What does 坊 mean in 隠れん坊?

Question

隠れん坊　means ''hide and seek''.

隠　means ''to hide/conceal'' so that part makes sense.

But 坊　means ''boy/priest/priest's residence'' which doesn't make sense here.

Can anyone shed some light on the Kanji for ''hide and seek'' ?

Answer 1

-ん坊【ぼう】/-んぼ is a now largely unproductive suffix that tells "who tends/likes to do —", usually in a childlike manner.

• かくれんぼ "(the game of) sneaky people"
• くいしんぼ "foodie / greedy guts"
• わすれんぼ "forgetful person"
• あばれんぼ "rowdy person"

Answer 2

Actually, the bou/bo means person here. So you can simply explain the kakurenbo as hiding person (game).