How Many Sheep Crossed The Bridge?

After dinner this evening, we played a game involving two fields, a bridge, several sheep and a lot of clapping. On every turn, one player tells a short story about why the sheep are crossing the bridge to the other field this time, followed by pattern of claps (which can be of varying rhthyms and number), before asking the poor person who does not understand the game how many sheep have crossed the bridge. If you have not played the game before, it is fairly inevitable that you will not be able to grok the pattern without at least several tries, and the other players can choose to aid or hinder your ability to solve the problem.

It was immensely frustrating, and I was fortunate not to be the primary target of the chiding involved. After a progressively bigger series of clues (and one pretty big red herring), I finally figured it out, to no small amount of relief, and now I cannot wait to similarly taunt my own friends with the dumb sheep game.