How to Play Heads Down Thumbs Up

Last Updated: January 28, 2023

"Heads down, Thumbs Up" is a traditional children's game that is played primarily in schools. Also known as "Heads Up, Seven Up", the game is often used by teachers when students cannot go outside for recess due to inclement weather. In addition, the game also provides opportunities for children to practice listening and to interact with one another.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Playing the Standard Rules

1
Make sure everyone is seated. This game is best played in a classroom with desks.^{[1]
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2
Select seven volunteers. The volunteers should come to the front of the room.^{[2]
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3
Call "heads down, thumbs up." Tell everyone who is not one of the selected volunteers to rest their heads on the table. They should also be told to close their eyes tightly and raise one thumb up.
4
Have the chosen volunteers circulate throughout the room. They are to choose one person and press down on that person's thumb (turn that person's thumbs up to a thumbs down). They then return to the front of the room.^{[3]
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- One volunteer can only press one person's thumb down. This means that in total there should now be seven individuals with thumbs down, while the rest of the room still has their thumbs up.
- Volunteers should be as quiet as possible so as to confuse those with their heads down.^{[4]
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5
Call "heads up, seven up". Ask those whose thumbs have been turned down to guess which volunteer touched them.^{[5]
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- Children who go guess after others who have guessed generally have an advantage, especially if one or more volunteers have been correctly eliminated. To make the game fair, the teacher can change up how the seven selected individuals are called upon to guess the person who touched their thumbs (e.g., call students front-to-back, left-to right, or in alphabetical order, etc.).
6
Sit down or swap places. Students who guess wrong remain seated. Students who correctly guess who pressed their thumbs swap places with those volunteers and go to the front.
7
Play again. The game can last as long as you like. Because it's short, you can repeat it as many times as you want!

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Playing Variations

1
Play with any number of children selected as volunteers. You can play the game with two or more selected volunteers who circulate around the classroom. Depending on the size of the group, you may want to have more volunteers. However, keep in mind that having just one volunteer doesn't work!^{[6]
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2
Change the call to begin the game. Instead of saying "heads down, thumbs up," the teacher can signal the beginning of the came with the call "heads down all around."
3
Change the call for heads up. The teacher can say "heads up, stand up," once the seven volunteers have returned to the front of the classroom. In this version, everyone then stands up from their desks.
4
Change the thumb turned down to a thumb press or a tap. Instead of having the volunteers turn down the thumb of their selected person, they can tap or gently press on their thumbs.^{[7]
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Community Q&A

Question

Could I make it a rule to break the players' thumbs?

Community Answer

No, you shouldn't do anything like that. Someone could get seriously hurt.

Warnings

Make sure there is enough room for your seven volunteers to move around. You don't want anyone to get hurt.

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