"Never have I ever" (also known as "I've Never...", "I Never", or "Ten Fingers" is a popular party game that typically involves drinking. The verbal game[1] is started with each player getting into a circle and putting up all ten fingers. Then, the first player says a simple statement starting with "Never have I ever". Anyone who has done what the first player has not must drink and put down one finger.[2] Play then continues around the circle, and the next person makes a statement.[3] The game is finished when any player ends up with all ten fingers down.[4] There is an alternative form of the game in which the players drink indefinitely. An additional rule - uncommon, but beneficial to the game - is that if there is no one taking a drink, then the one who said the particular "I have never..." must take a drink. This rule often forces the players to strategise more and makes for less disposable/pointless suggestions. A further variation holds that whenever only one person is drinking, that person must give a detailed account of why they are drinking.
Games such as never have I ever "reveal interesting things about the participants and help build friendships", according to one American college student.[5] Players often admit to things that they previously had not. As with Truth or Dare, the game is often sexual in nature. In some variations, the game may be incorporated into other drinking games, usually Kings.[5]
The game has been portrayed in many television shows and films, such as Being Erica, One Tree Hill, Lost, The L Word, The Four-Faced Liar, Family Guy, Skins, Big Brother, Frasier, Veronica Mars, 90210, Gossip Girl, Greek, Outsourced, Beerfest, ER, Loving Annabelle, Degrassi: The Next Generation, The Boat That Rocked, The Real World: Las Vegas (2011), How I Met Your Mother and Game of Thrones, The Lying Game.
This game is also demonstrated in the song "Ten Fingers" by San Francisco hip hop artist and poet, George Watsky.
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