String Finger Games

About

• String finger games or string figures involve weaving an approximately 6-foot-long piece of string between your fingers in to form certain patterns. Some games require two or more people, but many of them are solitary games that people can play on their own. Some string finger games even involve using other parts of the body, such as the toes or the mouth.

History

• String finger games have been around for thousands of years and can be found throughout many cultures, although historians have only begun recording them for the last 100 years or so. Some refer to the early 1900s as the "Golden Age of String Figures" because many types were recorded during this period. In some cultures, such as certain Native American tribes, string figures were more than just a game; they had religious significance.

Examples

• Jacob's Ladder is one popular example of a string figure game, and it involves passing the string through the fingers to form a pattern resembling a ladder. The Fish Net game has the player crossing strings until the player creates an arrangement that looks similar to a fish net. Numerous string finger games allow you to create representations of objects and animals. For example, you can create string shapes of a moth, a man climbing a tree, a fishing spear and a star. These games are taken from civilizations around the world, ranging from Africa to Australia to Great Britain.

Magic Tricks

• String finger games can also involve easy magic tricks. One trick involves creating two loops, and maneuvering your fingers so that one of the loops around your index finger seemingly just unravels. The Handcuffs game involves tying two ends of a string to your friends, and tying two ends of a second string to yourself, and then crossing the two strings and trying to escape by maneuvering the hands in a certain way.