The game starts when I start counting slowly to 10 in Spanish. During that time I “keep my eyes closed” and students move to a sign. I cover or close my eyes so I don’t know who is where when I call a sign. *I usually need to give a few reminders about walking feet as students get quite excited to start the game.
Once I get to 10 I pause and listen for all the little feet to stop moving before I call one of the signs. Whoever is standing by that sign sits back at their table spot and helps me count for the rest of this round. Play resumes when I start counting to 10 again.
I used to play this game until there was only one person still standing. That is definitely always an option. When you play that way, make sure to tell students once there are fewer students than signs, there cannot be two kids at the same sign.
I found that after a while, the students who were “out” had trouble waiting until the next round. Asking them to wait in their seats all that time felt counterproductive. So, I came up with a new version that restarts when there are still several students who are “in.” You can restart at any time but I usually do it if I call a sign that has no students standing by it.