1) All participants except for a few (3 to 5) join hands in a circle with people spaced as far apart as is comfortable (one or two steps), to form a trap or net. The remaining participants are the mice or fish.

2) The leader calls “open trap/net.”  Participants forming the trap/net raise their hands so the mice/fish can come inside the net easily.

3) The leader calls “run little mice, run” or “swim little fish, swim.”  The mice/fish move from outside the trap/net, inside it, and out again, over and over.

4) The leader calls “snap” and the participants forming the trap/net lower their hands to close the trap/net.

5) Any caught mice or fish join the trap, then repeat steps 2 through 5 until all mice/fish are caught.