The Stupid Ninja Game is a party game, wherein 6-15 (or more) players sit in a circle, each attempting to perform his or her own assigned "stupid ninja" move on cue, followed by the stupid ninja move of another player.

Stupid Ninja Moves

The stupid ninja moves are intended to be remniscent of martial arts-style arcade games, such as Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat, hence the name of the game. At the beginning of the game, each player chooses a move to physically perform, along with a short phrase to describe it, such as "Sonic BOOM!" or "Tiger Uppercut!" or "Chop-chop to the Eyes!" Because the fun of the game is in the performance, the moves are often absurd or outlandish. There are no restrictions, and players may invent their own.

When performing a stupid ninja move, the player must call out the corresponding phrase as well.

Objective

The objective is one of two options:

If the game is timed, each player attempts to be seated at the "highest" seat at the end of the game. If a player makes a mistake, he or she moves to the "lowest" seat, and everyone behind them moves up one seat. The stupid ninja move to be performed stays with the chair, not the player. Players switching chairs must perform the move assigned to that chair.

If the game is untimed, a player who makes a mistake is eliminated from competition. The last player remaining wins. Since players don't change positions in this case, they retain their move throughout the game, as well. Eliminating the second-to-last player may take quite a while, as play simply passes back and forth between two people. At this point, the performances usually become much more highly animated compared to earlier rounds, and the runner-up is eliminated because they are laughing too hard at the performance of their opponent.

Gameplay

As other players clap out a beat with their hands and knees, the player in the highest position performs their own move, plus the move of another player of their choice. The person whose move was called out then repeats their own move, followed by that of yet another player. In this way, the players "pass" the play around the circle. Depending on the group's choice, players may or may not pass the play back to the person who called their move.

Mistakes

The following are examples of mistakes that move players to the lowest seat (or eliminate them):

• Performing a move incorrectly.
• Not calling out the corresponding phrase correctly.
• Taking too long to initiate a stupid ninja move.
• Passing the play to a player who is already eliminated.
• Performing a move out of turn (believing another player's move is their own).

Related Games

Although this game probably originated on its own, it's very similar to the French party game la vache qui tache.