How to Play Pass the Slipper

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Pass the Slipper is a lively circle game for five or more players in which a small object is secretly passed around a seated ring while one player in the middle tries to identify who is holding it. It requires no reading ability, no complicated equipment, and no preparation beyond clearing a bit of floor space, which makes it a reliable choice for family gatherings, children's parties, and wet-weather afternoons indoors.

Its appeal lies in the combination of deception and observation: passers must keep their movements subtle and their faces straight, while the guesser must read body language under time pressure. Rounds are short, the forfeit for the guesser who fails adds a light competitive edge, and the game scales naturally from young children to adults without changing a single rule.

A little history

The origins of Pass the Slipper are not precisely documented. It appears in Victorian and Edwardian collections of parlour games under various names and is traditionally associated with the British drawing-room entertainments of the nineteenth century, when organised circle games were a staple of domestic social evenings. Some early printed versions specify an actual slipper as the object passed, which is likely where the name derives. Beyond that, the record is thin and a firm date or inventor cannot be reliably attributed.

Setting up

1. Choose a playing space with enough floor room for all players to sit comfortably in a circle, either cross-legged on the floor or on chairs.
2. All players except one sit in a close circle facing inward, with their hands behind their backs or held loosely in their laps so passing is easy.
3. Select one player to be the Guesser. That player stands (or kneels) in the centre of the circle.
4. Give the slipper or chosen object to any one player in the circle without letting the Guesser see exactly who receives it first.
5. The Guesser closes their eyes or turns away while the circle agrees on a starting signal, then the game begins.

How to play

1. The Guesser stands in the centre and calls 'Pass!' or an agreed start word to begin the round.
2. Players in the circle pass the slipper from hand to hand behind their backs, moving it in either direction around the ring as they choose.
3. Passing must be continuous: a player may not hold the slipper for more than a brief moment before moving it on. Deliberately stalling to confuse the Guesser is permitted as light misdirection, but obvious hoarding is against the spirit of the game.
4. All players, whether currently holding the slipper or not, should move their hands and arms to mimic passing, so the Guesser cannot simply watch for movement.
5. The Guesser watches the circle, moves around inside it, and at any moment may point to a player and call that player's name or say 'You!'
6. The accused player must immediately show both hands. If the slipper is revealed, the accused player becomes the new Guesser and the caught player joins the circle. If the slipper is not found, passing continues and the Guesser has another attempt.
7. There is no fixed limit on guesses unless the group agrees one before play begins (three guesses per turn is a common house rule).
8. If the Guesser exhausts an agreed number of guesses without finding the slipper, they must perform a forfeit set by the group before taking another turn or being replaced.
9. Once a new Guesser has been determined, the slipper is handed to any circle player the group agrees on and a new round starts immediately.

Winning and scoring

Pass the Slipper is traditionally played as a social game without a points system, and rounds simply continue for as long as the group wishes. For a more structured session, a simple scoring method works well: the Guesser scores one point for each correct accusation on the first attempt, and circle players score one point for each full round in which the slipper completes the circuit without being found. The player with the most points after an agreed number of rounds, or after everyone has been Guesser at least twice, wins. Alternatively, an elimination version can be played in which a player who is caught holding the slipper three times in total is out, and the last remaining circle player wins.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns what counts as a valid pass. The standard ruling is that a transfer is complete once the receiving player has physical possession of the object. If the Guesser points at a player in the act of receiving a pass, the slipper is considered to be held by the player who still had it a moment earlier. If both players are genuinely mid-transfer, the Guesser's call is judged invalid and play continues without penalty. Another frequent argument arises when a player drops the slipper. The dropped slipper should be retrieved and play paused briefly; no accusation can be called in the moment of the drop, and the round resumes from the player who dropped it.

Deliberate misdirection, such as faking a pass or nodding toward a neighbour, is legal and encouraged. However, verbally lying in response to a direct question from the Guesser (outside the normal flow of play) is considered unsporting and most groups disallow it for younger players in particular. Any disagreement about whether a player's hands were truly visible on demand should be resolved in the Guesser's favour to keep play moving.

How to win more often

• Mirror the body language of players who do not have the slipper. If everyone looks equally relaxed, the Guesser has no anchor to work from.
• As Guesser, stand still and watch the whole circle rather than tracking individuals. Involuntary micro-movements, a slight tensing of arms or a suppressed smile, are more revealing than deliberate gestures.
• When you have the slipper, pass it on quickly. Holding it for even a second longer than necessary increases the chance of your posture giving you away.
• Change the direction of passing occasionally. Sending the slipper back the way it came breaks the Guesser's rhythm and makes predicting who holds it much harder.
• As Guesser, watch the players on either side of the one you suspect rather than staring directly at the suspect. People often betray relief or anticipation when the slipper moves away from a neighbour.

Variations

Timed Rounds

Set a countdown of 60 or 90 seconds per Guesser turn using a phone timer or egg timer. If the Guesser has not found the slipper when the timer sounds, they perform a forfeit and a new Guesser is chosen. This keeps the game moving at parties where one Guesser might otherwise struggle indefinitely.

Two Slippers

Introduce a second identical object into the circle at the start of a round, placing the two items with players on opposite sides of the ring. The Guesser must now identify both in the same turn to score. This variant works well with larger groups of eight or more and makes misdirection considerably harder for the circle.

Blind Pass

All circle players close their eyes and pass the slipper solely by touch, preventing anyone other than the current holder from knowing with certainty where the object is. The Guesser still has open eyes. This levels the playing field for mixed age groups, as adult circle players can no longer use peripheral vision to track the object.

Forfeit Slipper

Before play begins, the group agrees a list of forfeits such as singing a line of a song, answering a question, or performing a silly action. Any player caught holding the slipper must complete a forfeit before rejoining the circle. This version is popular at children's parties and keeps eliminated players engaged rather than simply watching.

Pass the Slipper: frequently asked questions