Cat's Cradle

string games · hand tricks · worldwide fun

Ancient worldwide game. People in Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands, Australia, and the Americas all invented their own versions of cat's cradle without knowing about each other.

Creative finger art. You make different shapes and patterns with string by looping it around your fingers in clever ways, and each figure has its own name.

Named since 1768. The earliest known mention of cat's cradle by that name was in a book called The light of nature pursued by Abraham Tucker back in the 1700s.

Solo or with friends. You can do cat's cradle by yourself with just your hands, or pass the string back and forth with another person to create new designs together.