All around MHS, students are playing various competitive games involving pain.

Alec Mayer, junior, often participates in Bloody Knuckles, a game where players keep a quarter spinning. The player who makes the quarter fall gets the quarter flicked against his knuckles. The game ends when a player bleeds or can no longer endure the pain.

“I’ve bled a couple of times before,” Mayer said. “It’s fun, it’s a source of entertainment, and I’ve seen a lot of people play.”

Max Sidney, junior, also plays Bloody Knuckles.

“It does hurt, but that’s part of the fun,” Sidney said. “I can flick a quarter through a sheet of paper, so you can see why people bleed pretty fast in the game.”

In addition to Bloody Knuckles, Sidney plays the Card Game, where the winner of a round of cards hits the loser’s hand with the deck, and Thumps, where players punch each other in the chest until a player is seriously hurt or wants to stop.

“These games are all about proving who is the toughest and who can take the most amount of pain,” Sidney said. “I’ve never seen a girl play because girls aren’t stupid enough to do something to hurt themselves.”

Matt Duffy, junior, plays Slaps, where players take turns slapping each others’ hands until someone gives up; Punches, where players punch each other in the arm until someone gives up; and Elbows, where players elbow each other in the arm until someone gives up.

“The games are usually five minutes long and last 10 to 20 hits, depending on your opponent,” Duffy said. “Sometimes you get bruises.”

Duffy said Elbows is the most intense game of the three, but Slaps is his favorite.

“I’m undefeated in Slaps,” Duffy said.

Duffy learned the pain games from his friends and has played since middle school.

“I’m seeing a lot more people play this year,” Duffy said. “These kinds of games have really become popular.”

Ashley Porter, psychology teacher, noted males play more than females play because, in general, males are more aggressive by nature than females.

“Peer pressure and wanting to conform may account for why guys play painful games,” Porter said. “In addition, these games cause a release of adrenaline and endorphins in the brain, giving the players a temporary rush or thrill.”

However, playing pain games can lead to health problems.

“You can get infections from playing Bloody Knuckles, and if the cut is deep enough, you could damage a tendon and lose full range of motion in your hand,” Gloria Skornia, school nurse, said.

Skornia also said Thumps was extremely dangerous because a student could break a sternum and damage internal organs.

Assistant Principal Carl Hudson said these behaviors are seen as disruptive to the learning environment and good order of the school.

“Although the games aren’t specifically prohibited in the school handbook, teachers and administrators who see such behavior will warn students, and students who don’t stop will face other consequences,” Hudson said.