Twisted Fingers Game - Mini-Twister Game

So, I was running around finishing my set of home-made pick-up sticks, and I thought about what other games I might create my own version of.  Twister came to mind, as I thought about the spray painted grass twister board seen on many a Pinterest board.  I figured a smaller finger version existed, and yes, the internet is full of variations on this theme.  I looked through some, and each was neat, but I decided to design my own.

 I designed mine with my cousin's in mind.  I am still working on a more intricate sub-set of rules to turn this into a unique drinking game, but I came up with a few different ways to play to make the game more interesting for a whole variety of uses. You can download the PDF's from my Google Drive and print your own by going to the bottom of this post.  Here is what they look like!

The Spinner Board and Rules version folds in half for a thicker spinner board, but you will need to assemble something for the spinner (ideas below by PDF link.).  

What I did that I hadn't seen anyone else do is forgo the spinner for some 4-sided dice.  Just cut out, glue up, and play!  This makes it unnecessary to try dig up a fastener or eyelet or futz with pushpins or any other of the various 'spinner' devices for home-made games.  The top point of the die that sticks up is what you call out.  I was pretty happy with both the ease of assembly and the size of the die I created (two fit in one hand easily, but are big enough to grab quick.)  Now, these are large hollow paper dice and the glue makes them not perfectly weighted, but as you are playing a finger game, I figure these issues can be over-looked as they still give a variety of rolls, regardless.  

Some Other Ways to Play:

Now, while typical Twister game rules apply, I have been coming up with some variations on the theme.  

Finger Warm Ups:

First off, this can be a one person game and a great warm up finger stretcher for anyone learning guitar/piano/intensive finger activity.  Simply put one hand to the board and spin/roll die with the other.  Keep it up as long as you can, or set a timer, or go so many spins/rolls.

Two-Person Challenges / Drinking Game:

If two people are facing off, then you can call out a challenge every time a certain finger or color (or one of each) comes up.  This is a good way to make a drinking game out of it.  Consider every middle finger called out being time to take a drink.  Go an extra step and have the drink being drank decided by the color (red=wine, blue=water, yellow=beer, and green=hard liquor.)  If you want a more singular drinking act, have a 'rock paper scissors' play off with the other hand at each challenge, and the loser has to drink while continuing with the Twisted Fingers game.  

Learning Challenges:

If you happen to have a box of trivia nearby, let the challenge be answering questions for 'points'.  If you want to use this for a learning game for kids, have the challenge be spelling a word of a vocab list, or answering a question from a test quiz.  

Messy Game-Turned-Art!

If you laminate the card, you could have fun making a mess with some like-colored finger paint on each color circle.  After 5 spins/rolls, each person has to press their fingers to a piece of paper, creating a chain of ever-devolving color fingerprints.  Watch the primary turn to secondary turn to mud!

 Download yours now!

Click to Download >>  Twisted Fingers with Spinner Board and Rules

For this, print out the PDF file onto a cardstock paper.  Cut out Finger Board, and the Spinner/Rules (you can cut these two apart separately, or cut them out together and fold in half, providing a thicker spinner.)  As for the spinner, there are a few different ways to make it 'spin'.  You can just hold the tip of a pencil over the dot with one hand, having it hold a paperclip end, and spin the paper clip with your other hand.  For a more permanent and one-handed spinner, cut a scrap of card stock or thin plastic into an arrow shape and attach it to the center point of the spinner (it will go through to the other side if you kept the Spinner and Rules together.) For attaching it, you can use either a paper mini-fastener or an eyelet punched in place.  If you don't have those on hand, get a wine cork and a thumb tack, and just stab down through the spinner and paper and into the wine cork (which makes a neat handle for the spinner if left long, or can be trimmed down to 'sit' on the table.)

Click to Download >> Twisted Fingers with Dice

For this, print out the PDF file onto a cardstock paper.  Cut out Finger Board.  Look at the dashed 'fold' lines to know which lines to fold on, then cut along the outermost solid lines of the dice.  Fold at those lines, so you have 4 equilateral triangles with 3 glue tabs.  Fold the glue tabs along the triangle lines, and then use either a white glue or glue roller or glue stick to make a pyramid.  Let liquid glue dry fully before throwing dice.