The spectators secretly tell one of the players (we'll call him the "sender") a word, phrase, person/place/thing - anything that is fairly well-known and not too long. The sender then tells the receiver (the other person who is "in the know"), "Snaps is the name of the game and the name of the games is snaps", and begins to "send". The sender then uses a code to communicate the secret word or phrase to the receiver. Once the receiver knows what it is, he tells the spectators.
Here's the code:
The sender spells the word or phrase as follows: Every phrase the sender says after saying, "Snaps is the name of the game and the name of the games is snaps" is part of the message - the first letter of each thing said spells out the secret word or phrase.
Except for vowels - they are communicated by the sender snapping his fingers. A is one snap, E is two, I is three, O is four, U is five snaps.
If done quickly and with practice, this game is bewildering to the spectators, and the receiver will know the word or phrase without having seemed to get enough info from the sender.
For example, if the secret word were "George Washington", the sender may say the following:
"Snaps is the name of the game and the name of the games is snaps"
"Give me a second" (G)
(snap twice) (E)
(snap four times) (O)
"Ready?" (R)
"Got it yet?" (G)
(snap twice) (E)
"Wait a second" (W)
(snap once) (A)
and so on.
Generally the receiver can guess the word or phrase before all the letters are given, further bewildering the spectators. Once a spectator thinks he knows the secret, he can attempt to either send or receive, thus either proving or disproving that he has discovered the secret.
Another variation:
If a spectator gets wise and gives the sender a difficult word, like one starting with an "X", or something that may be difficult to send without giving away the code, the sender can begin by saying, "Snaps is NOT the name of the game", and that tells the receiver that the word that will be spelled is NOT the word he has to guess, but rather a clue to what the word is. For example, to send ZEBRA in this way, the sender might spell out, "black striped horse", and avoid having to send the letter "Z".