How to Play Up Jenkins

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Up Jenkins is a boisterous parlour game for two teams seated opposite each other at a table. One team conceals a small coin, passing it secretly among themselves beneath the table while the other team waits. On the caller's command, all hands slam down flat, and the guessing team must work out who is hiding the coin, eliminating hands one by one until it is found.

It is loud, sociable, and brilliantly simple, which is exactly why it has survived as a family and party favourite for generations. It needs no equipment beyond a coin and a table, plays well with mixed ages, and produces the sort of gleeful tension that keeps everyone around the table fully invested whether they are hiding, guessing, or simply watching.

A little history

Up Jenkins is widely documented as a Victorian parlour game popular in British and American households during the nineteenth century, and references to it appear in period literature and household game collections from that era. Its exact origins are unclear, and no single inventor or definitive first publication has been reliably identified. The name itself is traditional and appears consistently across sources, though minor regional variations in the rules have always existed.

Setting up

1. Divide all players into two equal teams, or as near equal as possible. Call them Team A and Team B.
2. Seat the teams on opposite sides of a long table, facing each other.
3. Decide which team hides the coin first. A coin toss works well.
4. The hiding team takes the coin under the table, out of sight of the guessing team.

How to play

1. The hiding team passes the coin secretly from hand to hand beneath the table. Players may also fake passes. The guessing team must keep their eyes up and watch faces, not the table edge.
2. When the guessing team is ready, their caller shouts 'Up Jenkins!' All members of the hiding team immediately raise both fists above the table, knuckles up, still concealing the coin.
3. The guessing team may confer quietly and study the raised fists for as long as they wish before issuing the next command.
4. The caller then shouts 'Down Jenkins!' All hiding team members slam both open hands flat on the table, palms down. The coin must be held flat under whichever palm is hiding it, making no noise if possible.
5. The guessing team now studies the hands on the table and discusses quietly. They take turns calling individual hands to be lifted, starting with whichever they believe is least likely to conceal the coin.
6. Each hand called is lifted. If a hand conceals the coin, the round ends immediately and the guessing team's score for that round is calculated. If the hand is empty, it is removed from the table and the guessing team continues.
7. The guessing team aims to eliminate as many empty hands as possible before the coin is revealed. The hiding team aims to make the guessing team reveal the coin as late as possible.
8. Once the coin is found, score the round (see Winning), then swap roles: the guessing team becomes the hiding team.
9. Play continues for an agreed number of rounds, or until one team reaches a target score.

Winning and scoring

Scoring rewards the guessing team for eliminating empty hands before finding the coin. Count the number of hands successfully cleared from the table before the coin was uncovered. That number is the guessing team's score for the round. If the guessing team finds the coin on the very first hand called, they score zero. If they clear all hands but one before the coin is revealed, they score the maximum possible for that round (total hands minus one). Agree a target score before play, such as 21 points, or play a fixed number of rounds and total the scores. The team with the higher total wins.

The fine points

The most common dispute is over noise when hands slam down. If the coin clinks audibly on impact and the guessing team hears it, standard ruling is that the round still stands: hearing a sound is useful information but the guessing team must still correctly identify the hand. Some households rule that a clearly audible clink forfeits the round to the guessing team; agree this before play starts. A second common dispute concerns lifting: once a player has touched a hand to call it, that call stands and the hand must be lifted, even if the caller immediately changes their mind.

If teams are uneven, the extra player joins the hiding team. All players on the hiding team still put both hands on the table during the Down Jenkins phase, so an extra hider simply adds more hands to sift through. Players must keep hands flat and still once down; deliberately shuffling a hand to suggest movement is considered sharp practice and most groups rule it a foul, awarding a free call to the guessing team.

How to win more often

• Watch eyes and shoulders, not just hands. Players instinctively glance toward the hand holding the coin or tense the shoulder on that side.
• As a hider, keep your expression and posture identical regardless of whether you have the coin. Relax the hand that holds it rather than gripping tightly.
• When guessing, start by eliminating the hands that slammed down most confidently and flatly. A player landing their hand very carefully is often protecting something underneath.
• Call hands from the ends of the row inward. This limits the hiding team's ability to pivot their story about where the coin might be.
• As a hider, make a convincing fake transfer just before the Up Jenkins call. A small flick of the wrist under the table costs nothing and plants genuine doubt.

Variations

Creepy Crawly

In this variant, instead of slamming hands flat on Down Jenkins, players must walk their fingers slowly along the table from a raised position and lower them gently. This gives the guessing team more time to watch for telltale tension or protective movement, and tends to suit younger or more observant groups.

No Conferring

The guessing team must call hands without any discussion between members. Each player calls in turn around their side of the table. This speeds the game considerably and removes the collective reasoning element, making it more about individual instinct. Works well when players know each other's tells very well.

Double Coin

The hiding team conceals two coins simultaneously, held by two different players. The guessing team must find both to end the round. Their score equals the number of empty hands cleared before the second coin is uncovered. This variant significantly favours the hiding team and suits experienced groups looking for a stiffer challenge.

Open Voting

Rather than one caller, the whole guessing team votes simultaneously on which hand to lift next, each pointing at their choice. The hand with the most votes is lifted. Ties are broken by a quick show of fingers on a count of three. This version is noisier and more democratic, and tends to work well with larger groups of eight or more.

Up Jenkins: frequently asked questions