cat's cradle
What is cat's cradle?
Cat's Cradle is one of the oldest games in human history. It is a type of string figure: the art of making pictures or telling stories with string and your hands (or sometimes feet).
String figures are a storytelling tradition in many cultures around the world including among Arctic Indigenous Peoples, Aboriginal Australians, East Asians, Pacific Islanders, Africans, Europeans, and Indigenous Americans. The game Cat's Cradle is a European version of string figures.
Cat's Cradle is played with a circle of string looped around a player's fingers. The player or players manipulate the string by looping, shifting, and adjusting it to form shapes. Multiple players pass the string back and forth between their hands.
cat's cradle: first position
Begin with a circle of string. Loop the string around the back of both hands, keeping your thumbs free.
2. Rotate your hands so that the string loops around them a second time. There should be one strand crossing the back of your hands, and one strand crossing your palms.
3. Slide the middle finger of your right hand under the strand crossing your left palm. Do the same with your left middle finger and right palm. Pull tight.
Partner Cat's Cradle
This video shows how two players can transfer the string between their hands, creating new shapes as they pass it. There are so many shapes you can make!
Solo Cat's Cradle
You don't need a partner to play! Watch this video to learn how to move through the different string patterns only using your own hands. Can you invent a new pattern?
Discover even more string figures:
Did you know?
Diné/Navajo people only make string figures during the winter when spiders are dormant.
Learn more on Alana Yazzie's blog The Fancy Navajo.