Catch The Mouse

Today is Friday which means that it was game day at school. Whereas most of my classes opted to play bingo, hangman, or win, lose or draw, one class taught me how to play a very popular game here in Korea called "catch the mouse." Apparently, the game was either created or popularized (I'm not sure which) on a Korean game show called "6 Girls." I've seen a few episodes of the show, and I can't quite figure out what the point is, but it's similar to other Korean game shows in that it stars Korean celebrities (all dressed in high school uniforms) who partake in ridiculous games and end up making fools of themselves. Apparently, the core six girls, for whom the show is named, are in charge and make the male guests perform for their entertainment. At any rate, they often play catch the mouse, and it has caught on with many people, especially my students. It's quite simple to play actually; basically, everyone sits in a line and chants "Catch the mouse! Catch the mouse! Catch, catch, catch! How many? How many?" Then the first contestant shouts out how many mice there are. The next person decides either to catch one of the mice, or to smack their forehead and pass. Once the number of mice that were initially decided upon have been caught, everybody must raise their arms and shout "Hooray!" Also, the first person can decide to shout "Cat!" at which point everyone must raise their arms and shout, "Meow!" If someone screws up and forgets how many mice there are left to catch, then they lose, and on the show they get hit with giant, red plastic hammer. Come to think of it, I'm not really sure how this game caught on, but it is kind of easy to become engrossed in it.