Yakyuken

Origin: Yakyuken (野球拳) comes from Ehime prefecture, where it was invented in 1924 as a dance song in honour of baseball. The moves imitate pitching and batting. Japanese television turned it into a game show number in the 1970s, and izakaya still play it as a drinking game.

How to play:

1. Two players face each other and sing a short melody together, miming a pitch and a swing
2. At the end of the line both shout: out, safe, draw
3. On the last word they throw rock, paper or scissors
4. The loser drinks and takes off one item, classically a hat, watch or scarf

Drinking:

• Lose: one sip
• Draw: both take half a sip and replay immediately
• Forget the song and you lose automatically

Boundary: Agree beforehand what counts as an item. Watch, shoe and scarf are plenty.