The viewer finds Herry Monster in Episode 1023.
Abby looks for her brother Rudy as they play hide and seek in Episode 4733.
Elmo and Gabi evade Big Bird's gaze (not to mention Bob's) in Episode 3788.
Hide and Seek is a popular children's game, used multiple times in Sesame Street, as part of its street stories and inserts, or other children's related Muppet series.
In the game, one player is "it," or the seeker, while the others are the hiders. The seeker closes their eyes and counts to a predetermined number while the other players find a hiding spot. Then the seeker will try to find the other players. Once a player is found, they may join the search; the last player found becomes the new seeker and the game continues.
Sesame Street[]
Appearance in street stories[]
- Episode 0018 - Gordon introduces the game to Big Bird, who tells him he's not good at hiding due to his height, so he volunteers to be the seeker instead. When Big Bird finishes the count, he starts to fall asleep; Gordon comes out to check on him, and Big Bird wakes up and surprises him.
- Episode 0107 - Played by Ronald and the other kids as Susan watches. She remarks that Roosevelt Franklin is the best hider.
- Episode 0425 - Played by David and the kids in the last scene.
- Episode 0539 - Played by Big Bird and most of the adults and children. Maria is "it" the first two times, but Big Bird is bad at hiding, so Big Bird decides to be "it" instead. However, Big Bird suddenly falls asleep once he finishes counting to 10, so the others let him nap while they go off to play themselves.
- Episode 0628 - Played by Big Bird, Snuffy, and some children. Mr. Hooper happens to find Snuffy while having lost his glasses, but he doesn't recognize him and mistakes his snuffle for Maria's lost fur scarf.
- Episode 0836 - At the end of the episode, Big Bird invites the snow shoveler to play with him and the kids, but he is tired after all that work. The shoveler eventually falls asleep when Big Bird suggests hide and seek, and Big Bird thinks he's already got his eyes closed to be "it", so everyone hides.
- Episode 0842 - Oscar tells Herry Monster that he's the hide-and-seek champion of Sesame Street. He hands Herry a sheet of clues where he’ll be hiding. As Herry counts, Oscar sneaks away and hides behind the bike cart in the yard, where Maria is reading a book. Herry looks “under a seat” (Maria’s chair), then sees something that “has wheels” (Bob’s bike), then looks for something that “has a box” on it. Herry now thinks Oscar is on his way to Cincinnati in a trolley car, and goes off to look for one. “Sometimes winning isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Oscar says to himself.
- Episode 1023 - Herry Monster asks to play with Bob, Maria, and Olivia, but they’re all busy. He notices you, the viewer, and invites you to play hide-and-seek with him. First he hides, then you hide.
- Episode 1216 - The first game Big Bird plays with Cody to prepare him for his nap later.
- Episode 1360 - Played by Big Bird and Snuffy. While Snuffy is hiding, Big Bird briefly runs into Buffy who dismisses him as usual; once Snuffy is found, he assumes Buffy is imaginary and calls her a "Buffle-up-a-gus."
- Episode 2140 - Snuffy plays this with Slimey when Oscar rejects his initial game of football. Slimey is found sitting in Snuffy's fur the whole time.
- Episode 2156 - Elmo plays this with Barkley, but he doesn't run off to hide. Luis tells him that dogs cannot understand numbers, so Elmo pretends to be a teacher and teaches him, which finally makes Barkley run off.
- Episode 2283 - Telly teaches The Count how to play the game, with The Count being "it." However, instead of looking for Telly hiding (for a long time), The Count continues counting to forty over twenty times. Later, when it's Telly's turn to be "it," The Count stays put and listens to his counting.
- Episode 2405 - Big Bird invites Maria and some kids to play hide-and-seek with him. Maria boasts that no one ever finds her when she hides, however, while Big Bird practices his counting in Spanish, he somehow has the ability to find where Maria is hiding (without peeking) so he can ask her what numero comes next.
- Episode 2582 - Played by Big Bird and Alice. She doesn't go off to hide due to being unable to understand the concept of the game because of her age. When Big Bird demonstrates hiding, he is unable to find Alice because she follows right behind him.
- Episode 3152 - Big Bird suggests this game with Zoe as "it" who has to count backwards from 10. However, Zoe has trouble counting backwards and Big Bird is unable to find a hiding spot in time.
- Episode 3513 - Magical Hide-and-Seek
- Episode 3592 - Big Bird suggests the game to get Snuffy's mind off his Snuffle-itis. Big Bird is "it" and counts backwards from 10 to 0; however, he easily finds Snuffy by hearing the trumpeting of his snuffle.
- Episode 3788 - Elmo and Big Bird end up playing the longest-known game of hide and seek when Elmo spends most of the episode hiding under the garage steps.
- Episode 3793 - Gabi plays this with Herry, who hides in the curtains of the window. This causes them to eventually break off and he is given away.
- Episode 3880 - Big Bird plays this game with Maria's computer, but it doesn't hide. Maria then comes out to tell him computers are not sentient.
- Episode 3902 - Played by Gabi and Fluffy. Gabi is "it", but Fluffy is unable to find a good hiding spot.
- Episode 4109 - On Abby Cadabby's first day living on Sesame Street, most of the gang is playing the game at Hooper's with Zoe as the seeker. Abby hides by disappearing. When Abby is chosen as the next seeker, the Count helps her learn to count to 10.
- Episode 4733 - Played by Abby and Rudy. Rudy uses Abby's wand to turn into various objects to hide, and when he turns into a banana, Abby fears she cannot find him.
Appearance in inserts[]
- "Hide and Zeek" (First: Episode 0200)
- "Alphabet Hide and Seek" (First: Episode 0278)
- "(I Can't Get No) Co-Operation" - Mick mentions playing hide and seek in the last verse. (First: Episode 1521)
- Ernie and Bert: At the end of "I Wish I Had a Friend to Play with Me", Ernie offers to play hide and seek with Bert. (First: Episode 1819)
- Journey to Ernie - Centered around this game with Ernie hiding and Big Bird seeking. Ernie would hide in an animated world and Big Bird would have to find him. Big Bird counts to 10 prior to finding and invites the viewer to count with him.
- Furry Friends Forever - Elmo and Tango participate as the seekers with Dax and Ziggy hiding. Elmo counts to 3 prior to finding a dog.
- Where is Elmo? - A sketch featuring Elmo, Rosita, and Big Bird hiding behind random objects and finding each other; sung to the tune of "Where is Thumbkin?". (YouTube)
Other[]
- Grover plays the game with the reader in Would You Like to Play Hide & Seek in This Book With Lovable, Furry Old Grover?
Bear in the Big Blue House[]
- Bear's Hide-and-Seek (book)
- Hide-and-Seek in the Big Blue House (book)