Anyone Remember The Game Bloody Knuckles?

I was just sitting here eating a sangwich when I remembered an old game we used to play in middle school called “Bloody Knuckles.”

Anyone remember this game? You do, don’t you? You forgot all about that s**t! So did I!

Anyway, I wondered if anyone else played the game, so I Googled it. What I found, though is not at all what I expected.

There are “Official Rules.” There are videos. But none of them were the game I remember. So now I’m wondering if my version is either:

• Old school, or
• Midwestern

There are many variations of this game — none of which I had ever heard of.

I was the champ at my school — I never once lost. I’m a p***y now, but back then I didn’t give a s**t. Plus I could deliver a hell of a mean flick.

Your opponent would hold their fist in front of them, knuckles facing the ceiling. I would tuck my middle finger as far back into my thumb as possible, whip my wrist, and aim my middle finger blast right between their fingers.

You could hit anywhere between the main knuckle and the second knuckle, but the fatty part between the fingers seemed to hurt my opponents the most. I never made anyone’s knuckles actually bleed (swelling and bruising? Well, yeah), I won with perfect flicking aim — and I would hit the exact same spot over and over. The most shots anyone took was 13.

You took turns, one flick apiece. The game ended only when someone gave up. There was no score and there were no round limits. Pain threshold and delivery were the only things that mattered.

Every once in a while someone who was way stronger and meaner than me would challenge me. But it didn’t matter. They would hit me in different places all over my knuckles and that strategy just doesn’t work. The worst part is that I was always afraid that they would kick my ass for beating them. It never happened, but it was a very real possibility.

But that’s not the Bloody Knuckles game everyone on the internet is talking about. I mostly found two different versions.

One involved holding your fists together while each person takes turns hitting your knuckles with their knuckles. You get five tries and then it’s the other person’s turn. You do this for three rounds and keep score. Whoever has the most points wins.

That sounds lame if you ask me. I want something where you can only lose by giving up because you are in excruciating pain. I want pain to determine the winner.

Plus there are other annoying “strategies” like you can wait there as long as you want, fake to try to make your opponent flinch and intimidate by making loud noises. It sounds like just a simple variation of Red Hands. I never liked that game. Here is a video of some kids playing it on school bus. OK, so it does look a little painful.

The other game involved flicking a quarter at someone else’s knuckles. Apparently you spin the quarter and take turns keeping it spinning. The first person to mess up has to put their fist on the table. The other person flicks/slings the quarter at the loser’s knuckles. Here is a video of some kids playing it at Carl’s Jr.

You keep doing this until someone gives up. I like that part. Usually there’s some blood. That’s cool.

The part I don’t like is that if you are good at spinning a quarter, you never get hit. Lame.

So now I want to know, what kind of Bloody Knuckles did you play? Tell us a damn story in the comments.

Also make sure you say what year you graduate(d) high school and what part of the world you’re from so we know where these variations came from.