15 Hand Clapping Games From The 80s

Classic hand clapping games are evergreen and do not get out of fashion. Miss Mary Mack is one of the classic games to play with your friend.

The game can be played by just two players and have unlimited fun. Mary Mack is the most common clapping game in the English-speaking world, according to a book titled The Games Black Girls Play available on Google Books.

Although the game has numerous versions, the most common one requires players to pat their arms across their chest twice in the beginning followed by pat on things twice. Then they require to clap their hands twice and clap their right hands together, followed by Clap their right palms with a partner.

Then, the players are required to clap their left hands together and Clap their left palms with a partner. Then, they are required to clap both hands together, and as an ending move, they are required to Clap both their palms with their partner's palms.

During their entire rhythmic move, they recite a nursery rhyme which goes as;

Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack
All dressed in black, black, black
With silver buttons, buttons, buttons
All down her back, back, back.

Down Down Baby is often known as Roller Coaster. Down Down Baby is a simple hand-clapping game with a variety of hand gestures to make.

Performing the game is very simple and easy to learn. The hand gestures come in a variety but are easy to follow and repeat numerous times during the act making it easier to memorize after a few gameplay.

Start by clapping each other's hands with one player's hand on top and another's player's hand on the bottom, the other hands go in opposite directions. Clap each other's hands three times before giving double high fives three times.

The second step involves clapping one's hand in a normal fashion three times and shaking both hands like you do when your hands are wet. Repeat the process three times before ending the rhyme by punching each other's hands three times in the end.

Down Down Baby is played while reciting the same-titled rhyme. The rhyme used while playing Down Down Baby goes as;

Down, down, baby
Down, down the roller coaster
Sweet, sweet, baby
I’ll never let you go
Shimmy, Shimmy cocoa pop
Shimmy, Shimmy pow
Shimmy, Shimmy cocoa pop
Shimmy, Shimmy pow!

ABC is a handclapping game found being played on playgrounds. ABC can be misleading as it does not involve reciting the alphabet during gameplay.

The hand moves while playing ABC are very easy and require just a few gestures. It is one of the easiest hand-clapping games to learn and can be entertaining for hours if you have the right partner to play the game with.

The gameplay is very easy and starts with swishing your partner's hands. The next step involves sticking your right dorsal side of the hand with your partner's right hand's dorsal side and using your left hand to clap with your partner's left hand first above and then below.

The ending bit of the game involves snapping with your left hand. Repeat the process until you come to the end of the rhyme which goes as;

ABC,
As easy as 1, 2, 3.
My momma watches MTV.
My dada takes care of me.
Oh ah I wanna piece of pie.
Pie too sweet, I wanna piece of meat.
Meat too tough, I wanna ride a bus.
Bus too full, I wanna ride a bull.
Bull too black, I want my money back.
Money too green, I want a jelly bean.

Pat-A-Cake is a simple yet fun clapping game to teach your children. The Clapping game requires two players to play.

This game just requires two hand moves which are to be done by both hands. The first step involves clapping one's both hands together and clapping hands with your partner in a cross formation i.e. Player A's right hand is clapped with Player B's left hand.

The process is repeated with another set of hands and the whole thing is repeated until the end of the verse. The fun element of the game comes from the gradual increase in the speed of the clapping motion along with the rhyme recited to play the game which goes as;

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake baker’s man
Bake me a cake as fast as you can
Prick it and pat it and mark it with a “b”
And put it in the oven for Billy and me.

Lemonade, Crunchy Ice is a clapping game with an added element at the end. The game requires the player to freeze at the end and the one who moves first loses.

Although most clapping games do not have a winner or loser and are designed just to have fun but Lemonade, Crunchy Ice is a bit different. The game requires both players to turn around, touch the ground, and freeze at the end of a series of clapping gestures.

The game starts with the player's right hand clapping down and left hand clapping up. The second step involves clapping both hands of your friend and then clapping your hands thrice.

In the end, the two players are required to make a full 360-degree turn and drop to the ground and touch the ground. Then they are to freeze until either one of them moves to decide the winner and the loser. The game can also be played with multiple players.

The rhyme used to play Lemonade, Crunchy Ice goes as;

Lemonade Crunchy ice

Sip it once, Sip it twice

Lemonade, Crunchy ice

Beat it once Beat it twice

Turn around (Turn around here)
Touch the ground (Touch the ground here)

FREEZE!!!

Say, Say, Oh Playmate is a simple hand-clapping game requiring the easiest moves. The lyric is also short and easy to remember.

The game can be played by two or more players. The first step is to clap your own hands followed by tapping your friend's hands. The fun factor comes as the rhythm of the gameplay becomes faster and faster after each cycle.

The lyric of Say, Say, Oh Playmate starts as;

Say, say, oh playmate,
Come out and play with me.
Bring out your dollies three.
Climb up my apple tree. 

Slide down my rainbow
Into my cellar door.
And we’ll be jolly friends
Forevermore, one two three four!

Long Legged Sailor has a bit of complex hand clapping and lyrics. The rhyme is about a long-legged sailor and his wife.

The game is played between two players who start off by clapping their hands first and crossing over to clap another player's hands whenever the word Never Never Never is repeated. The sequence is repeated until the end of the song.

The lyric for playing Long Legged Sailor clapping game is;

Have you ever, ever, ever,
In your long-legged life,
Seen a long-legged sailor,
And his long-legged wife?

No, I’ve never, never, never,
In my long-legged life,
Seen a long-legged sailor,
And his long-legged wife.

Tic Tac Toe has a short five-line lyric but complicated hand gestures. The gameplay involves crossing your hands and following a beat.

The game starts with keeping your hands together and tapping on your partner's hand, first to the right and then to the left. This action is followed by clapping your hands and again clapping your partner's hand.

The ending sequence in the game is performed by holding each other's right hand and using your left hand to tap on your hips and snapping at the end. The whole sequence is repeated with the lyrics which goes as;

Tic tac toe
Give me an X
Give me an O
Give me three in a row
Don’t get hit by a UFO

Bobo Ski Watten is a relatively easier hand-clapping game for your kids to learn. The lyrics might be a bit complicated by the hand moves are far easier.

Bobo Ski Watten is played by two players who are required to keep their hands together at the beginning and swish on each other's hands. The action is followed by clapping the partner's right hand up and down.

The third step of playing Bobo Ski Watten is clapping your partner's left hand and snapping your fingers to end the ordeal. Repeat the sequence with the lyrics:

Bobo ski waten taten
Eh, eh, eh eh boom boom boom
Bobo ski waten taten
Eh, eh, eh eh boom boom boom
Itty bitty waten taten
Bobo ski waten taten
Bobo ski waten taten
Freeze, freeze, American cheese
Please don’t show your______ to me

Bim Bum is a great exercise for your pronunciation and the rhyme might be useful as a tongue twister as well.

The game can be played either by standing or sitting. Start by touching your thighs every time you say the word biddy. You will need to snap your finger when you say bum and at last, clap your hands when you say bim.

The tongue-twisting lyrics for the gameplay go as follows;

Bim bum bim bum, biddy biddy bum,
Biddy bum, biddy biddy bum, bim bum.
Bim bum, biddy biddy bum,
Biddy bum, biddy biddy bum, bim bum.

If you are interested in tongue twisters, then you can check out Hardest Tongue Twisters In The World which we covered earlier.

Hand clapping songs are easy to remember as they often feature repetitive verses and rhymes.

There is no hard fast rule to have a same clapping steps for the rhymes. You can modify the steps in your own version. Some friends have secret one of a kind way to play the clapping game for the same rhyme.

Shame Shame Shame is a perfect example of a fun hand-clapping song with rhyming lyrics.

The lyrics for playing hand clapping game goes as follows;

Shame, Shame, Shame,

I don’t want to go to Mexico no more more more,

There’s a big fat policeman at the door door door,

He grabbed me by the collar,

Made me pay a dollar,

I don’t want to go to Mexico no more more more

Shame!

Rockin’ Robin also has rhymes in the lyrics in every sentence. Rockin' Robing features multiple rhymes but has a bit of complex lyrics.

The lyrics of Rockin’ Robin goes as;

He rocks in the tree tops all day long

Hoppin’ and a-boppin’ and singing his song

All the little birdies on Jaybird Street

Love to hear the robin go tweet tweet tweet

Rockin’ robin, rock rock

Rockin’ robin’

Blow rockin’ robin

’Cause we’re really gonna rock tonight

Every little swallow, every chick-a-dee

Every little bird in the tall oak tree

The wise old owl, the big black crow

Flappin’ their wings singing go bird go ...

Kids can create their own version of hand clapping game from these explained lyrics. These catchy songs are best suitable for a hand clapping game.

Another hand clapping game with no specific steps to follow while playing is Double Double.

It is the title of the song with a very short rhyme used to play a clapping game. The lyrics of Double Double has just four sentences.

Apart from being a short and sweet rhyme, it is also extremely easy to remember. The rhyme just uses three words "Double". "This", and "That."

The lyrics of Double, Double nursery rhyme goes as;

Double, double, this, this,
Double, double, that, that,
Double this, double that,
Double, double, this, that.

Apple on a Stick lyrics features a challenge laid to the players about something they cannot do. The song is not entirely about apples as it appears in the title.

The nursery rhyme features multiple rhyming words and the lyrics of the song goes as follows;

Apples on a stick,

Makes me sick,

Makes my heart beat, 2-4-6.

Not because you’re dirty,

Not because you’re clean,

Just ’cause you kissed,

A boy behind the magazine.

 

Girls, girls,

Wanna have some fun?

Here comes Suzy with

Her hoop skirt on.

She can wibble. She can wobble.

She can do the splits.

But I betcha ten dollars,

She can’t do this.

Close your eyes,

And count to ten.

If you miss you start again.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

A Sailor Went to Sea is another classic hand-clapping game rhyme found around the world. There are many variations of steps to play this game.

The lyrics feature rhyming words with the sea. However, the rhyme is quite lengthy and has several other rhymes as well. Here are the lyrics for you to teach your kids.

A sailor went to sea, sea, sea,
To see what he could see, see, see.
But all that he could see, see, see
Was the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea. 

A sailor went to chop, chop, chop,
To see what he could chop, chop, chop.
But all that he could chop, chop, chop
Was the bottom of the deep blue chop, chop, chop.
 
Sea, sea, sea. 

A sailor went to knee, knee, knee,
To see what he could knee, knee, knee,
But all that he could knee, knee, knee,
Was the bottom of the deep blue knee, knee, knee. 

Chop, chop, chop.
Sea, sea, sea. 

A sailor went to snap, snap, snap,
To see what he could snap, snap, snap.
But all that he could snap, snap, snap
Was the bottom of the deep blue snap, snap, snap. 

Knee, knee, knee.
chop, chop, chop.
Sea, sea, sea. 

A sailor went to jump, jump, jump,
To see what he could jump, jump, jump.
But all that he could jump, jump, jump
Was the bottom of the deep blue jump, jump, jump. 

Snap, snap, snap.
Knee, knee, knee.
chop, chop, chop.
Sea, sea, sea.