Snaps is a party game in which players try to guess the way by which two people communicate a phrase known only to one of them. At least two people must be familiar with the game; the others (spectators) are challenged to discover the secret and then participate. This game is fun and is also challenging. It will make many very confused. Don't give the secret away, let them figure it out for themselves.

Overview

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The spectators secretly tell one of the players (the sender) a word or short phrase. The sender then communicates the secret phrase or word to the receiver (the other person who is "in the know") using a predetermined code. Once the receiver knows the coded phrase, he tells the spectators. The sender and receiver continue this process until one of the spectators is sufficiently confident of the code to attempt to either send or receive, thus either proving or disproving that he has discovered the secret.

The secret

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After speaking a standard introduction, the sender spells out the word or phrase with a series of sentences and finger snaps. Consonants are communicated as the first letter of each sentence and vowels are communicated by finger snaps: a is one snap, e is two, i is three, o is four, and u is five snaps. The receiver will often be able to guess the word or phrase before all the letters have been given. The game is most bewildering to the spectators when performed quickly by practiced players.

Introductory phrases

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The sender's introduction is delivered in a ritualised formulaic style. Variations are used to distract the spectators from the real code. The standard forms are:

• "Snaps is the name of the game and the name of the game is Snaps".
• "This time we're going to play the game of Snaps."
• "This is the game of Snaps. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't, but sometimes it doesn't really matter." followed by one of "This time it is" or "This time it doesn't matter".

If a spectator gives the sender a difficult word or phrase, such as one containing a w, x or z, or one that may be difficult to send without giving away the code, the sender may begin by saying, "Snaps is not the name of the game" or "This time it isn't"; this tells the receiver that the word that will be spelled is not the word he has to guess, but rather a clue to what the word is. For example, to send zebra in this way, the sender might spell out black striped horse, thus avoiding having to send the letter z.

Another way to play is to use "Snaps is the name of the game" to indicate that you are spelling the first name of a person, and "Snaps is not the name of the game" to indicate you are spelling the last name of a person.

Example

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If the secret word were "George Washington", the sender might say the following:

• "Snaps is the name of the game and the name of the games is snaps"
• "Give me a second" (G)
• (snap twice) (E)
• (snap four times) (O)
• "Ready?" (R)
• "Got it yet?" (G)
• (snap twice) (E)
• (short pause) ( )
• "Wait a second" (W)
• (snap once) (A)
• "So... you have it?" (S)
• "Hard. Eh?" (H)
• (snap three times) (I)
• "Not yet?" (N)
• "Got it?" (G)
• "Try harder!" (T)
• (snap four times) (O)
• "Now?" (N)

Party games | Guessing games