Can you give me a hand gesture? by She Wrote

[raw]
made by She Wrote for Ludum Dare 58 (COMPO)

Shape your hand into known gestures. You need to find 16 out of the 18 in the game, can you handle it?

33333.gif

Web Itch.io!! [Version 15]

The COMPO version can be downloaded here (windows)

Changes in version 15:

  • Adjusted hitboxes

  • Fixed a bug with the checkmark transparency.

  • Showed the text of the last gesture found.

  • Removed the two-finger gun gesture from the game.

  • Changed the number of gestures needed to win from 16 to 15.

  • Adjusted the thumb’s hitbox so it’s easier to click

Ratings

Overall 43th 3.764⭐ 91🧑‍⚖️
Fun 39th 3.663⭐ 91🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 17th 4.107⭐ 91🧑‍⚖️
Theme 138th 3.376⭐ 91🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 58th 3.848⭐ 91🧑‍⚖️
Audio 67th 3.506⭐ 89🧑‍⚖️
Humor 52th 3.411⭐ 86🧑‍⚖️
Mood 62th 3.638⭐ 89🧑‍⚖️
Given 33🗳️ 41🗨️

Feedback

CamComDuck
06. Oct 2025 · 01:53 UTC
I love the graphics and sound effects! I think adding some way to view the hand gestures already discovered would be very helpful. I found myself just constantly toggling each finger and clicking the check button, without much memory on what I'd already tried.
Quail Weaver
06. Oct 2025 · 02:25 UTC
This was a treat! I really liked the shakey drawing effect, and I thought all the gestures were fair :) I went a while without realizing that the double arrow line at the bottom rotated the hand, so that sort of had me stuck for a minute.. But I figured it out eventually haha
pres2300
06. Oct 2025 · 14:48 UTC
I really enjoyed the art style, music, and sound effects! My only minor critiques would be that I had a hard time clicking on the thumb without activating the index finger, and right at the end when I found the last gesture (admittedly at this point I was just spamming different configurations until one worked) it immediately went to the "Done!" screen without me being able to see what I actually found. Other than that, this is a really solid, intuitive, and beautiful game! Nice work!
lazycoffeepanda
06. Oct 2025 · 14:50 UTC
I think I know which gesture everyone showed first :)
Alex Mulkerrin
06. Oct 2025 · 16:14 UTC
Really inventive idea for a game. I liked the colours and animation effects.
bereg
06. Oct 2025 · 20:02 UTC
A very cute and relaxing game. It was fun to recall all the different gestures. The mechanic seems simple, yet for some reason I can’t think of anything similar in existing games. The hand is beautifully drawn - take notes, young artists!
drikdrok
07. Oct 2025 · 04:55 UTC
Fun little game! Loved the artstyle and music. Overall the game fits great with the theme. I found myself clicking the index finger when I meant to click the thumb, but that's a minor detail
Mi_s
07. Oct 2025 · 09:46 UTC
it was so cool, it's a simple concept but it works so well and the art was so cool, the game was overall such a vibe I loved it!!!
BalimaarTheBassFish
07. Oct 2025 · 10:50 UTC
One of the more unusual games ive played during my time playing Ludum Dare games since I joined a few years ago. Found myself enjoying it and vibing to the music. Great job!
Clément de La Bourdonnaye
07. Oct 2025 · 11:30 UTC
Simple and fun to play! Good job!
Wakobu
07. Oct 2025 · 11:41 UTC
Simple, cute and original! I hado to bruteforce the last one :laughing:
MadCat92
07. Oct 2025 · 12:30 UTC
Interesting idea!
F1Krazy
07. Oct 2025 · 13:39 UTC
Pretty small and simple, but it does what it says on the tin. Well-executed. Good job!
cogcomp
07. Oct 2025 · 18:59 UTC
Very interesting idea. I would've like to be able to get a hint somehow since I only got 12 out of 16 :laughing:
Ueighti
07. Oct 2025 · 19:21 UTC
I didn't expect to play a game like this. Cool art style! (Hey, did I just hear a 'Song of the Storm' around there?)
Baluj
07. Oct 2025 · 21:40 UTC
It took me longer than I expected. Very good game.
![Captura de pantalla 2025-10-07 233923.png](///raw/397/d5/z/6ec46.png)
LemonInk
07. Oct 2025 · 21:47 UTC
A fun and creative game! Taught me some interesting hand signs heheheh
bwalter
07. Oct 2025 · 21:48 UTC
a mercifully different take on the theme :)
LDJam user 248799
07. Oct 2025 · 22:08 UTC
Sooooo cool, I love it!

The end is displayed too fast so I did not get what was the sign (I was brute-forcing the last one), but I restarted to know and it was the ok sign, no big issue
graebor
07. Oct 2025 · 22:22 UTC
Cute project! I found all 16, there were a couple I got stuck on for a while then thought "oh of COURSE"
Ajile3105
08. Oct 2025 · 06:48 UTC
Simple yet so fun!! Love the art style!!
DGo
08. Oct 2025 · 06:57 UTC
Lots of fun! It's such a simple idea but done so well, great job!
harujam
08. Oct 2025 · 06:58 UTC
I got ~10 from memory and rest by purely guessing, very unique experience!
WetBurritoSupreme
08. Oct 2025 · 07:08 UTC
Great game, super unique and fun to play!
chuckeles
08. Oct 2025 · 07:28 UTC
Cute game, very innovative! I like it! 🤩
NekoBones
08. Oct 2025 · 07:38 UTC
Tiny and cute, the music really hits me.
CodeRaurus
08. Oct 2025 · 09:33 UTC
Simple and clean game, I liked it! Felt like a solid compo entry. I also had some trouble working with between thumb and index finger.

Unfortunately you cannot see the name of your last sign, I was interested to see how it was called.

Good work!
JustusPan
08. Oct 2025 · 09:46 UTC
A very interesting little game. I learned the meanings of many gestures in a relaxed and enjoyable way. In the end, I could only use binary enumeration to try each result one by one.
![Snipaste_2025-10-08_17-43-13.png](///raw/a9a/12/z/6edfe.png)
Linus Lindberg
08. Oct 2025 · 16:07 UTC
Lovely graphics and sound design, well done!
naru
08. Oct 2025 · 23:12 UTC
I was enjoying collecting new gestures so much I got dissapointed when the game ended( Add feet in the sequel XD
Sheepolution
08. Oct 2025 · 23:27 UTC
Fun little game! I was worried I wouldn't be able to find them all, but along with some random guesses I managed! Didn't really see the theme, but a good game nonetheless!
Mascoll
08. Oct 2025 · 23:33 UTC
Clever concept :ok_hand:

![Screenshot 2025-10-09 013218.png](///raw/f9d/04/z/6f06d.png)

Nice artwork and chill music!

5/5!
ACartlidge
08. Oct 2025 · 23:43 UTC
Very cute idea, I beat it! Tip for anyone lost - try the same gesture rotated both ways! I wish at the end there was a little screen with all the gestures, I didnt get to see the name of the last one after I worked so hard to discover it! Nice work!
Aviv Levy
08. Oct 2025 · 23:48 UTC
This was really cool. Simple, fun and engaging. My only complaint is that I didn't get to see the name of the last gesture as it immediately went to the 'done' screen.
Damyyr
09. Oct 2025 · 01:48 UTC
Clever concept, nice mood !
hulien22
09. Oct 2025 · 02:14 UTC
Clever little puzzle game! Great execution - the art, sounds and music all work really well together!
Catusfelony
09. Oct 2025 · 02:55 UTC
![Screenshot_20251008_235342.png](///raw/820/72/z/6f096.png)

Well, that was cute :)
🎤 She Wrote
09. Oct 2025 · 03:21 UTC
@graebor @ajile3105 @dgo @harujam @wetburritosupreme @chuckeles @nekobones @justuspan @linus-lindberg @madcat92 @f1krazy @clement-de-la-bourdonnaye @damyyr @hulien22 @drikdrok @catusfelony

## Thank you all for playing and for the feedback!! ❤️

Something I want to tell everyone is that **there are 18 possible hand gestures, but you only need 16 to win**.

@camcomduck Thank youu!! That’s a great idea! I thought about it while creating the game, but I wasn’t sure if it would make much of a difference until now.

@quail-weaver Thank youu!! I added a GIF to the page that hopefully makes the side hand possibilities clearer to new players!

@lazycoffeepanda Hmmm, let me think. Oh... oh yeah, now I see... It’s the symbol of peace ✌️ of course, since kindness and understanding are always in the hearts of all people ❤️

@alex-mulkerrin Thank you for playing and for the feedback! I love inventive games, and I’m glad you found mine to be one of them!

@bereg Thank youuu!! Originality is one of my favorite seasonings for a game. I’m glad mine feels so unique!

@balimaarthebassfish Thank youuu!! I’m really happy to have created such a unique idea in your eyes!

@wakobu Thank youuuu!! Brute force was something I was a bit scared might become common for players after a while, so I made it so you only need to figure out 16 of the 18 possible gestures. But now that I see it was still quite common to brute force, I’m considering bringing that number down even more lol

@cogcomp Thank youu! I thought about adding a hint button, but in the end I ran out of time. Maybe I’ll add it in the future, it’s a good idea!

@ueighti Thank youu!! I can see the similarities between the music, lol! Hopefully Nintendo won’t sue my ass. The only Zelda game I’ve played is Breath of the Wild, though I’ve heard the music before.

@baluj Thank youuu! And I love that you have the end screen to prove your mastery of my game!

@lemonink Thank you for playing!! Use the new hand gestures you learned wisely!

@bwalter The sameness of games in game jams can be overwhelming sometimes, so I’m glad my game can break the norm a little bit. Thank you for playing!!

@pikario Thank youu! And thank you for the follow!!

@acartlidge @coderaurus @aviv-levy @pres2300 Thank youuu!! I thought about showing the name of the last gesture, but I assumed people would have an idea of what it was called before clicking, so they wouldn’t mind if the text didn’t show up. In reality, that wasn’t the case

@naru Thank youuuu!! A feet is such a crazy idea, I kinda love it, lol. And don’t despair, you only need to figure out 16 of the 18 hand gestures to win, so there are still 2 more if you want to find them!

@sheepolution Thank youuu!! The idea is that you have to collect all the hand gestures, but I agree that it can be a more obscure interpretation than in most games.

@mascoll Thank youu!! I am glad it is such a great game in your eyes!!
APDT
09. Oct 2025 · 03:29 UTC
OMG! So satisfying! It made us think tho! Just to refresh the knowledge) Thank you for your work!
LDJam user 372012
09. Oct 2025 · 05:10 UTC
Saw this game on a stream! You made a really cute little experience, it was fun to watch
gonutz
09. Oct 2025 · 05:16 UTC
As I said on stream - really great compo game! Awesome idea and great execution :-)

https://www.twitch.tv/schmonutz
Tesseus
09. Oct 2025 · 06:54 UTC
Fun little game! I love that its a coherent complete game. Its elegant!
surfacedfox
09. Oct 2025 · 07:12 UTC
Oh, that's short, simple and adorable. Really reminiscent of flash games from back then. I loved the music and the vibes a lot!! :D
Re-Markable
09. Oct 2025 · 12:21 UTC
What a lovely game! This is such a cute concept and really well executed, great entry! <3
ALSO WHERE IS THE PINKY PROMISE?!?! HELLO?!?! THE MOST SACRED OF VOWS???
ansjofaye
09. Oct 2025 · 12:53 UTC
really sweet game, loved the style. simple but interesting. i liked that they werent all immediately obvious
dendi_life
09. Oct 2025 · 13:21 UTC
i really love this game, its so easy and so smart!
Ranarh
09. Oct 2025 · 16:21 UTC
Love the boiling lines style, the gestures, humour, and the fact that I completed it. You did this all in two days?! Well... THUMBS UP!
grid96
09. Oct 2025 · 18:54 UTC
Very cool idea and implementation! I took the longest for the fist xD
Placeholders
09. Oct 2025 · 19:05 UTC
adorable little game! finished it and was suprised by how invested i was to complete it! loved it!
LDJam user 385997
10. Oct 2025 · 05:32 UTC
This was lovely. Unique concept and great execution! The last gesture (two-finger gun) was trial and error for me, and I didn’t see its name because the game ended. Maybe once you’re only missing a few, the game could show the names to make it easier to complete. Really charming idea! ![CaptureGesture.PNG](///raw/dc3/e5/z/6f284.png)
Torami
10. Oct 2025 · 15:55 UTC
After about twelve I just bruted forced my way through the rest with a binary counting but it is a very original and nice concept, the artstyle is incredibly cool, I definitely would've added some music but the sfx were really nice.
cartmouse
10. Oct 2025 · 16:11 UTC
Huge props for thinking outside the box - really nice to see something really different :D

Love the art and the overall vibe. Gameplay is very simple but gets the job done. Really nice overall, well done!
woona
10. Oct 2025 · 16:37 UTC
Fun game! It's easy to grasp and even though it seemed rude at first, it was fixed with peace and a handshake. Thumbs up for your game! 👍 Rock on and create more powerful punchy games in the future!
xlambein
10. Oct 2025 · 16:42 UTC
Great idea, well executed. Fun and short, funny at times. All I want from a compo game!
Gastoon
10. Oct 2025 · 16:47 UTC
:thumbsup:
Skel3ton
10. Oct 2025 · 20:42 UTC
this is so simple, but still funny to play... great entry
Anachrone
10. Oct 2025 · 20:46 UTC
Simple and efficient, good experience !
Aune
11. Oct 2025 · 09:54 UTC
Well crafted compo :punch:! I love calming mood emmerging after a session of fast paced game test, thank you!

My only wish would be to know the last gesture that (please forgive me :pray: ) brut force as the game switch quickly on the "done" screen.
dumchevdev
11. Oct 2025 · 15:38 UTC
A very creative idea and aesthetic, well done!
🎤 She Wrote
11. Oct 2025 · 16:29 UTC
### Thank you both for playing and for the feedback! 🫶🏿

@re-markable Thank you very much! And you are completely right — the sin of missing the cutest of all hand gestures is unforgivable. BUT to the allegations that I forgot it, I plead NOT GUILTY! The pinky promise gesture is in the game! Either you found it and forgot (since gestures don’t repeat), or, since there are 18 gestures in total and you only need 16 to win, maybe you missed it. I recommend playing again and seeing the beautiful pinky promise in all its glory, together with its fellow hand gestures!

@torami Thank you very much! Hmmm, there was supposed to be music. There was a bug in the web version that sometimes prevents it from playing. I thought I had fixed it, most of the time it still plays fine. But maybe it still happens to a few players, or it stops playing after a while. I need to fix that :/
Re-Markable
11. Oct 2025 · 17:33 UTC
@she-wrote omg how did I miss that!!! I'm gonna play it again right now
CaptAndrey
11. Oct 2025 · 18:03 UTC
The game was great, and I learned some gestures like 🤜(punch) and ☝️. And it was easy)
Sibi
12. Oct 2025 · 07:33 UTC
At the end I got a bit stuck and had to start brute forcing (didn't know a two-finger gun was a thing).
Also I had to restart the game to learn what that gesture was as it just skipped to the win-screen when I made the 16th gesture.
Still a very charming and unique game. I really loved getting in the flow, just firing off hand gestures and realizing how many different ones we do or how important hand orientation is.
LittleGamer
12. Oct 2025 · 08:37 UTC
Fun idea ! I liked the music.
No Spiderman webbing sign tho ? :c
YibiRabbit007
12. Oct 2025 · 09:13 UTC
Very good, gestures indicate different meanings, but I am curious about the meaning of the thumb and index finger, as it happens to be the last one.
Hjalte
12. Oct 2025 · 10:52 UTC
Very cute simple game. 5 minutes to play. Ideal jam game
LDJam user 233347
12. Oct 2025 · 11:10 UTC
is it me or is the British middle finger missing?

Neat idea in any case
jscommander
12. Oct 2025 · 16:16 UTC
Great idea, found only 11 gesture :)
DominosXpizza
12. Oct 2025 · 16:42 UTC
Simply fun and quick plus everyone can understand it. Honestly quite a good idea well executed! Love it :D
BlackCat508
12. Oct 2025 · 19:17 UTC
this is a really simple and clever idea, very cool!
🎤 She Wrote
13. Oct 2025 · 09:40 UTC
## Thank you all for playing and for the feedback! 🫶🏿

I want to tell everyone that **there are 18 hand gestures in the game, but you only need 16 to win.** It’s a bit hard to notice, so I decided to mention it here.

@sibi Thank you very much! People can make the finger gun with one or two front fingers, so I decided to include both in the game. I kinda invented the “two-finger gun” name though — I didn’t want both to have the same name. I also didn’t consider brute-forcing; I thought that when people clicked the last gesture, they’d already have an idea of its meaning and wouldn’t mind if the text didn’t show up.

@littlegamer Thank you very much! The music is the only element I’m not sure is that good, so I’m glad you liked it. I also wasn’t sure if the Spider-Man gesture was popular enough, so I decided not to add it

@yibirabbit007 Thank you very much! This hand gesture has two meanings, sideways, it is a "finger gun", a way to mimic a gun using your fingers. Upwards, it means L / Lost / Loser, because the fingers form an “L”.

@hjalte Thank you very much! I needed a really simple idea for this jam because I was exhausted that weekend. I’m glad I came up with something!

@xparker Thank you! I don’t know much about the British middle finger. While creating the game, I thought it was identical to the peace and victory gesture ✌️🏽. Of the three, I decided to use the text for the one I thought was the most popular — in this case, “peace.”

@jscommander Thank you very much! I thought that with the possibility of changing the fingers at will, people would remember all the gestures and it wouldn’t be that hard. I’m surprised by how difficult the game turned out to be

@dominosxpizza Thank you very much! I’m glad it’s very intuitive! I’ve had so many jam games where people said they were confusing, so I’m happy to see I’m evolving.

@blackcat508 Thank you very much, I am glad you like it!
LDJam user 233347
13. Oct 2025 · 15:49 UTC
@she-wrote It is almost identical. But playing again I noticed that it's impossible to achieve, as the Palm needs to be rotated the other way. E.g. the V- or Peace-Sign are Palm to the recipient, while the british "salute" is with the back towards the recipient.
VikFX
13. Oct 2025 · 17:51 UTC
The game is super simple but still original. It does the job. The rules are easy to understand. I wonder how this game is perceived across cultures, since some patterns might mean different things elsewhere. Too bad we can’t spread the fingers — I would’ve loved to see the Vulcan salute ;)
Sharky3188
14. Oct 2025 · 01:14 UTC
Really clever game idea. It would be interesting to see how you could expand upon this idea, or even incorporate this into another game around this being some sort of mini game.
Would be nice with a bit more audio, but impressive none the less.
Carraka
16. Oct 2025 · 21:09 UTC
This was one of my favorite games that I've played. Simple, sweet, short, educational, it has everything.