Hand Jive Categories Game

Categories is a fun and easy hand game you can play anywhere.

All you need is two people, but it is really fun with a group. The purpose of the game is to keep up a clapping rhythm while you are thinking of a word for the category that has been named — all related to colors!

Getting Started

• If you have a group, sit cross-legged on the floor in a circle.
• Choose one person who will be the leader and start the rhythm and the game.
• Before you begin the game, practice this rhythm until everyone is doing it together:
  • Slap knees with both hands.
  • Clap hands together.
  • Snap fingers, first one hand and then the other.
  • Repeat (Slap, Clap, Snap, Snap) until everyone is doing the entire rhythm together several times in a row.

How to Play

• The leader starts the game by saying "Categories" on the snaps, dividing the word so it falls into the rhythm of the double snaps: "Cate - gories."
• The next person says "Names of" on the double snaps.
• And the next player says the title of the category they want to play, e.g., "Green foods."
• Moving around the circle (or back and forth if there are only two players), each person calls out an answer to the category on the rhythm of the snaps. If a player cannot think of something in the category, they can switch it by calling out "Cate - gories" on the snaps, and the round starts again.
• The game ends when a player either can't think of something for the category or the rhythm is broken.
  
  Like This:
  Slap, clap, "Cate - gories" (on the snap, snap)
  Slap, clap, "Names of" (on the snap, snap)
  Slap, clap, "Green - foods"
  Slap, clap, "broc - coli"
  Slap, clap, "green - beans"
  Slap, clap, "Cate - gories"
  Slap, clap, "Names of"
  Slap, clap, "Brown animals"
  And so on.

For Older Kids

Toughen the competition by eliminating people for mistakes or by not allowing players to switch categories. If someone says a word out of rhythm, or misses a beat and doesn't say something quickly enough, they are out. The next person in line picks up the rhythm again, starting over with "Cate - gories."

This game was created by Janet Ulwick-Sacca for Great Expectations