Hunt the thimble is a children's search-and-find game using a thimble (or other small object) and can be played by two or more players. The following is just one version of the game played in the home¹.

Hiding the Thimble

One player is chosen as the hider of the thimble, then the other children (the hunters) leave the room. The hider then hides the thimble somewhere in the room. Once the thimble is hidden, the hider calls the hunters into the room or opens the door to let them in, and the hunt begins.

Am I Hot?

Hunters can ask 'am I hot'? The hider must answer honestly, using temperatures as a guide to how close the hunter is to the hidden thimble. The hider has a number of choices:

• If the thimble is on the other side of the room, the hider will say 'you're freezing'.

• A bit nearer than the other side of the room but still far away from the thimble, the hider will say 'you're cold'.

• If the hider is neither far away, nor very near the thimble, the hider will say 'you're warm'.

• When the hunter is near the thimble, the hider will say 'you're hot'.

• If the hunter is within an arm's reach of the thimble, the hider will say 'you're boiling'.

The hunter who finds the thimble then becomes the hider, and the hider joins the hunters and leaves the room, so the thimble can be hidden again. The game ends when one or more children get bored or distracted to play something else.