About Hidden Objects

A scene piled high with things — keys, teapots, snails, kites, socks, crowns — scattered across an attic floor, a garden, a beach or a bedroom, turned every which way and lying over one another. Under it is a list. Find each thing on the list in the pile and tap it: it is circled and ticked off. Clear the list as fast as you can.

Every thing on the list is the only one of its kind in the scene, so when the list says Anchor there is exactly one anchor to find — but it may be any colour, turned on its side, and half under a book. The list shows each thing's shape to help. Nothing on the list is ever hidden more than about a third, and no two are so close that one tap could mean either, so every find is fair.

A tap that finds nothing costs five seconds, which keeps the search honest; a hint circles one of the things you are still looking for, for twenty. Easy has six things to find in a light scatter, Medium eight in a proper heap, and Hard ten small things, turned any way, in a pile over a hundred deep. The daily scene is the same for everyone and ranks the day by time; free play deals a new scene every time.

Tips to win

• Look for the shape on the list, not the colour — the same thing can come in several colours
• Sweep the scene in strips, top to bottom, rather than darting about
• Small things hide at the edges and under big ones: check round books, hats and umbrellas
• Say the next name to yourself as you look; it is easier to spot one thing than eight