Thu - August 12, 2004

Pointing Fingers Game



This is a really fun and addicting game. You can play anywhere and with all ages. Try this one, for sure!

The fingers game is quite simple, and can be played anywhere with another person.

1. The two players start by holding up two fingers each, one on each hand.

2. On a player's turn, that player can point with one hand to any of the three hands around him (his own or the other players'). The hand that gets pointed to adds the number of fingers on the hand that did the pointing to his own, and sticks that many fingers up. For instance, if my right hand has two fingers up and I point it to your left hand, which has one finger up, you would now show three fingers on your left hand.

3. If five fingers or more should be up, make a fist. A fist cannot be used to point with.

4. If you have one fist and your other hand has an even number of fingers, you can point with the second hand to the fist on your turn, and divide the fingers evenly between the hands. This is the only time a fist may be pointed to.

Players alternate turns, and the first player to show two fists loses.

Another version doesn't allow you to point to your own hand, only to the other person's hands, except when splitting fingers with a closed fist.

Some people play a different version of Rule 4 - you don't have to have an even number to split with a fist - if you had a fist and 3 fingers on the other hand, you could use a turn by splitting the 3 as 2 and 1.

Also - in a fast-moving game of Pointing Fingers, a "split" is done by kind of knocking the two hands together and coming away with the fingers split between the two hands, rather than just pointing.

Posted at 07:30 PM     Read More  

Finger Game



Three or more players - more is better.
One player is the "caller." You can have the caller job rotate around the circle.
Each player holds up his hands, fingers closed.
Caller calls out a number from 2 to 10.
Players must immediately open their fingers to show the number called, and there has to be at least one finger from each hand. In other words, both hands must be in use to make up the number called. So if the caller says "5," then the players might hold up 3 fingers on one hand and 2 on the other or 1 and 4.

No "second chances" - whichever fingers are opened first are what counts.

If somebody opens the wrong number of fingers, they're out.

Posted at 07:21 PM     Read More  

What More?



This is a very simple finger game - and you'll be surprised that kids enjoy it, but they often do. You'll have to catch them at the right time when this is a little bit of a challenge, but fun.

It is VERY simple - but you can come up with variations.

You hold up some number of fingers and your child tells you how many MORE fingers it takes to make all 10 fingers.

That's it. You hold up your hands with 3 fingers up, your child says, "7."

Maybe try putting up "zero" fingers - laugh together about that one. Put up all 10 fingers - see if he/she says, "Zero." That is a surprisingly important concept - that zero can mean "no more."

Encourage him/her to make up other games like this. For example, he can put up all 10 fingers, you say a number, and he can leave up how many are left when he puts down that number.

An expansion of this is to use pennies - or some other handy objects. Put 10 pennies in one hand and show him. Then put some number of them, say 3, into your other hand and put it behind your back. Show him the hand with 7 left. He should say "3" are behind your back.

To make it more challenging, add more pennies.

Also - you can have him do it and you guess.

Posted at 03:59 PM     Read More  

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