Grab the finger

Get everyone to stand in a circle, with their arms out either side.  Tell people to put their left palm up, and right finger pointing down (touching the person next to them's outstretched palm). 

When you say the word "GO", people need to do two things:

  1. Grab the person's finger in your left hand
  2. Prevent your right finger from being grabbed

If your finger is grabbed, you are out, and you sit on the sidelines.  The game continues until there is a winner.  

The key to this game is adding a bit of drama and suspense around when you say "Go". eg count down, add a big delay, etc.  You can do it a few times before it gets old :)




Features
  • Free / Low Cost
  • No equipment needed
  • Sharing, Get to know you
  • Night
Objectives
  • Ice breaker
  • Team Building Teamwork
Space
  • Indoor
  • Large area
  • Outdoor
  • Small area
Age
  • Primary or Elementary School
  • Teens (Age 12-15)
  • Teens (Age 16-18)
  • Young Adults

Group Size
  • Small Groups (1-9 people)
  • Medium (10-29 people)
  • Large groups (30+)

Duration
  • Short (1-10 minutes)
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Comments

Great game! The youth asked to play this over and over again.

We added one more rule: If you grab a finger early then you're out.

We rotated the count down to keep the "out" people involved.

~Jason Furtak~
Youth Leader
Calvary Chapel Alpharetta
- Jason Furtak (7 Jan 2009)

this game is very fun when you tell a story and everyone has their hands like this, but in the story, every time you say the word watermelon, they grab fingers, its funny to also say stuff like, water buffalo and stuff like that to trick them
- kirstin (12 May 2009)

the simplest games are so much fun
- Scott (7 May 2010)

Fun game. Great to use in combo with other circle games to keep things lively - Yurt Circle, Vortex or Big Booty!
- Phil (17 May 2010)

We play this, but I renamed it "Pull My Finger" - adds to the silly factor
- Mike (13 Mar 2011)

We haven't played this yet, but I got to laughing so hard while reading it, just thinking about the kids and how funny it will be. And Scott you are right, the simplest games are so fun. :)
- Jessica (11 May 2011)

Played this as an icebreaker at a recent Football (soccer) camp in England. The youngsters (16-19 year olds) loved it and if they got caught we asked them to tell the group something about themselves. Love your website it was a great help
- BJ (27 Jul 2011)

The teens kept commenting on how this game was so stupid but were cracking up laughing the whole time. It was definitely hilarious to watch.
- Sherry (19 Jan 2012)

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