Have you watched Hillary Swank's movie “PS I Love You” and did you like the Snaps game played by the character? Or maybe you've played Snaps at a camping event but forgot how. Learning to play Snaps is very easy and can allow you to spend some fun time with your friends or family.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Choose Words to Guess
Step 1. Know the basic rules of Snaps
The Snaps game is just a concept that only requires at least two people, the ability to snap their fingers, and a creative way of thinking.
- The basic game of Snaps is to spell one by one the letters that make up a word using statements or the snap of your finger.
- Make sure there are at least two Snaps players. The person who snaps the finger is the person who chooses the word to answer through the snap of his finger. The other person pays attention to the flicker and then guesses the word in question.
- For consonants, say a sentence or statement whose first word starts with the same letter as the letter of the word you want to spell. For example, if you select “George Washington,” your first letter will be “G.” You'll give the guesser a hint by saying something like "That's an easy answer." With this, the guesser knows that the first letter of the word is “G.”
- For vowels, snap your fingers - hence the name of the game is Snaps, i.e. snap a finger. Each vowel is represented by the number of finger snaps. One flick for “A”, two flick for “E”, three flick for “I”, four flick for “O”, and five flick for “U”. Thus, for the second letter of “George Washington”, snap your finger twice for the letter “E”
- There are no marks for spaces between words.
Step 2. Choose the name of the person to guess
Since the goal of Snaps is to guess people's names, choose names that everyone can easily guess, such as politicians or celebrities.
- For example, you could use the name “Hillary Clinton” or “Britney Spears.”
- As much as possible avoid difficult names or names starting with difficult letters. For example, the name Xavier would be difficult to use because of the letter “X.” There are no words you can use as a sentence to give a hint.
Step 3. Decide if you want to give the name right away or just provide a hint for the name
You don't have to give a name to guess. To make things even more difficult, you can flick at the guesser, the clue to the person's name.
For example, if you want the guesser to guess “George Washington,” you can flick the clue for “the first president of the US.” For "Marlon Brando," you can use the hint "The Godfather."
Step 4. If necessary, look for the correct statement, for the consonant, which is a clear indication of the name
Once you've decided on a name to play with, first find a way to spell it correctly, then look for the consonants. If you decide you'd prefer to give clues instead of direct names, you'll need to give the guesser clearer clues.
For example, for the name “George Washington”, you should use a short statement to give a clue about each consonant for the name or the clue to the guesser. For “R”, you can say “Crowded, huh?”. If you decide to use the "first US president" hint, you can use "Sure you know" as a statement for the letter "P"
Part 2 of 3: Flick Your Words to the Guesser
Step 1. Give the guesser a hint of the word to flick
Before you spell out the letters with statements and snaps, give your guesser a clue about your word in simple sentences.
- If you're directly using someone's name, say "Snaps IS the name of the game." This will let the guesser know that you're going to spell the person's name right away.
- If you want to give a hint about the person, such as "Rocky" for Sylvester Stallone, or "The Godfather" for Marlon Brando, say "Snaps is NOT the name of the game." This will let the guesser know that you won't be spelling the name.
Step 2. Spell the first letter to the guesser
After you've given a short statement to tell the guesser whether you're going to spell the person's name or hint, spell the first letter, either with a statement or with a flick of your finger.
Most names start with a consonant, so you'll likely start by making a statement. So, for "Sylvester Stallone," you can start with a "Super Duper" statement to tell the guesser that the first letter is "S."
Step 3. Spell out the second letter
When the guesser knows the first letter, move on to the second letter of the name or clue. Do this as soon as they are ready to continue playing and when you are ready to make a statement or snap your finger, depending on the letters of the two.
- The second letter is usually a vowel, so the next clue is a flick of the finger. For “Al Pacino”, snap your fingers clearly to tell that the next letter is “A”.
- Don't forget to snap your fingers clearly so the guesser can hear each finger snap.
Step 4. Follow the same pattern for the rest
Use the same finger-snapping pattern and statement until you have finished spelling both the name and the clue.
If there are parts that don't sound predictable, try again
Step 5. Guess the name of the person or the clue
Let the guesser guess the person after you finish spelling it. If he doesn't guess it, you can help him or play one more time.
If you don't use the person's name right away, let the guesser guess the clue first, then guess the name
Part 3 of 3: Guess the Word of the Flicker
Step 1. Listen carefully to the first sentence of the flicker
Listen carefully to what the snapper is saying before he starts snapping his fingers or making statements. This way, you'll be able to tell if he's spelling the name right away or just a hint.
- If the flicker uses the person's direct name, it will say "Snaps IS the name of the game."
- If the flicker says “Snaps is NOT the name of the game,” then you'll know that he'll be spelling out the clue from the person.
Step 2. Listen carefully to the first statement or snap your fingers
The flicker will make a statement or snap his finger to spell the first letter of the person's name or clue. Make sure you hear it well so you can get off to a good start.
- For example, if the snapper selects “Benjamin Netanyahu”, it will say “OK” to let you know that the first letter of the name or clue is “B”.
- If he chose the name Iggy Pop, for example, he would snap his fingers three times to indicate that the first letter is "I".
Step 3. Follow this pattern until the flicker finishes spelling the name or the clue
Listen carefully to the flicker's statements and flicks until he says he's done, after which you can guess the correct name or clue.
To make it easier to remember each letter, write it down on a piece of paper
Step 4. Guess the name or clue
After the flicker finishes spelling the name or the clue, guess. If you can't figure it out, you can ask the flicker or play again.
If the snapper decides to use a clue from someone's name, guess the clue first, then the person's name
Tips
- If possible, don't use words that are too long.
- Don't play too fast for the guesser to process your statement or clue.
- Snap your finger clearly: use the piano metronome speed.
- Don't use words with odd letters, like "X" when you start playing because it's hard to find statements that start with that letter.
- To vary the game, to name consonants, say a sentence that starts with the corresponding letter and ends with the word listen. For “A”, you can say “You have to listen”, or for “J”, “Don't stop listening.”
