How to Play Witches and Fairies

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

Witches and Fairies is a chasing and tagging playground game for six or more players. One child takes the role of the Witch, while the rest are Fairies who must run, dodge, and reach a safe area without being caught. It is fast, physical, and demands quick thinking from every player, which is why it remains a staple of school playtimes and garden parties.

The game works well on any open outdoor space with a clearly defined boundary and a fixed safe zone. It needs no equipment, sets up in under a minute, and scales easily from small groups to large classes, making it one of the most practical games for supervising adults to reach for.

A little history

The origins of Witches and Fairies are not clearly documented. It belongs to a broad family of tag and chasing games that have been played in British schoolyards for generations, and its witch-and-fairy theme reflects the folklore popular in children's storytelling from the Victorian era onward. Traditionally it was passed down through playground culture rather than written rules, so regional variations are common and no single authoritative version exists.

Setting up

1. Choose a playing area with clear boundaries, ideally an open lawn or playground.
2. Agree a safe zone, such as a wall, a line on the ground, or a marked patch. All players must be able to see it clearly.
3. Choose one player to be the Witch. All remaining players are Fairies.
4. The Witch stands in the centre of the play area. Fairies line up at one end or scatter within the space, at least five metres from the Witch.
5. Agree before the game starts whether caught Fairies are eliminated, frozen, or become Witches. Fix this rule and stick to it.

How to play

1. The Witch calls out 'Witches and Fairies!' to start the game. All Fairies must immediately begin moving.
2. Fairies aim to reach the safe zone without being tagged by the Witch.
3. The Witch chases the Fairies and attempts to tag any Fairy with an open hand. A tag must be a clear touch on the body, not clothing pulled or a shove.
4. A Fairy who reaches the safe zone cannot be tagged while they remain there. They may not stay indefinitely: the Witch may count aloud to ten, after which all Fairies in the safe zone must leave.
5. A tagged Fairy is immediately out of that round, or is frozen in place, depending on the agreed rule. See Variations for alternatives.
6. The game continues until all Fairies are caught or a set time limit is reached.
7. The first Fairy to be caught becomes the Witch for the next round. The last Fairy remaining uncaught wins the round.
8. Reset positions between rounds and play again.

Winning and scoring

The winner of each round is the last Fairy to be caught or the only Fairy to remain uncaught when time is called. Over multiple rounds, keep a simple tally: a player scores one point for each round they survive as the last Fairy standing. The player with the most points after an agreed number of rounds wins the game. In casual play, winning a single round is often enough, and players simply rotate the Witch role and play on for as long as they wish.

The fine points

The most common dispute is whether a tag was clean. The standard ruling is that the Witch must make deliberate contact with the Fairy's body using an open hand. Grazing a sleeve or brushing a foot does not count. If two players disagree, the majority of bystanders decide, or the tag is replayed. Another frequent argument concerns the safe zone: a Fairy is safe the moment any part of their body touches it, not only when they are fully inside it. Partial contact counts.

If the Witch targets only one or two Fairies repeatedly and ignores others, it is poor sportsmanship but not technically against the rules. However, many groups impose an informal rule that the Witch must tag the nearest available Fairy rather than chasing a favourite target. Settle this before play begins. If a Fairy leaves the agreed boundary, they are automatically caught, no tag required.

How to win more often

• Watch the Witch's feet, not their hands. Their direction of travel tells you where they are going before their hands get there.
• Do not sprint to the safe zone immediately. Draw the Witch away from it first, then cut back when they are off-balance.
• Use other Fairies as cover. Move when the Witch is committed to chasing someone else.
• If you are the Witch, ignore the fastest runners early and pick off players who hesitate near the edges.
• Count the Witch's ten-second countdown carefully. Leave the safe zone with one second remaining and you gain the maximum head start over rivals who left earlier.

Variations

Freeze Tag Version

When the Witch tags a Fairy, that Fairy freezes in place with arms outstretched. A free Fairy can unfreeze them by crawling through their legs or touching both their hands. The Witch wins by freezing every Fairy simultaneously. This version suits younger players because nobody is fully eliminated and everyone stays active throughout.

Two Witches

For larger groups of twelve or more, start with two Witches. Both may tag Fairies independently, and the game moves much faster. Tagged Fairies join the Witch team immediately, so the number of chasers grows as the game progresses. The final surviving Fairy is the overall winner.

Spells Version

The Witch is given three chances per round to cast a spell by calling out a colour. Any Fairy wearing that colour must stand still for a count of five before they can run again. This adds a memory and observation layer, as both the Witch and Fairies must pay attention to what everyone is wearing. Works best when players are wearing varied clothing.

Multiple Safe Zones

Mark three or four small safe zones scattered across the playing area instead of one large one, but limit each zone to holding two Fairies at a time. Once a zone is full, arriving Fairies must move on. This forces constant movement, prevents crowding, and keeps the Witch under pressure from multiple directions at once.

Witches and Fairies: frequently asked questions