science

Knife game

Knife game is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Knife game rather than just read about it. In short: The knife game, pinfinger, stabscotch, nerve, bishop, hand roulette, five finger fillet (FFF), or chicken is a game wherein, placing the palm of one's hand down on a table with fingers apart, using a knife or other sharp object, one attempts to stab back and forth between one's fingers, trying not to hit the fingers. The game is intentionally dangerous, exposing players to the risks of incision or penetration; one m…

Key takeaways

Knife game belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Knife game to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Knife game from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The knife game, pinfinger, stabscotch, nerve, bishop, hand roulette, five finger fillet (FFF), or chicken is a game wherein, placing the palm of one's hand down on a table with fingers apart, using a knife or other sharp object, one attempts to stab back and forth between one's fingers, trying not to hit the fingers. The game is intentionally dangerous, exposing players to the risks of incision or penetration; one may play it much more safely by using another object, such as the eraser side of a pencil. In European culture, it is traditionally considered a boys' game. It appears in various media across popular culture, including Knife in the Water, Aliens, and Red Dead Redemption.

Description The knife game is a game where a player uses a knife (or other sharp object) to stab at the spaces between the fingers on their unarmed hand atop a hard surface. The game is also referred to by the names pinfinger, nerve, bishop, hand roulette, stabscotch, five finger fillet (FFF), or chicken.

Gameplay To play, the player places the palm of one hand down on a table with fingers apart. In their other hand, the player holds a knife (such as a pocket or pen knife) or other sharp object. The player then attempts to relatively quickly stab back and forth between their fingers on the unarmed hand, trying not to hit the fingers.

Risks The game is intentionally dangerous, exposing players to the risk of injury and scarring, and, before antibiotics, an incision or penetration risked sepsis and death. A foldable blade carries the additional danger that, "as the faster you go, the more likely the blade will fold back in on itself trapping the finger of your stabbing hand." It may be played much more safely by using another object, such as the eraser side of a pencil or a marker with its cap on.

Order of "stabbing"

The order in which the spaces between the fingers are stabbed varies. In the following examples, the space numbered 1 is to the outside of the thumb, with numbering then proceeding to the space between the thumb and index finger and so forth. The most popular version is to simply stab all the spaces in order, starting from behind the thumb to after the little finger, and back again ("In its simplest form, one would simply move as fast as one dared backwards and forwards."):

1-2-3-4-5-6-5-4-3-2-1 (repeat).

A more complex order is also common ("Those with stronger nerves could stab according to a sequence"):

1-2-1-3-1-4-1-5-1-6-1-5-1-4-1-3-1-2 (repeats until the end of the song)

or a more complex order:

1-2-1-3-1-4-1-5-1-6-2-6-3-6-4-6-5-6-4-6-3-6-2-6 (etc.)

or an even more complex order:

1-2-1-3-1-4-1-5-1-6-2-1-2-3-2-4-2-5-2-6-3-1-3-2-3-4-3-5-3-6-4-1-4-2-4-3-4-5-4-6-5-1-5-2-5-3-5-4-5-6-6-1-6-2-6-3-6-4-6-5

In Australia, the following order is used.

1-2-1-3-1-4-1-5-1-6 (repeat)

Generally, the more complicated the order of the game, the riskier it is.

Popular culture In European culture, it is traditionally considered a boys' game, though its focus on motor coordination and dexterity is comparable to clapping games, which are traditionally girls' games.

In media

Roman Polanski's first feature Knife in the Water (1962) may be the first film to show the game; a young hitchhiker plays the game on the deck of a sailboat. The movie Aliens (1986) features a scene with an android member of the crew, Bishop, who plays the "knife game" with another member of the crew. In 1973 Marina Abramović played the knife game in the performative art piece Rhythm 10. Each time she cut herself, she would pick up a new knife from the row of ten she had set up, and record the operation. After cutting herself ten times, she replayed the tape, listened to the sounds, and tried to repeat the same movements, attempting to replicate the mistakes, merging past and present. In Season 1, episode 6 of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire (2010) features a young WWI veteran, Jimmy Darmody, playing "Five Finger Fillet," and requesting the young Al Capone to join in. In the Sierra On-Line game Manhunter: New York (1988), one sequence requires winning the knife game in a Brooklyn bar in order to continue the winning plot. It is a minigame called "Wee Hand" in the 2007 video game Jackass: The Game, though here set to a one minute timer. Knife.Hand.Chop.Bot (2007), by the Svoltcore group, is an "interactive installation that plays with the recipient's concern about [his or her] own physical integrity." In the King of the Hill episode "Death and Texas," an inmate tells Peggy that the "stab a knife around your fingers" game is fun, but he doesn't believe it has a name. Peggy suggests "Stabscotch". In Gravity Falls, season 2 episode 15 ("Mabelcorn"), the shady gnome who trades illegal fairy dust with the group can be seen playing FFF using an acorn instead of a knife. The video game Work Time Fun (2005-2006) has an adaption. In the North American release, it is titled "4 Fingers". The knife game also appears as an unnamed gambling minigame in the 2011 id Software video game Rage. It appears under the title "Five Finger Fillet" as a playable minigame in both Red Dead Redemption and its sequel, which is played for in-game money. Stabscotch is played in the Inside No. 9 episode "The Bill". In Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Puss plays the game with a party-goer at his fiesta; using his rapier instead of a knife, he straddles the weapon like a pogo stick and hops between the man's fingers. Other party-goers then take turns stabbing at Puss while he lies on his back on a spinning roulette wheel. In the Smiling Friends episode "Silly Samuel", Mr. Boss is seen to be playing the game, going faster and faster until the building collapses.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Knife game

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Knife game claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Knife game before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Knife game ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Knife game

In research: Knife game appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Knife game in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Knife game is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Boys' toys and games, Knives, Risk, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Knife game outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Knife game in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Knife game means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Knife game out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Knife game in simple terms?

Why does Knife game matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Knife game?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Knife game.