Bloody knuckles is a game in which each player makes a

fist A fist is the shape of a hand when the fingers are bent inward against the palm and held there tightly. To make or clench a fist is to fold the fingers tightly into the center of the palm and then to clamp the thumb over the middle phalanges; i ...

with the thumb wrapped around the other fingers. Then each fist punches the other's fist. Players who flinch are out of the game. Whoever lasts the longest before quitting wins the game. The game is played until someone's knuckles are

bleeding Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethr ...

or they quit due to excessive

pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging Stimulus (physiology), stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sense, sensory and emotional experience associated with, or res ...

. Variations include simultaneous or alternate punching, and games in which the strike is the loser's punishment/winner's privilege. In the first two ways of playing the game,

violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...

, though essentially consensual, is inherent, not a risk. Almost all ways of playing are dangerous, carrying the

risk In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environ ...

injury Injury is physiological damage to the living tissue of any organism, whether in humans, in other animals, or in plants. Injuries can be caused in many ways, including mechanically with penetration by sharp objects such as teeth or with ...

scar A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrosis, fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other Organ (anatomy), organs, and biological tissue, t ...

ring, and damage to one's bones and hand. The point is to make them bleed. "Bloody knuckles" may refer to any game where the loser is punished: punched, slapped, or struck with an object. For example, in the

card game A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...

, the winner strikes the loser's hand with the deck of cards.Salamone, Nancy (2010). ''Victory Over Violence: Nancy's Story and The Business Of Me'', p.15. AuthorHouse. . "The person with the lowest score wins and gets to 'bloody' the knuckles of the loser by hitting them with the cards." There are different variations of the game. One variation, quarters, where two players use a

coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

, such as a quarter, that is spun around a flat surface (usually a table). The players continue to keep it spinning by flicking it with their fingers. The other player must touch it without causing it to stop spinning and fall on the heads or tails side. Then the person who spun the coin first tries to touch it next. This turn-taking continues until the coin falls. Whichever player's touch causes the spinning coin to stop and fall down is considered the loser, and they must put their knuckles on the playing surface. Then, the winner puts their thumb on the coin and forcefully pushes it across the table onto the loser's exposed knuckles. Another version includes spinning a coin on a flat surface, then grabbing it with the pad of the player's thumb with the thumbs crossed like an x. If the player grabs the coin between the thumbs they rotate spinning until one does not grab the coin. When the player does not grab the coin, the opponent forcefully slides the coin into the loser's knuckles with the knuckles flat on the surface with one arm behind if they miss the knuckles. Whoever bleeds any amount first loses.

References

{{Reflist Boys' toys and games Endurance games Hand games

See also

References