Knife game

Knife game (representation of motion)

Simple order for playing the knife game.

More complex order for playing the knife game.

More complex order for playing the knife game.

The knife game, pinfinger, nerve, bishop, stabscotch, or five finger fillet (FFF), is a game wherein, placing the palm of one's hand down on a table with fingers apart, using a knife, or sharp object, one attempts to stab back and forth between one's fingers, moving the object back and forth, trying to not hit one's fingers. The game may be safely played with the eraser side of a pencil. The order in which the spaces between the fingers are stabbed varies. In North America, the most popular version is to simply stab all the spaces in order, starting from behind the thumb to after the little finger, and back again:

 1-2-3-4-5-6-5-4-3-2 (repeat).

In Australia this order is used.

 1-2-1-3-1-4-1-5-1-6 (repeats).

In Europe, a more complex order is used. With the spaces numbered 1 (behind the thumb) through 6 (after the little finger), the order would be as follows:

 1-2-1-3-1-4-1-5-1-6-1-5-1-4-1-3-1-2 (repeats)

or an even more complex order:

 1-2-1-3-1-4-1-5-1-6-2-6-3-6-4-6-5-6-4-6-3-6-2-6 (etc.)

Popular culture

Video games

Based on the knife game, Knife.Hand.Chop.Bot (2007), by the Svoltcore group, is an, "interactive installation that plays with the recipient's concern about [his or her] own physical integrity."^[1]

This mini-game was available to play in the 2010's Red Dead Redemption.

Knife game song

In early 2013, the knife game became a trend on the internet after the release of a YouTube video entitled "The Knife Game Song" created by songwriter Rusty Cage.^[2] Several internet users uploaded videos of them singing a song while playing the knife game.^[3] A new version of the song with additional lyrics was later released on March 29, 2013.^[4]

See also

• Mumblety-peg

References