What is shiritori?

Shiritori (しりとり) is a word game in which players take turns to say words, each of which begins with the final kana of the previous player's word. The first kana of the word must be the same as the last kana of the previous player's word, the shiri (), or "bottom" of the previous word. The game ends if one player chooses a word ending in the kana n or if he cannot think of another word.

For example,

  1. とま
  2. んか
  3. ← GAME OVER!
Here the final player has lost because they chose a word ending in kana n.

Rules

The rules of the game vary, but in general:

Variations

The game can be made more difficult by restricting the words to be used to, for example, only vegetables, or only Pokemon characters. Players may also have to answer within a certain amount of time, such as after a short chant.


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