All’s fair in love and thumb war.   Once the battle cry of “One, two, three, four, I declare a Thumb War!” has been proclaimed and fingers have been interlaced… how do I say this nicely?  It’s ON.  Your goal: pin your opponents thumb down for at least a second.  There are no time limits, though tactics abound; you can either pin your enemy/friend right away, or hang back and let them struggle and tire themselves out before you go in for the final and sometimes brutal attack.  Some legendary games have gone on for days with the opponents waiting to seize the perfect opportunity to attack.

In the 1980s, the World Wrestling Federation teamed up with toymakers to capitalize on the growing craze of the WWF.  Soon, action figures for the thumb in the shapes of wrestling stars of the day, such as the Incredible Hulk Hogan and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper were showing up on store shelves.  They found a wanting audience, however the toys were disappointing and bulky.  It was difficult to win when you could hardly move your thumb!  Since then, other toys have been made to “enhance” the game, but who needs enhancement when good, simple fun was at hand… or thumb?