Yes — it can be related to hypnosis in a loose sense, but it is not the same thing.
What the game is
“Light as a feather, stiff as a board” is a classic group lifting game, usually at sleepovers. One person lies on the floor while others try to lift them using two fingers each, often after a chant or dramatic buildup.
Why it can feel mysterious
The game can seem spooky because:
the group focuses attention together,
there is expectation and suggestion,
the timing and ritual create a strong sense of “something happening,”
people often remember it as if the person became unusually light.
That kind of setup can increase suggestibility, which is one reason it feels similar to hypnosis.
How it relates to hypnosis
The connection is mostly through suggestion, expectation, and focused attention:
In hypnosis, a person’s experience can be shaped by suggestions and by what they expect.
In the game, the chant and group atmosphere may prime people to interpret the lift as unusually easy or magical.
Some people may also unconsciously coordinate better as a group after the ritual, which helps the lift succeed.
What it is not
It is not hypnosis in the formal sense:
There is no formal induction.
No one is being guided into a hypnotic trance.
The lifting effect is not due to a hypnotic force making a body physically lighter.
The likely explanation
The main reasons it seems to work are:
group coordination
shared expectation
attention and ritual
memory distortion after the fact
Also, the person is often lifted when the helpers are in sync and the effort is distributed well across several people, which can make someone seem easier to raise than expected.
Bottom line
So, yes, it is related to hypnosis only indirectly through suggestion and expectation. It is better understood as a group psychological effect than as actual hypnosis.
Kirsch, I. (1999). Hypnosis and placebos: Response expectancy as a mediator of suggestion effects. In I. Kirsch, A. Capafons, E. Cardeña, & S. Amigó (Eds.), Clinical hypnosis and self-regulation: Cognitive-behavioral perspectives. American Psychological Association.
Lynn, S. J., Kirsch, I., Barabasz, A., Cardeña, E., & Patterson, D. (2000). Hypnosis, suggestion, and suggestibility: An integrative model. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 42(4), 286–296.
Nash, M. R., & Barnier, A. J. (Eds.). (2012). The Oxford handbook of hypnosis: Theory, research, and practice. Oxford University Press.