No.57
Thumb-Count Guessing (Yubisuma)
Japanese name: 指スマ
Materials
- No special equipment is needed.
How to play
- Form a circle, make two loose fists each and position thumbs so they can point upward. Agree on caller order and count the total available thumbs.
- The caller predicts how many thumbs will be raised. As they say “Ready, 3!”, for example, everyone simultaneously raises or keeps down each thumb.
- Count raised thumbs. If correct, the caller removes one of their hands from play. Otherwise the hands still in play remain unchanged. Pass the call to the next person.
- Adjust the possible maximum as hands leave play. Two players with both hands have 0–4 possible thumbs; after one hand is removed, 0–3.
- The first player to remove both hands wins. Restore everyone’s hands, change the starting caller and begin again.
Ways to adapt
Preschool children: one hand each and predict 0–2 thumbs. Younger primary school children: two players. Older primary school children: 3–4 players.