Two people say the exact same thing at the exact same time in one another's presence. Immediately cognizant of that fact, one of the duo will call out "Jinx!"
There are numerous variations on the game, so the consequences will vary from work to work. Common variations are:
- "Jinx! You owe me a soda/coke/pop." — The person who was "jinxed" now owes the other party a soft drink.
- "Jinx! You can't speak." Often comes with the added caveat that the person who was jinxed will be punched in the shoulder if they violate the prohibition on speech.
- 2A. The person is released when someone says their name three times.
- 2B. The person is released when they buy a soda for the person who jinxed them.
- Both characters anticipate the Jinx, and Jinx each other at the same time, often saying "Double Jinx" or "Jinx again" in unison afterwards. Usually by the third attempt, both parties abandon the effort.
Typically played among youth, adults playing the game can either show that they're a Manchild or that they and their friends still have a playful relationship. Especially if their friends abide by the rules.
The way people respond to the Jinx will also reveal a good deal about their own character. Do they bear with it patiently, look for ways to get out of it, or just refuse to participate at all?
Often in fiction, it is not unheard of for it to become Serious Business, or an Absurdly High-Stakes Game, usually to have it Played for Laughs. Some may stick to the rules on silence even if it means Honor Before Reason.
Not to be confused with a bout of bad luck, oft attributed to a curse, a person so afflicted, the film by the same name, or the female member of the H.I.V.E. Five.
Examples:
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Fan Works
- In The Loud House fanfic Jinxed Linc
, siblings Lynn and Lincoln both exclaim, "Quarter!" when they see one, and thus she jinxes him, meaning he cannot speak until someone says his name three times.
Films — Animation
- Frozen: Anna and Hans share a moment in "Love is an Open Door", claiming this proves their compatibility:
Anna: I never met someone–
Anna and Hans: –Who thinks so much like me. Jinx! Jinx again! - The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part: When Batman and Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi make preparations for the wedding, the two of them discuss how alone they felt until they agreed to get married. When the two of them say "to find true happiness" in unison, they begin to affectionately jinx each other, but Ice Cream Cone, who's annoyed with their flirting, forces them to stop.
Live-Action TV
- Castle (2009): "Home is Where the Heart Stops". Beckett puts a Jinx on Castle, then informs him he can't speak. He violates that prohibition, then quickly states that he'll buy Beckett a soda.
- How I Met Your Mother: "The Final Page, Part 1" has Barney get jinxed by Marshall and trying to trick someone into saying his name so he can resume speaking. It's revealed the group treats the game as Serious Business because Barney ignored the jinx the last time it happened to him and he was hit by a bus later that day.
- The Odd Squad episode "Jinx" involves Olive and Otto contracting the titular disease, which causes them to speak at the same time. It soon spreads throughout the precinct, with the only characters immune being Oscar (who had contracted it before and gained immunity) and Dr. O, who must find the villain Jimmy Jinx and retrieve his Jinx Cube to cure everyone.
- The Office (US): The Season 2 episode "Drug Testing" has Pam jinx Jim after he does an impression of Stanley, and informs him he cannot speak until he buys her a Coke. The vending machine is out, however, and Pam takes delight in Trolling Jim throughout the episode, until she tells him he can tell her anything, and his face becomes very serious, as he has feelings for her. She later buys him a Coke to give her.
- Saturday Night Live: Julia Louise-Dreyfuss and Mary Gross in one episode performed a rhyme together any time they said the same thing, with the Jinx Game as the theme:
Both: (singing) Jinx! Buy me a Coke! Inky-dinky-pinky-winky! Flush it down the kitchen sinky! Alley Ooop! Alley Ooop! Doh hinky. The king of France wet his pants right in the middle of a ballroom dance. Yodleayheehoo! Yodleayheehoo! Nee nee nee ne nee nee neee ne nee nee nee nee. Huh!
Web Animation
- Bravest Warriors: In the episode "Cereal Master", Chris goes out to buy Beth's favorite breakfast cereal to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the first time she jinxed him. At the end of the episode, as Chris finally brings Beth her favorite cereal, the two end up speaking in unison and Beth jinxes him yet again.
- Hello Kitty and Friends Supercute Adventures: In the aptly titled episode "Jinx!", My Melody jinxes Kuromi, then tells her she can't speak until she buys her an orange soda. Kuromi goes around town, trying to procure an orange soda, pantomiming her actions, but no one seems to realize her point until Badtz-Maru figures it out. He then pops open an orange soda and drinks it in front of her telling her he's now out, before trying to say he was just kidding, but accidentally spills his drink on the game he was playing, ruining it. Kuromi is frustrated, sitting on the curb, when My Melody shows up with an orange soda, "I got this for you to give it to me." She also bought a grape soda for Kuromi. "It's no fun hanging with your Best Friend if you can't talk to her," My Melody says as they sit together. As they walk off, they speak in unison again, and Kuromi enthusiastically calls "Jinx!"
- Minilife TV: In "1-800-MINIDIAL", Chris and Ian teleport over a troll's house to beat him up when he harasses them on their hotline. When he tries to escape, Chris and Ian say at the same time "Why do they always run?" and then "Jinx! You stole that from Community!".
Web Video
- SuperMarioLogan: In "Bowser Junior Gets Jinxed", Cody jinxes Junior after they both say "I'm gonna get an A!", rendering Junior unable to talk until somebody says his name. When Junior tries to get Bowser to say his name by showing him a piece of paper that says "JR", Bowser thinks Junior has a crush on a girl named Jessica Robinson. At Y U Dumb? Elementary School, Junior hopes that Jackie Chu will call his name during roll call, but Jackie gives up before he gets to Junior's name due to how slanted his eyes are. Junior also ends up failing his test due to being unable to talk. When Cody decides to change the rule and lets Junior talk if he gives him a coke, all Junior has is Pepsi. When Brooklyn T. Guy arrives at Junior's house to put out a fire, Junior tries unsuccessfully to get him to say his name by having him play a game of hangman. At the end of the video, Cody decides to let Junior talk again if he gives him a big wet open-mouth kiss on the lips, but makes the mistake of saying "Come here, Junior!"
Western Animation
- Bluey: In "Fairytale", Bandit gets jinxed by his older brother Radley, and the whole family uses Bandit's silence to rag on him for the rest of the day. Everyone regards this as just desserts for how Bandit had been bullying his younger brother Stripe up to this point. A much older Bandit, looking back on this incident, regards it as an important moment teaching him to be a kinder person.
- Dragon Tales: "Follow the Leader" begins with Emmy jinxing Max after they both shout "A squirrel!" at the same time. After Emmy wishes herself and Max to Dragon Land, Wheezie says "Hiya, Max!", and Max thanks Wheezie for saying his name.
- Kim Possible: "Bueno Nacho" starts a precedent of Kim and Ron jinxing each other for a soda when they speak in unison. It starts with the duo splitting up, Kim to take out Shego, Ron to take out Drakken's latest invention.
Both: Be careful.
Kim: Jinx. You owe me soda.
Ron: Ooh! - Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension: Each time the two Doofenshmirtzes say something in unison, the original Doof calls jinx and adds another soda to the number that Doof-2 owes him. By the third time, Doof-2 is so annoyed by it that he sends the original Doofenshmirtz to his doom along with the kids.
- Recess: "Jinxed" revolves around Gus getting jinxed by the Ashleys and getting into trouble when his attempts to non-verbally get someone to say his name fail.
- Regular Show: Mordecai jinxes Rigby, telling him he can't speak unless someone says his name three times. Rigby tries to get Benson to say his name thrice, but Benson doesn't know what's going on and leaves in anger. He tries writing a note to Skips to get him released, but Skips decides to be a Troll and tells him that writing is a form of talking, so he's cheating, and joins Mordecai in punching Rigby in the shoulder. Muscle Man then tells Rigby about a Dangerous Forbidden Technique to unjinx himself, which elevates it to Serious Business and an Absurdly High-Stakes Game as Rigby locks himself in the restroom, steams the mirror, and writes his name backwards, then saying his name three times, summoning a demonic mirror version of himself that is much larger and more powerful. He and Mordecai have to banish it together. Mordecai then unjinxes Rigby.
- Teen Titans Go!: The plot of "Jinxed" is that the Titans invoke the game on Robin because he CONSTANTLY YELLS ORDERS AT THEM and they just want some quiet for once. As Robin quickly discovers for not adhering to the rules of the curse, his voice is literally placed in a jar and added to Jinx's own collection.
- The Wild Thornberrys: In one episode, the family meets another adventuring family and hangs out with them for a while. Eliza gets along well with the family's youngest daughter, and they repeatedly end up speaking in unison before playfully adding, "Jinx!"
