[For Adults] Fun Hand-Clapping Games: A Curated Selection of Ideas Great for Brain Training Too!
Hand games you can play using only your hands, without any props.
In preschools and kindergartens, you often see children happily enjoying hand games while singing.
In this article, we’ve gathered ideas for hand games that even adults can get excited about.
We’ll introduce a wide range: from ones you can enjoy like party games at banquets or gatherings with friends, to activities that help with cognitive training for seniors.
Hand games may look simple, but they can be surprisingly tricky and not so straightforward! Let’s give them a try right away.
- [For Adults] Fun recreational games. Perfect for short breaks too!
- Fun Indoor Games for Elementary School Kids Without Any Equipment
- Recommended games for two people that you can enjoy without any equipment
- Challenge together! A roundup of word games for adults
- Brain-teasing game roundup
- [For Adults] A roundup of psychological tests everyone can enjoy together
- [For Adults] Exciting Bus Recreation
- Beanbag song: a playable children's folk song
- [For Adults] Fun Things to Do on a Rainy Day
- Party games collection that get everyone excited in a big group
- Fun for kids and adults alike! A collection of DIY beanbag (otedama) ideas
- [For Adults] Make the Most of Your Free Time! Ideas to Kill Time
- [For Kids] Fun Either Way: A Collection of Rock-Paper-Scissors Game Ideas
[For Adults] Fun Hand-Clapping Games | A Curated Selection of Brain-Training Ideas! (11–20)
Finger kendo
“Yubi-kendō” is a two-person hand game played face-to-face.
The players clasp hands, stick out their pinkies, and take turns tapping each other’s pinky.
With each turn, offense and defense alternate, focusing on whether your own pinky can hold steady without collapsing and whether you can make your opponent’s finger waver.
If it collapses, you move on to the ring finger, then the middle finger, and finally the index finger.
Though simple, it has surprising depth, testing reflexes, concentration, and fingertip stability, and it’s enjoyable even for adults.
Be gentle to avoid injuries—going too hard can be dangerous.
It requires no equipment, can be started right away, and is a hand game that anyone—children, seniors, and others—can do without strain.
Alps Ichi-man-jaku (a fingerplay song) Literal: “Ten Thousand Shaku of the Alps” (a children’s fingerplay song) Common English rendering: “Climbing Mount Yodel” or “Alps 10,000 Shaku”
Haven’t you all played “Alps Ichiman-jaku” at least once in elementary school? The original tune is the American folk song “Yankee Doodle,” and in Japan, a version sung by the Boy Scouts spread as a mountaineers’ parody.
In fact, the song has as many as 29 verses.
To play, pair up, face each other, and clap or pat hands in time with the song.
If adults are playing, it might be fun to speed it up.
Clap-Clap Game
Let’s try a clap-along game that also works as brain training, filling the room with the sound of rhythmic clapping.
The rules are very simple: when the facilitator’s hands come together, participants clap both hands once.
The facilitator can also add fake-out motions, pretending to clap without actually doing it, to make the game more exciting.
Once everyone gets used to it, increase the speed of the claps and keep a steady tempo—this will create a sense of unity among the participants.
Have fun and give it a try!
Clapping Game Song “If You’re Happy and You Know It”
The hand-play song “If You’re Happy and You Know It” can be arranged not only by clapping hands but also by adding movements like stomping your feet or rotating your wrists.
There are many ways to enjoy this song, and by incorporating question prompts during the song—such as “What’s the date today?”, “What’s the weather like?”, or “What time is it?”—you can stimulate the brain while singing, which is effective for boosting quick reactions and decision-making.
It’s perfect not only for interacting with children but also as a lively activity for adults and in senior care facilities.
Give it a try!
Wasshoi Game
@kiki_holdings A quick game for spare moments. Wasshoi Game. It gets super hard as the character count increases.
♬ Original Song – kiki_holdings – kiki_holdings
In the “Wasshoi Game,” one person picks a kana from the Japanese syllabary and declares, “Wasshoi [kana]!” Everyone raises their pinky finger like in the finger-counting game “Yubi Suma,” and you count the total number of raised pinkies.
Players then think of a word whose length matches that number of letters and that ends with the chosen kana; whoever shouts it out first with “___ wasshoi!” advances.
For example, if the chosen kana is ‘sa’ and there are four pinkies raised, someone might say, “Arekusa wasshoi!” It’s a playful hand game that’s both funny and great brain training.
Seven Steps
Seven Step is a counting song game where you count numbers rhythmically from 1 and clap only on 7.
Once you get used to it, you can add rules like “clap on 2 and 7,” which boosts the game’s difficulty by demanding more focus and quick reactions.
Its appeal is that anyone can join right away and it isn’t overly complicated.
You can freely customize it by increasing the tempo or swapping claps for other actions.
Since it requires no equipment, it’s great for adult brain training, recreation, and interacting with children.
[For Adults] Fun Hand Games | Carefully Selected Brain-Training Ideas (21–30)
Hand play song ‘Antagata Dokosa’
A playful song you can enjoy using the “sa” parts of the lyrics: ‘Antagata Dokosa.’ There are many ways to play—using beanbags, jumping, and more.
In this version, participants form a circle, clap their hands to the beat while singing, and on each “sa,” they clap hands with the person next to them.
You clap with both your right and left neighbors, which makes it a bit tricky, but try it in rhythm.
It also serves as brain training for older adults, so it’s recommended as a recreational activity in care facilities.