Johnny Whoop

Johnny Whoop is an example of a secret rule game.

What is a secret rule game?

A secret rule game is a playful, often puzzling group activity where one or a few players know a secret rule that determines what fits or happens in the game, while the rest of the players must figure it out through observation and deduction. The fun lies in the mix of confusion, clever hints, and the "aha!" moment when players crack the code, making these games perfect for sparking laughter and creative thinking in social settings.

Like all secret rule games, Johnny Whoop is played in a group where some, but not all, players know the secret rule.

Johnny Whoop is also an example of a Mimicry game.

What is a Mimicry game?

In a Mimicry game, one player who knows the rule performs an action that has a hidden constraint built into it. Other players try to imitate the action exactly. The knowers say whether each imitation succeeded. New players figure out the rule by collecting examples of successful and failed imitations and noticing what the successes have in common — which is rarely the most prominent part of the action.

The trick of Johnny Whoop is that the rule isn't in the most visible part of the action. The "aha!" moment usually comes when a player stops focusing on the obvious surface of what the knower is doing and notices the part that actually matters.

The action

A player who knows how to play sits where everyone can see, holds up one hand with fingers and thumb spread, and says the verse:

"Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, Whoop, Johnny, Whoop, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny."

The verse is paired with a finger-touching sequence performed with a finger of the other hand:

Starting at the pinky, touch the tip of each finger of the spread hand for each "Johnny" — pinky, ring, middle, index — one finger per word.
On "Whoop", slide the touching finger down along the side of the spread hand's index finger and up the side of the thumb.
On the next "Johnny", touch the tip of the thumb.
The second "Whoop" reverses the slide — down the thumb side and up the index side.
The last four "Johnny"s reverse the first four, bringing the touching finger back to the pinky.

The performance ends with the touching finger back where it started.

Then it's the next player's turn to attempt the same verse and sequence. The knower says whether the attempt was correct. New players almost always get the verse and the finger pattern technically right, but are still told their attempt failed — that's where the puzzle is.

It's not recommended to play this game in a vehicle setting, such as on a road trip, since being able to see and point to things will lead to a better gameplay experience.

The secret rule

To do Johnny Whoop correctly, the player crosses their arms after performing the action.

Most players are so focused on getting the verse and the finger pattern right that they miss the post-verse arm-cross entirely. Reveal it by repeating the action a few times around the circle, ending each time with the same arm-cross.