Mushi-ken (虫拳), Japanese rock-paper-scissors variant, from the Kensarae sumai zue (1809)

Hand games are

game A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...

s played using only the

hands A hand is a prehensile, multi- fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on eac ...

of the players. Hand games exist in a variety of cultures internationally, and are of interest to academic studies in

ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

and

music education Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origin ...

. Hand games are used to teach music literacy skills and socio-emotional learning in elementary music classrooms internationally.

Examples of hand games

Chopsticks Chopsticks ( or ; Pinyin: ''kuaizi'' or ''zhu'') are shaped pairs of equal-length sticks of Chinese origin that have been used as kitchen and eating utensils in most of East and Southeast Asia for over three millennia. They are held in the ...

(sticks) *

Clapping game A clapping game (or hand game) is a type of usually cooperative (i.e., non-competitive) game which is generally played by two players and involves clapping as a rhythmic accompaniment to a singing game or reciting of a rhyme, often nursery rhyme ...

s * Mercy * Morra (finger counting) * Odds and evens * Pat-a-cake and variations: ** Mary Mack *

Red hands Red hands, also known as hot hands,Jim Elliott, Lois Jean Brady, America X. Gonzalez (2011). ''Speech in Action: Interactive Activities Combining Speech Language Pathology and Adaptive Physical Education'', p.65. Jessica Kingsley. . slapsies, ...

(or hand-slap game) * Rock paper scissors * Thumb war (or thumb wrestling) * " Where are your keys?" (language acquisition game) Less strictly, the following may be considered hand games: * Bloody knuckles * Fingers (drinking game) * Jacks * Knife game * Spellbinder * Stick gambling * String games, such as cat's cradle

Reference

* {{Game-stub