Mercy (game)

Mercy is popular children's game of strength in certain districts of England and the U.S. In some parts of the United Kingdom, it is known as Peanuts.

Rules

Two players face each other and grab their opponents hands (opponent #1's right hand to opponent #2's left hand, opponent #1's left hand to opponent #2's right hand, interlocking fingers or thumbs with fingers wrapped around an opponent's back part of the hand). On the word "go", each opponent attempts to bend the other's hands back and inflict pain by straining the ligaments and tendons in the wrist. When a player can no longer stand the pain, or reverse the situation by overpowering the other player and bending back their wrists, the player cries out "Mercy!" (or "Peanuts!" or "Uncle" in some areas) and is then defeated. The players then disengage hands and match is completed.

In some areas, Mercy is usually one-handed, with both players using either their right or left hands. In this version, the use of the other hand at all is considered cheating. There is also often a focus on bending the opponents arm as well as hand. Skilled Mercy players often use specific strategies to get their opponents into painful positions, such as twisting the arm around so that the elbow is pointed towards the neck, against the back, and then pushing up on the arm.

Cheating and etiquette

Cheating involves any other activity during the match that inflicts pain, distraction or discomfort on the opponent. Additional sportsmanship etiquette includes the prompt release of the hand grip after the opponent is defeated. Some consider the rapid twisting of the wrist to be a dangerous cheat that could result in broken wrists. However, some consider this maneuver to be fair. Whatever the case, the rules should be agreed upon before playing.

Mercy for more than two

It is possible to play mercy with any number of people. Players form a ring and interlock fingers with the adjacent hands of the two players on on either side. On "go" all players attempt to bend back the wrists of their neighbor. When a player cries "Mercy!", play ceases and that player is eliminated from the game. The remaining players rejoin hands and play resumes until only one person is left.

Two on one

A stronger player may play two people at once, one on each hand.

Bench Mercy

This is a separate form of Mercy, which involves the 2 competitors, sitting on a standard 2x4 park bench (very common within school playgrounds), sitting back-to-back, with feet against the arm rests on the far side of the bench. Both players then proceed to push each other in which standard mercy rules come into play; when one player cannot take the strain or pain any longer, they will cry "Mercy!" or the phrase at hand.

Rarely, Bench Mercy has been used as a form of torture for schoolchildren, mainly bullying and the like. Other versions involve several people sitting in a row, and having only one person push with their back. This is used as either entertainment, or a test of endurance. Obviously, the more people on the bench the more pain each person receives.

Extreme Peanuts!!!

Extreme peanuts was created by Dan Wicks and Gary Matthews during a systems and control lesson were we got bored and decided to play peanuts until we got bored and thought we would make it more intresting we now play all the time and we think its one of the best games ever created. RULES!! please read this before playing!!! 1.Theres 6 rounds 1st and 2nd round is right hand 3rd and 4th round is both hands and 5th and 6th round is left hand!! 2.Each round lasts 6 minutes and it has two halfs so 3 minutes each half with a 30 second break at the half way point!! 3.Abosolutly NO wepons e.g. no sticks,rocks,knives,lighters ect... 4.No poking eyes,or punches directly to the head only slaps are allowed to the head and face!! and no punching or kicking towards the face and crotch area(thats just unpleasant!!) 5.Last but not least if someone gives up you MUST stop the match strait away!!! HOW TO PLAY step one-Put hands together (like in the traditional peanuts) step two-Start the game step three-start bending fingers,punching,tripping and kicking the opponant(please read rules above for foul moves!) step 4-once someone has submitted or the 6 rounds are over players must let go of the opponants hands and wait for the judges decicion on who is the winner unless the other person submitted.

thats it!!! We have played this soo many times and we never tire from it. its the most painfull game but it makes you laugh while you are in pain because its just so much fun. we hope you enjoy playing!!!

We are making a video clip of us playing Extreme peanuts and it will also show us telling and showing you the rules and do's and donts to extreme peanuts so as soon as we make it we will put it on youtube.com and put a webb address on this page under our section if you wish to view it

See also

• Mercy