Chopsticks

This finger counting game creates an engaging blend of strategy and playful interaction. Chopsticks excels as a fun partner game that naturally encourages quick thinking and tactical decisions. Perfect as a fun large group game for any program, it requires no equipment yet delivers maximum engagement. The competitive nature of this group energiser keeps everyone focused while developing mental math skills through an entertaining format that scales easily for any group size.

Chopsticks – Finger Counting Game

1. Form pairs.
2. Invite each person to face their partner, hold their two clenched hands in front of them and extend the pointer finger of each hand towards their partner.
3. Use a random method to determine which person moves first.
4. Using the finger on one of their hands, the first person (the tapper) will tap one of the fingers of their partner (the tappee.)
5. Explain that whenever a tap occurs, the number of fingers extended by the tapper (ie used to tap their partner) is added to the tappee.
6. For example, if person A uses the one finger (of one hand) to tap a single finger of person B, the latter will immediately extend a second finger to show two.
7. Note, the number of fingers of the tapper does not change, only those of the tappee increase.
8. Taking turns, each person will continue to tap the finger(s) of their partner to add to the number of fingers on the tapped hand of their partner.
9. When a person accepts a tap that pushes the number of fingers on one hand above four, they must place that hand behind their back, ie it is eliminated from the game.
10. A person is entitled, when it is their turn, to transfer one or more fingers from one hand to their other hand, ie the total number of fingers does not change, just the hands extending them.
11. When a person has one hand eliminated, they are entitled to reintroduce it for the purposes of sharing fingers from their other hand, eg with one hand eliminated and 3 fingers on the other hand, a person may share 1 or 2 fingers with their newly introduced hand.
12. Over the course of play, the aim for each person is to eliminate both hands of their partner.
13. Play several rounds, swap partners or try a variation.