Hand Games Singapore Kids Played: Zha, Chopsticks, Oyapeyasom

Zha and chopsticks

Zha needs only the chant. Zha die zha die zha die. Everyone knows the rhythm and nobody agrees on the rules, because every school had its own.

Chopsticks is the one on the sofa. Both players start with one finger up on each hand, you tap to add your fingers to theirs, and a hand that hits five is out. The fight was never the maths. It was if you were allowed to split when you only had two fingers left. We covered zha and chopsticks in our childhood games part 2, and the question is still open.

Finger split, thumb war, oyapeyasom, heart attack

Finger split: some of you need to be locked up for what you did to our fingers in primary school. Thumb war was fine until someone cheated with the other hand, and it was way too much skin contact for primary school anyway.

Oyapeyasom was not really a game. It was how teams got decided: everyone shows palm up or palm down on the chant, and the odd ones out regroup until it is fair. It also decided if you got stuck with useless teammates. Heart attack was the hand stack where everyone slaps down in turn, and the only thing anyone remembers is getting shy when their crush's hand was next. For the running games, see the void deck games.