Ninja Game

Instructions:

• Have all players stand in a circle, facing each other, in the middle of a room. 

• To begin, have everyone say together, “Ultimate Ninja!” And then everyone can freeze in a ninja pose. 

• At the beginning of the game, everyone must remember their turn order. 

• Turns go clockwise; thus a person should remember who was before and after them.

• The goal of the Ultimate Ninja game is to be the last ninja standing. 

• To stay in the game, you must not let anyone hit your hand. If someone hits your hand, you are “out” and must leave the game. 

• Each player takes turns. On a player’s turn, they are allowed one motion: one smooth motion to attack another player, or one smooth motion to move somewhere (to jump or take a large step in any direction).

• Attacking another player: When you attack another player, you try to hit their hand with one smooth motion. 

• When you attack, another player is allowed one smooth motion at the same time to try to dodge your attack, even if it is not their turn. That is, they can react by moving their arm or hand away; however, they must hold this new pose. 

• If you have a successful attack (i.e., if you hit their hand successfully), that person must leave the game.

• As soon as a player takes their turn, the next person in order may immediately take their turn. They do not have to wait.

Praxis (why + theory):

I don’t have big theories around this game. It is just complicated for seemingly no reason, until it clicks. Then, it is just an extremely fun game to play and a silly game to watch.