Finger Circle Punch Game

The Finger Circle Punch Game (also referred to as "Ball Gazer", "The Circle Game", or "Gotcha", named so because the Offensive Player usually says this when he wins) is a punching game played among a group of people. It was originated by Matt Nelson of New Bremen OH in the mid 1980's and has virally spread around the nation, even referenced in the Mike Meyer's movie "Love Guru", where it was referred to as "Ball Gazer". It can be played anywhere at anytime. It's a game of peripheral vision, trickery and motor skills.
The game starts out when the Offensive Player creates a circle with their thumb and forefinger, not unlike an "A-Okay" signal, somewhere below his waist.
His goal is to trick another person into looking at his hand. If the Victim looks at the hand, he has lost the game, and is subsequently hit on the bicep with a closed fist, by the offensive player.
Rules
#The Offensive Player's hand must be below his shoulder or above his head. Some variations call for the hand to be below the waist.
#The Victim should attempt to see the circle without looking directly at the circle. In other words, by peripheral vision, the Victim realizes there is a circle-hand event occurring. The Victim has two possible methods to win the game:
##The Victim does not look down at the signal. Instead, the Victim stares the Offensive Player in the eye and says, "I'm not going to look at that." (or words to that effect.)
##The Victim does not look down at the signal. Instead, the Victim quickly pokes his index finger through the Offensive Player's circle-hand display. If he can poke inside and break the circle, HE wins, and gets to hit the Offensive player in the bicep. This action requires excellent motor skills (to poke the circle without actually looking directly at it.) In some variations of the game the Victim can administer anywhere from 2 to 5 hits to the Offensive player.
#If the Victim looks at the circle, he loses (and is hit.)
#If the Victim attempts to poke the circle and misses, he loses (and is hit) even if he never looked at the circle.
#If the Victim attempts to poke the circle and Offensive player closes the circle, trapping Victim's finger, then the Victim loses (and is hit).
#The "Eye Level" rule. The Offensive Player can not put a Finger Circle directly into a Victim's line of sight. For example, if a Victim is tying his shoe, the Offensive Player can not shove the Finger Circle into the victim's face. "Eye Level" is also called if the finger circle is at or above the victims shoulder and below the top of the head or anything above the waist, depending on which variation of the game you play.
It is customary to "mark the spot" before a hit (mark an "X" with your finger on the bicep) and to "wipe off the hit" after it is delivered. (Quick back and forth hand brush on the bicep). It is important to wipe off the hit in a back AND forth motion or a hit is dealt back to the puncher. If these rules are not followed, the victim can return the hit to the offensive player. In that instance, the victim must also "mark the spot" and "wipe off the hit" or the roles are reversed again. The original game called for a "punch for punch" rule, but it has evolved to give a hit back plus an extra for not following the "X" and the "Brush off", resulting in 2 hits for not following any one of these rules.
There is no limit on the type of distraction allowed by the Offensive Player to draw attention to the signal. A good tactic is saying, "Hey, is this yours?" Or, "You oughta try one of these."
There is no limit on the number of times a day you can try this out. You'll find some people are "easy to get" and some people have good alertness and peripheral vision, "tougher to get."
There is no time limit on the game and among some groups the game could last for years. In "Ball Gazer", the finger circle is held in front of the persons crotch. If someone looks, you call them a "Ball Gazer" and they are punched. The Finger Circle game also has an App for the iPhone.

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