Games to Play With Your Hands

Clapping patterns, finger duels and tricks for a waiting room or a back seat: press Pick 3 new games.

Games to Play With Your Hands

  1. Chopsticks, the Finger Game1. Both players hold out two hands with one finger up on each. 2. On your turn, tap one of your hands on one of your opponent's. They add your fingers to that hand. 3. A hand that reaches five or more is out and goes behind the back. 4. Instead of tapping, you may split your fingers a new way between your own hands. Knock out both hands to win. Players: 2. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
  2. Opposite Circles1. Hold both index fingers out in front of you. 2. Draw circles in the air with both, the right going forward and the left going backward. 3. A judge watches for ten seconds: both circles must keep turning opposite ways. 4. Anyone who manages it tries the next level, circles with whole arms. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  3. Three-Height Clap1. Clap your own hands, then meet both of your partner's hands up high. 2. Clap your own hands, then meet in the middle. 3. Clap your own hands, then meet down low, palms facing up for one player and down for the other. 4. On the next time through, the caller shouts the heights in any order and both must follow. Players: 2, plus a caller if you have one. Time: 5 min. Props: none.

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How it works

These are games to play with your hands and nothing else: clapping patterns written out beat by beat, finger-counting duels such as Sum Snap, and new ways to play rock paper scissors. A few use a table or a lamp.

Read the full guide

Learn a clapping pattern from words

Each pattern in Clapping patterns for two is written as beats: clap your own hands, clap across, pat knees. Say the beats aloud at walking pace three times before you speed up. Four-Beat Cross Clap is the one to start with.

Hand games to play with friends in a group

Most duels are for two. For three or more, look at Catch the Finger, Thumbs Up Total, Fist Count-Out to Eight and Crossed Hands Tap Round, or choose More filters at the end of the menu and pick a head count.

Tips
  • In a quiet place, pick Whisper Clap or Same Sign, No Talking: both are silent by rule.
  • Reaction games here end at a touch. If a game starts to sting, swap to a counting duel.

Questions and answers

What are games you can play with hands and no props?

Nearly all of these. Odds and Evens, Best of Five, Sum Snap and every rock paper scissors variation need two hands each and nothing more. The few that use a table or a lamp say so in their Props line.

How do you play Chopsticks with your hands?

Each player starts with one finger up on each hand. On your turn, tap an opponent's hand to add your fingers to it. A hand that reaches five or more is out. You may also split your own fingers a new way.

Which are games to play with your hands only when you have to stay seated?

Everything in Finger-counting duels and Rock paper scissors variations is played sitting down, and so are most of the clapping patterns. They work side by side on a bench as well as face to face.

Are there hand games that do not hurt?

Yes: none of these uses a slap. Fingertip Tag ends at one fingertip touching the back of a hand, Clap Trap and Finger in the Tunnel close softly, and thumb wrestling here is won by a pin held for a slow count.

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All 42 games

Clapping patterns for two 8

  • Category on the Fourth Beat 1. Keep a steady four-beat going together: knees, clap, snap left, snap right. 2. Choose a category, such as fruits or animals with tails. 3. Take turns naming one thing on the fourth beat without breaking the rhythm. 4. A repeat, a pause or a missed beat ends the round. The other player picks the next category. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
  • Count-Up Clap, One More Each Round 1. The pattern is three beats: clap your own hands, clap right to right, clap left to left. 2. Round one: do each beat once. Round two: do each beat twice. Round three: three times each. 3. Count the claps aloud together. 4. See how many rounds you reach before one of you loses count. Players: 2. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
  • Fists, Palms, Backs 1. Agree on three moves: bump fists together, clap palms together, tap the backs of your hands together. 2. Chant the pattern as you do it: fists fists, palms palms, fists fists, backs backs. 3. Then fists, palms, fists, backs, one of each. 4. Start slowly and speed up each time through. A wrong move sends you both back to slow. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
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Clapping patterns for two, continued

  • Four-Beat Cross Clap 1. Face your partner. Beat one: clap your own hands. 2. Beat two: clap right hand to right hand, across. Beat three: clap your own hands again. 3. Beat four: clap left to left. 4. Say one, two, three, four aloud and repeat. Count how many rounds you manage before a miss, then try to beat it. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Shoulders, Knees, Clap, Across 1. Beat one: cross your arms and pat your own shoulders. 2. Beat two: pat your own knees. Beat three: clap your own hands. 3. Beat four: clap both hands across to your partner. 4. Every fourth time through, clap across twice. Whoever forgets the double clap starts the count again from one. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Three-Height Clap 1. Clap your own hands, then meet both of your partner's hands up high. 2. Clap your own hands, then meet in the middle. 3. Clap your own hands, then meet down low, palms facing up for one player and down for the other. 4. On the next time through, the caller shouts the heights in any order and both must follow. Players: 2, plus a caller if you have one. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Waltz Clap in Threes 1. Sit facing each other. This one is in threes, like a waltz. 2. Beat one: pat your own knees. Beat two: clap your own hands. Beat three: clap both hands across to your partner. 3. Hum any slow tune in three-time while you play. 4. When it feels easy, swap beat three for right hands only, then left hands only, in turn. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Whisper Clap 1. Pick any clapping pattern you both know. 2. Play it at full speed, but stop every clap a finger's width before the hands touch. 3. The first player to make a sound, by touching hands or laughing aloud, gives the other a point. 4. First to three points chooses the next pattern. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.

Finger-counting duels 8

  • Chopsticks, the Finger Game 1. Both players hold out two hands with one finger up on each. 2. On your turn, tap one of your hands on one of your opponent's. They add your fingers to that hand. 3. A hand that reaches five or more is out and goes behind the back. 4. Instead of tapping, you may split your fingers a new way between your own hands. Knock out both hands to win. Players: 2. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
  • High Hand, but One Beats Five 1. On three, both players show one to five fingers. 2. The higher number wins the round, with one exception: a single finger beats a full hand of five. 3. Equal numbers are thrown again. 4. Play to seven points and notice how rarely anyone dares to show five. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Make Seven Together 1. This one is played as a team of two, with no talking and no signals. 2. On three, each player shows zero to five fingers. 3. If the two hands add up to exactly seven, score a point together. 4. You get ten throws. Then try for a harder target, such as four, and compare scores with another pair. Players: 2, or pairs against pairs. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Odd One Out for Three 1. Three players count to three and each shows one finger or two. 2. If one player differs from the other two, that player scores. 3. If all three match, nobody scores and you throw again. 4. First to five points wins. With four players, only a player who differs from all three others scores. Players: 3 or 4. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Odds and Evens, Best of Five 1. One player is odds and the other is evens. 2. Count one, two, three, shoot. On shoot, both show any number of fingers on one hand. 3. Add the fingers together: an odd total is a point for odds, an even total for evens. 4. Play best of five, then swap who is odds. Players: 2. Time: 3 min. Props: none.
  • Shout the Total 1. On three, both players throw out one hand showing zero to five fingers. 2. At the same moment each shouts a guess at the total of both hands. 3. A right guess scores a point. If both are right or both wrong, nobody scores. 4. First to three points wins. This is the old game of morra, played for points only. Players: 2 to 4. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Sum Snap 1. On go, both players show any number of fingers using both hands. 2. The first to say the total of all four hands wins the round. 3. A wrong answer gives the point away. 4. Play to five. For older players, switch to multiplying your number by your partner's. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Thumbs Up Total 1. Everyone holds out two fists, thumbs on top and tucked down. 2. The caller says a number from zero to the number of thumbs in play. As they say it, everyone raises both thumbs, one or none. 3. If the thumbs standing equal the number called, the caller takes one fist away. 4. The call passes left. The first player with both fists gone wins. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 8 min. Props: none.

Rock paper scissors variations 8

  • Bluff Call 1. Before each throw, the first player says aloud which sign they will throw. 2. They may be telling the truth or bluffing. 3. Both throw on shoot and the usual rules decide the round. 4. Take turns being the one who calls. First to five wins. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Catch the Match 1. Play one normal throw to find an attacker. 2. Now both throw again and again, a beat apart. The attacker calls each sign aloud as they throw it. 3. If the defender ever shows the same sign as the attacker, the attacker wins. 4. If the defender's sign beats the attacker's, the roles swap at once and play goes on. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Fourth Sign, House Rules 1. Together, invent a fourth sign and a hand shape for it. 2. Agree on what it beats and what beats it. One French version adds a well: rock and scissors fall in, and paper covers it. 3. Play to five with all four signs. 4. Then talk about whether your new sign made the game fair, and fix it. Players: 2 or 3. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
  • Minus One, the Two-Hand Round 1. Rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper and paper beats rock, as usual. 2. On shoot, both players throw a sign with each hand. 3. Look at all four hands, then say minus one together and each pull one hand back. 4. The hands left in decide the winner. A tie is thrown again. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Same Sign, No Talking 1. Here the two players are on the same side. 2. Throw rock, paper or scissors on shoot, trying to match each other. 3. Count the matches in ten throws. No talking, nodding or planning between throws. 4. Swap partners and see which pair reads each other best. Players: 2, or more in pairs. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Speed-Up Rhythm Throws 1. Set a rhythm together: pat knees, clap, throw. 2. Play it over and over without stopping, saying who won each throw as you go. 3. Each time around, go a little faster. 4. The first player to miss a beat, or to throw late, loses the rally. Play three rallies. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Throw to Lose 1. One player is the leader and throws a sign on shoot. 2. The other throws half a beat later and must lose on purpose: scissors to a rock, rock to paper, paper to scissors. 3. Winning or tying by mistake costs a point. 4. After ten throws, swap roles. Fewest mistakes wins. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Two Hands, Two Duels 1. Sit facing each other with both hands out. 2. On shoot, each hand throws its own sign and plays the hand straight across from it. 3. That makes two duels in one throw: score a point for each you win. 4. First to seven. You may not throw the same sign with both hands twice in a row. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.

Hand stacks, gentle reactions and thumb wrestling 10

  • Catch the Finger 1. Stand or sit in a ring. Hold your left hand out flat, palm up. 2. Point your right index finger down onto the palm of the player on your right. 3. A caller counts one, two, three, go, sometimes stalling. On go, try to close your left hand on a finger while pulling your own finger free. 4. A catch scores 1. Players: 3 to 12. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Clap Trap 1. One player holds two flat hands a forearm apart, like a book left open. 2. The other passes a flat hand down through the gap and out again. 3. The trap may clap shut, softly, to catch it. 4. Three passes each, then swap. A caught hand scores for the trap. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Crossed Hands Tap Round 1. Sit around a table. Everyone lays both hands flat, with each arm crossed over a neighbor's, so that no hand lies next to its partner. 2. One hand taps the table. The tap travels around the ring from hand to hand, in the order the hands lie. 3. A double tap reverses the direction. 4. A hand that taps out of turn, or misses its turn, comes off the table. Players: 3 to 8. Time: 8 min. Props: a table.
  • Finger in the Tunnel 1. One player makes a loose tunnel with a fist. 2. The other dips an index finger in and out of it, as slowly or as quickly as they like. 3. The tunnel may close, softly, whenever its owner chooses. 4. A caught finger scores for the tunnel and a closed empty tunnel scores for the finger. Swap after five tries. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Fingertip Tag 1. One player holds both hands out, palms down. The other holds theirs just underneath, palms up. 2. The player underneath tries to bring one hand around and touch the back of a top hand with one fingertip. 3. The top player pulls away in time. A touch is a tap with a fingertip and never a slap. 4. A touch swaps the roles. So does a flinch when nothing moved. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Fist Count-Out to Eight 1. Everyone holds out two fists. 2. A counter taps the fists in order with one fist, counting one to eight, and taps their own chin in place of the fist that is doing the tapping. 3. The fist that gets eight goes behind its owner's back. 4. Keep counting from the next fist. The last fist left in wins and its owner counts next. Players: 3 to 8. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Hand Stack, Bottom to Top 1. Players pile their hands flat on a table, taking turns, until all hands are in one stack. 2. The hand at the bottom slides out and goes on top, gently. Then the next bottom hand, and so on. 3. Get faster and faster. 4. When someone calls reverse, the top hand must go to the bottom. A hand that moves out of turn starts a new stack. Players: 2 to 4. Time: 5 min. Props: a table.
  • Point and Look 1. Play a throw of rock paper scissors to find the pointer. 2. The pointer counts one, two, three and points up, down, left or right. 3. On three, the other player turns their head up, down, left or right. 4. If the head goes the way the finger points, the pointer scores. If not, play a new throw. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Three-Way Thumb Wrestle 1. Three players hook their right hands into one knot, with all three thumbs up in the middle. 2. Any thumb may pin any other for a count of four. 3. A pinned thumb is out, and the other two carry on without letting go. 4. The winner picks which hand everyone uses next. Players: 3. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Thumb Wrestling With a Head Start 1. Hook the fingers of your right hands together with thumbs up. 2. A pin is one thumb holding the other down for a slow count of four. 3. To make it fair between a big hand and a small one, the bigger hand must hold its pin for a count of six. 4. Play best of three, then use left hands. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.

Shadow shapes and finger tricks 8

  • Four Hands, One Shadow Creature 1. Two players stand side by side in front of the lamp. 2. Without talking, they join all four hands into one shadow creature that has never existed. 3. The watchers give it a name and say what it eats. 4. The makers choose the name they like best, and that watcher picks a partner for the next creature. Players: 4 to 10. Time: 10 min. Props: a lamp and a blank wall.
  • Opposite Circles 1. Hold both index fingers out in front of you. 2. Draw circles in the air with both, the right going forward and the left going backward. 3. A judge watches for ten seconds: both circles must keep turning opposite ways. 4. Anyone who manages it tries the next level, circles with whole arms. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Shadow Letters, Spell a Word 1. Shine one lamp at a blank wall and switch the other lights off. 2. The shadow maker bends fingers and hands into capital letters, one at a time, to spell a word of three letters. 3. The others call each letter as they see it on the wall. 4. Whoever says the whole word first makes the next one. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 10 min. Props: a lamp and a blank wall.
  • Take-Off Thumb Show 1. Learn the old trick: bend one thumb at the knuckle, hide the bend behind the other hand's index finger and slide the tip of the other thumb along as if it came loose. 2. Each player practices for two minutes. 3. Then perform one at a time for the group. 4. Watchers vote, by pointing on three, for the show that fooled them best. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
  • Tangled Hands, Move This Finger 1. Cross your wrists, put your palms together and link your fingers. 2. Bring the linked hands down, in toward your chest and up under your chin. 3. Your partner points at one finger without touching it. 4. Move that finger, and only that finger, on the first try to score. Five points each, then swap. Players: 2. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Thumb and Little Finger Switch 1. Make two fists. Stick out the thumb of one hand and the little finger of the other. 2. On switch, swap them: the thumb goes in as that hand's little finger comes out, and the other hand does the opposite. 3. A caller says switch faster and faster. 4. The last player still switching cleanly wins. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
  • Tucked Finger Table Test 1. Lay one hand flat on a table and tuck the middle finger under, so its knuckle rests on the wood. 2. A partner calls thumb, index, ring or little finger in any order. 3. Lift the finger that is called, an inch off the table, without moving the others. 4. Score a point for each clean lift, and compare which finger gave everyone trouble. Players: 2 to 6. Time: 5 min. Props: a table.
  • Wall Shadow Tale, Five Sentences 1. One storyteller uses a hand for each of two characters on the wall, such as a beak made of fingers and a walking pair of legs. 2. They tell a story of five sentences while the shadows act it out. 3. The listeners each add one sentence of their own to the ending. 4. Then the lamp passes to the next storyteller. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 10 min. Props: a lamp and a blank wall.

How this list was compiled: Our suggestions, written for this site for children of about 5 to 12 and the adults who play with them. The wording is ours, the ages and times are our estimates, and many of the variations are our own. No game here uses a slap. Rules of the traditional games were checked on 2026-10-02 against English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ followed by the name): Rock_paper_scissors, Chopsticks_(hand_game), Odds_and_evens_(hand_game), Morra_(game), Thumb_war, Clapping_game. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA 4.0; the rules are restated in our words. Licence: own work