Tag Archives: Game

Family Black Magic

Informant: “So there’s this thing in my family called “black magic.” I was taught it when I was really young, probably around six or seven. I remember my sister and I sitting in my grandparents’ living room, and they were like, “Alright, you guys are old enough now to learn black magic.” Before that, they had done it for us a few times, and it always felt like actual magic.

Basically, it’s this “power” in my family where one person leaves the room, and someone else stays behind to lead. The rest of the group picks an object, and everyone in the room knows what it is, except for the person who left. When that person comes back in, the leader starts asking questions like, “Is it this object? Is it that object?” and somehow, they always guess the right one.

There’s actually a method to it, but for the longest time, I thought it was real magic. Eventually, they taught us the trick, so now I know how it works.

Now it’s one of those things, if I’m ever with my sister or anyone from my family, we can do it anytime. It’s still really fun, and it still kind of feels like magic.”

Context: The informant is from the East Coast, and the family is Italian American. This occurred throughout her childhood, and was taught to her as a young adult. She is aware it is not actually magic, but believes that thinking it is magic is a part of what makes the tradition in her family so important. 

Analysis: This is a clear example of family folklore. The practice of “black magic” is a structured guessing game, but it is framed as something mysterious and exclusive, which gives it the feel of folk magic or supernatural belief, especially for younger participants.

The way it is taught is important. Being told you’re “old enough now to learn” creates a sense of initiation, a common feature in folklore where knowledge is gradually revealed. Before learning the method, the informant experiences it as real magic, showing how folklore can rely on partial belief or suspended disbelief, particularly among children.

Circle (OK sign) Game

Age: 20

Text
“When I was in like middle and high school, there was always a game where anybody could make like an OK sign with their hand and hold it below their hip, like it had to be below your hip or it didn’t count. And if you looked at it and they saw you looking then they got to neck you (slap you on the neck). This could just happen like any time so you would always have to be careful, and I remember my friends would try to like bait me into looking down so they could neck me. But if I got them they would always say they didn’t look. Looking back, it was like so stupid. But it was just a way to get to hit your friends I think.”

Context
VH explains the circle game as a long running game throughout middle and high school among his friend group. He says that no one ever explicitly taught him the rules of the game, and he feels that it just became a part of his life. VH also points out that the results were very up to personal interpretation and often disputed. This game was always playing, so at any time you could get caught looking. VH also says that he has seen this game on social media and other friends in college knew about it too.

Analysis
The circle game is definitely an example of customary folklore as it is a repeated game that VH learned through experience and participation rather than in any explicit or formal way, which shows how folklore is disseminated unofficially. It’s also a great example of how folklore is constantly evolving and not always clearly defined, as everybody would have their own take on the rules of the game. This game was a manifestation of childhood humor, and also utilizes play frames to slap your friends in an “acceptable” way. The circle game is a great example of the young boy folk group, as it exists in multiplicity and variations outside of just one school/friend group, as VH notes that he has seen it on social media and this was a game that was often played in my school as well (in a totally different state).

“B Card”

Age: 21

Text
“There was a thing when I was in middle school where if someone said they were gonna do something anybody could say B Card right after and if you didn’t do the thing that you said then your friends would neck you (slap you on the neck). I remember I thought it was just a thing like with me and my friends at my school in 6th grade but I remember when I went to a new school in 7th grade, one of my friends said it one day and everybody like knew what it was in our friend group like it was a common thing which was kinda surprising. I think it stood for bitch card, like you’re a bitch if you back out of doing the thing you said. And anything was fair game too so you had to just like watch what you were saying around your friends.”

Context
BS explains that this was a long running verbal game among his multiple friend groups in middle school. Essentially, if BS’s friend were to say an action (ie. “I’m gonna get an A on this test”), BS could then immediately say “B Card”. If the action then wasn’t completed, then BS could slap his friend on the neck. No matter how outlandish the action, anything could be B carded at any time. BS also says that this was a game that existed in 2 different friend groups at different schools.

Analysis
“B Card” is an example of folk speech among young boys, and also a game that utilizes play frames as a way to hurt your friends under “acceptable” rules. It also marked your acceptance or standing of certain friend groups, as not every group understood or valued the saying, and “B Card” was never explicitly taught nor have I ever seen it on social media. BS and I went to the same school, but I also had a similar experience where the school/friend group I came from before also played the “B Card” game with slightly different rules like punching instead of necking, showing that “B Card” existed in multiplicity and variations among us middle school boys. In my opinion, “B Card” could have been a way to hold each other accountable to the things we would say, an example of Mechling’s point that jokes can be used as social tools, but it was definitely a game that gave us an excuse to hit each other due to the mostly outlandish/impossible things that middle school boys would say they were going to do throughout the day.

Orange County Folk Speech

Text:

When swimming with friends in the ocean and a big wave is coming, you shout “Over, Under,” triggering the “over, under” game.

Context:

S, who is from and grew up in Orange County, spent many hours and days at the beaches with her friends. When swimming in the ocean, they would see waves come in, and one of them would shout “over, under,” meaning, so we jump over the wave or swim under it. The bigger a wave was, the higher the chance everyone would swim under it because you would get pummeled if you tried jumping over a wave that was too big.

Analysis

It seems like this folk speech of “over, under” is a form of “esoteric” folk speech because the use of “over, under” is to trigger a reaction from S’s friends, who are part of her folk group. Therefore, “over, under” would function as “esoteric” speech as it is a form of communication aimed at the members of her folk group, rather than “exoteric” since it is not trying to be communicated to the general public or people outside of the folk group. I believe “over, under” could also be considered “emic” rather than “etic” since it is an insider’s (people who live and grew up in OC) perspective of the ocean and waves, and it would probably not be understood by someone who grew up no where near the ocean. For all the outsider may assume from hearing the shout “over, under” in the ocean a shark could be coming to attack them!

争上游 “Struggling Upstream” Card Game

Folklore:
争上游 or translated as “Struggling Upstream” is a card game played with family and other guests, uses a normal 52 card deck with variations about the jokers. The game splits the deck into part depending on how many players playing with the goal of getting rid of them the fastest. To get rid of the cards, they must be placed in mostly numerical order as the strength of the card with 3 being the weakest card and 2 being the strongest. Pairs, Triples, or Fours (known as The Bomb) of the same number card increases the strength of the cards. Combos of cards can be combined to get rid of lesser cards faster. The first game starts with the 3 of Spades. A Joker works as a wild card and if placed alone is stronger than other cards.

Context:
The informant is a Chinese American student at USC. She plays this game with her family on trips with her family in China or in the greater Los Angeles area and enjoys teaching it to others to play. She found there are many variations on the game “vary like Egyptian War.” Her family enjoys playing with The Bomb, which is a combination of 4 of the same card. A joker could be used to replace one of the four, but if someone has a stronger number in four will beat other the pair. The informant notes the game is difficult at times due to the late game making it harder to get rid of weaker cards, so strategy is an important focus of the game.

Analysis:
The game helps connect her family in a shared strategy experience. The game challenges strategy and forward thinking with its mechanics on cleverness and knowledge of the rules. Playing the game, also invites the family and guests into partaking in a shared experience and play together. It also provides entertainment in possibly boring situations.