner. Once you’ve gathered your players, have them evenly split between corners.[3]
  2. Step 2 Choose someone to be "it" and have them count down from 10. 2 Choose someone to be "it" and have them count down from 10. Once the players have gathered into their corners, select a player to be “it.” Once you’ve selected the person who’s “it,” have them stand in the middle of the room and count down from 10. Once the time is up, they must point to a corner with their eyes closed. [4]
    • If the middle player points to an empty corner, any student who’s out gets to return to the game.
  3. Step 3 During the countdown, players must stay in the corner or move around. 3 During the countdown, players must stay in the corner or move around. While the person who is “it” is counting, the corner players can either stay where they’re at or move to another corner. Once the counter reaches 0 and points to a corner, anyone who is in that corner must sit down. Whoever is in the middle of the room or outside of a corner must also sit down.[5]
  4. Step 4 Keep playing with the remaining students. 4 Keep playing with the remaining students. After each round, the person in the middle can open their eyes and see who they knocked out. Then they can close their eyes again and counts from 10 to 0. Each round works the same way. Whoever is in the corner they choose each round has to sit out for the rest of the game.
  5. Step 5 Adjust the rules once most people are out. 5 Adjust the rules once most people are out. Once there are only a few people left, the game can take a long time to finish. Add extra rules to speed it up:[6]
    • Once there are eight people or fewer, each corner can only hold 2 people maximum.
    • Once there are four people or fewer, each corner can only hold 1 person maximum.
  6. Step 6 Play until there's one winner. 6 Play until there's one winner. Once one person is left, that person gets to move to the center and count. Everyone else can stand up again and play for another round.
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Section 3 of 5:

Optional Rules to Add to the Game

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  1. Step 1 Point to the loudest corner. 1 Point to the loudest corner. Instead of choosing any number, the person in the middle can try to name the loudest corner. This makes sneaking around extra important, and might be a good way to prevent roughhousing.
  2. Step 2 Point instead of naming numbers. 2 Point instead of naming numbers. If the person in the middle has trouble remembering which corner is which, he can point instead. This variation is good for young children.
  3. Step 3 Switch the person in the middle every few rounds. 3 Switch the person in the middle every few rounds. If no one want to be in the middle, have each person take a turn counting for five rounds each.
    • After the first round, you can ask someone who's out of the game to count instead.
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Section 4 of 5:

Cultural Variations of Four Corners

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  1. 1 Canadian Four Corners The Canadian version of Four Corners is similar to the U.S. version. Have four players stand in each corner of a room or a chalk-drawn square. Have another player stand in the middle of the square designated as “it.” The players must try to trade places without being tagged by “it” or letting “it” stand in their corner.[7]
    • The French variation of Four Corners is played the same way as the Canadian game, but the fifth player is called the “chamber pot.”
  2. 2 Four Pillars (Nalugu Stambhalata) Four Pillars, also called Nalugu Stambhalata, is the Indian variation of Four Corners. To play, make a square out of four poles or pillars (or use a four-squared room with the corners as pillars) and have one person stand at each pillar. With one person in the middle designated as “it,” each player must move between pillars while the middle player tries to steal their pillar. Whoever’s pillar is stolen becomes the next person in the middle.[8]
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Section 5 of 5:

What's the Haunted Four Corners game?

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  1. Haunted Four Corners is a game that identifies ghosts and demons in a room. Haunted Four Corners is a game that identifies ghosts and demons in a room. Walk into a room, have everyone say their names out loud, and turn off the lights. Like Four Corners, have someone stand in the middle and have the remaining three people stand in corners facing the wall. Have the person in the middle count down from 3. Once they reach zero, move clockwise to the next corner. If there’s a demon or ghost, they will apparently appear in the missing corner.[9]
    • This game is fairly simple. Like Bloody Mary, it’s unclear if ghosts or demons will actually come after you or if it’s just for fun.

Community Q&A

Search Add New Question
  • Question Does it have to be 1, 2, 3, 4? JP1078 JP1078 Community Answer No. If you are playing after a class or waiting for the bell to go, you can use words related to the lesson or you can use colours (e.g. red, yellow, blue, and green). (See Part 1 step 1) Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 9 Helpful 11
  • Question What if there were two people in the same corner and the picker chooses them? Is there a winner? Jerry Walker Jerry Walker Community Answer No. The person who was It goes again and if that keeps happening chose the person who wants to be it and hasn't gone. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 5 Helpful 2
  • Question I don’t understand this game. Could you please be more and show a video of children playing this game? Jerry Walker Jerry Walker Community Answer Just search up a video of kids playing four corners, then click on youtube results. There is a wikihow video also. I recommend you click that one. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 1 Helpful 4
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Tips

  • Play one or two practice rounds first, then start again. This makes sure everyone understands the rules, and makes people who had to sit down right away less frustrated. Thanks Helpful 17 Not Helpful 6
  • Instead of capping the number of people who can be in a corner, you can remove a corner when there are only a few people left. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 2

Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.
  • Instead of counting slowly, you can have the person in the middle count fast and point to the loudest corner.
Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published Name Please provide your name and last initial Submit Thanks for submitting a tip for review! Advertisement

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References

  1. ↑ https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/four-corners
  2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PVAPA9B_yU
  3. ↑ https://youtu.be/FIzXRMZQv74?si=WIMoNMN0xwX6SFaQ&t=6
  4. ↑ https://www.thegamegal.com/2014/06/03/four-corners-classroom-game/
  5. ↑ https://www.thegamegal.com/2014/06/03/four-corners-classroom-game/
  6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PVAPA9B_yU
  7. ↑ https://fungameskidsplay.com/canadianfourcornersgame.htm
  8. ↑ https://www.yovizag.com/7-traditional-games-we-loved-playing-in-our-childhood-in-vizag/
  9. ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/@jumpersjump/video/7078434889762196741

About This Article

Ashton Wu Reviewed by: Ashton Wu Game Expert This article was reviewed by Ashton Wu and by wikiHow staff writer, Marcus Pruitt, BS. Ashton Wu is a Board Game expert at Shelfside. After delving into the Yugioh tournament community while growing up, Ashton launched himself into the board gaming community in 2014 and went into reviewing board games as a career full-time in 2019. His YouTube channel Shelfside has over 50K subscribers and over 4 million views, assisted by written reviews on the Shelfside website and BoardGameGeek.com. He also consults with gaming companies to build high-quality gaming products. Ashton is a tournament commentator, board game playthrough director, and host of the Shelfside Podcast, where he talks about board games with his business partner, Daniel. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in addition to the Technology Management Certificate. This article has been viewed 574,924 times. 2 votes - 90% Co-authors: 29 Updated: October 8, 2025 Views: 574,924 Categories: Games for Children | Party Games for Kids Article SummaryX

To play four corners, start by assigning each corner in the room a different number from 1-4. Then, have 1 player stand in the middle of the room with their eyes closed and count to 10. While they're counting, have all the other players pick corners to stand in. When the player in the middle is done counting to 10, have them choose a number between 1 and 4 without opening their eyes — whichever players are in that corner lose! Continue playing until there's only 1 player left. To learn how to play fun variations of four corners, read on! Did this summary help you?YesNo

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Yes No Advertisement Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Ashton Wu Reviewed by: Ashton Wu Game Expert Co-authors: 29 Updated: October 8, 2025 Views: 574,924 90% of readers found this article helpful. 2 votes - 90% Click a star to add your vote Daniel Beck

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