Ninbank

I was playing 'The Question Game' with my g/f last night, and I was wondering if anyone here knew any (or knew of any resources for) other good games for two players that can be played with absolutely nothing but conversation. I've found this, but most of them seem to be insult or bar games. I'm looking more for games of wit or imagination (but not roleplaying, I know plenty about that).

One that I like is the double letter game. Though it's best if there's one participant (or onlooker) who doesn't know the trick. You say pairs of words, like so:
Books, but not movies.
Baseball, but not hockey.
Apples, but not oranges.
The idea is that the first word contains a double letter, the second doesn't, and that the two things are related. It can be fun to come up with matched pairs. It's more fun when there's someone who's trying to fit in but doesn't get it.
posted by shadow vector at 9:34 AM on June 4, 2007 [1 favorite]

We like Botticelli (here and here). Good for long car trips with mixed ages.
posted by nkknkk at 9:53 AM on June 4, 2007

My son likes to play a game that doesn't really have a name, but I guess I'd call it 'The 'If You Absolutely Had To Choose' Game'...
The object of the game is to come up with scenarios to choose from... They can be about normal things like 'Would you rather have unlimited money or unlimited health?' or they can be about outlandish things that you would likely never face in reality, but you HAVE TO choose (saying 'I don't know' or 'both' or 'neither' isn't an option)...
A recent example from my son (whose questions tend toward the disaster-ish): 'If you fell off a cliff, would you rather break your arm or your leg?'
You can make the questions as silly or as serious as you want. It's fun!
posted by amyms at 9:59 AM on June 4, 2007 [2 favorites]

I don't know what this is called, but you pick a category (bands, foods, celebrities, etc.) and then take turns coming up with examples. Each suggestion must begin with the last letter of the previous suggestion. For example, if you're playing with musicians, you might have Arcade Fire->Elvis Presley->Yeah Yeah Yeahs->Silverchair... Whoever comes up with a suggestion that the other person can't follow, wins. Decide ahead of time whether to count 'the's, etc. and whether people have a time limit. More specific categories lead to quicker wins, but slower play if you don't have a time limit imposed.
posted by vytae at 10:04 AM on June 4, 2007

I'm not sure if this is what you had in mind, but my friends and I have spent many a drinkin' night and more than a few sober evenings playing Death is Not an Option. Fair warning: you have to be ready for a fair bit of silliness, but it can be a good time, especially with a large group of people.
The basic premise is: One person presents you with the option of two people to have sex with- you have to pick one- and death is not an option. For example: Death Is Not An Option: Chewbacca or Yoda? George W. or A Reanimated Howard Taft? Martha Stewart or Tobias Funke? Of course, the most fun with this game is when you justify your answers. And as the conversation progresses, the hypothetical situations get, er, interesting.
posted by nuclear_soup at 10:08 AM on June 4, 2007 [2 favorites]

amyms, has your son seen 'So I Married an Ax Murderer'? Because Michael Myers and Anthony LaPaglia and their girlfriends play a game like that in a diner.
posted by JaredSeth at 10:28 AM on June 4, 2007

Here is a game that I was taught, which is called 'breakfast combo.'
It is a guessing game and goes as so. One person picks a thing (relatively specific: 'King Kong' or 'trail mix' or 'that necklace you are wearing' are all acceptable things. 'babies' or 'rocks' perhaps not so much). The other person guesses things (of similar specific-ness, i.e. you guess 'Is it King Kong?' not 'Is it large?' or 'Is it yellow?').
The response patterns for the person with the thing are as so:
'It's more like X than anything you've guessed so far'
or 'It's more like Y than X, but like X, Z'
Example:, you pick as a thing 'sushi' and your gf guesses as her first guess 'your bathroom.' You say 'It's more like my bathroom than anything I've heard so far.' Then your gf guesses 'a glue stick' at which point you have to decide whether sushi is more like your bathroom or a glue stick. Let's say you decide it's more like your bathroom. You then say 'It's more like my bathroom than like a glue stick, but like a glue stick, it can fit in my hand.' (otherwise you'd just say 'It's more like a glue stick than anything I've heard so far') Sometimes the comparisons can get very tricky--no repeats and no cop-outs!
I like this game because it's probably harder for the thing-holder than the guesser.
posted by that girl at 10:29 AM on June 4, 2007 [71 favorites]

I know amyms and nuclear_soup's as Would You Rather.
Along the same lines, there's also Shag, Marry, Cliff. One player names three people, and the other player has to decide which she'd have one-time sex with, which she'd marry, and which she'd throw off a cliff. Of course, I'm not sure if you'd want to play it with your girlfriend, but it is fun; there are a lot of variations. You can name hot people or awful people, or mix it up even more -- for example, I'd have a one-night stand with Captain Jack Sparrow, marry Edward Scissorhands, and throw Willy Wonka off a cliff.
posted by booksandlibretti at 10:30 AM on June 4, 2007

On a long drive once, my friends and I came up with a game (that no doubt many others have) where one person came up with a situation of something (anything), and then we went back and forth naming books or movies or songs wherein that occurred. So, for example 'a whale.' Then you could say (spoiler alert!) Moby Dick, or the Squid & the Whale, or Free Willy, etc. etc. or 'suicide', or 'baseball.' It's pretty basic and kind of mind-numbing, but it passes the time.
We ended up with a lot of supplementary rules (a third person acted as timekeeper/judge) that I don't remember, but part of the fun was coming up with them (like, you had one challenge per round and if you thought the other person was lying, you could challenge them and they'd have to explain the situation in which the thing occurred; or, better, you could challenge once per round to name the author/director of the book/movie). Overly pretentious? Probably..
posted by one_bean at 10:40 AM on June 4, 2007

Or there's always Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Frankly the idea of always connecting back to Kevin Bacon gets kind of boring. Might as well do two random actors.
posted by one_bean at 10:41 AM on June 4, 2007

Seconding Botecelli.
Also, lateral thinking puzzles are good (also called situation puzzles). But they're not the kind you can just make up on the spot. But if you're like me, you have a vast store house of them at the ready. Also, Paul Sloane has a number of books...
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 10:50 AM on June 4, 2007

My coworkers and I play a game that I like to call European Argument. It can be played with any word concept, but it's always more fun when using a pretentious vaguely European accent.
It starts like this:
Coworker A: We are a trio!
Coworker B: We are not a trio, we are a triad!
Coworker C: We are not a triad, we are a clique!
Coworker A: We are not a clique, we are a gang!
Coworker B: We are not a gang, we are a syndicate!
Coworker C: We are not a syndicate, we are a ...
It just goes on and on, and can be picked up instantly when someone says a definitive statement.
posted by cior at 11:16 AM on June 4, 2007 [6 favorites]

My family used to play a game where the object was to string letters together that could be used to make a word without actually making a word. Words would have to be at least 4 letters long to count, and the play would go something like this:
Player 1: W
Player 2: A
Player 3: I
Player 1:
So if player 1 now says a letter that forms a word (such as 'T' for 'W-A-I-T') he gets a mark (you can use H-O-R-S-E or I-D-I-O-T or whatever to keep track.) If player 1 says a letter than can't be used to make a word (such as 'W-A-I-Z') then the other players can challenge him and he'll get a mark. But if someone challenges you and you can make a word then the challenger gets a mark. (There can be a little bit of bluffing with this dynamic.)
Anyway, it was a fairly amusing game that was easy to play on long car trips with 2 or more people. I hope I explained this game well enough--did anyone else ever play something like it? What did you call it? (My family eventually settled on 'IDIOT.')
posted by bdk3clash at 11:23 AM on June 4, 2007 [4 favorites]

The initial game is fun. The rules are a tiny bit confusing, but once you get them, it's a lot of fun. Great for long car trips, and can be played with 2 or more people. Here are the basic rules:
Player 1 thinks of a well-known person and tells the other players the initials of that person. The goal of the game is for the other players to guess the person player 1 is thinking of. The other players try to win the right to ask yes or no questions about player 1's person (are they male/female? dead/alive?, etc.) to narrow down the possibilities. Players win the right to ask these questions by 'stumping' player 1. You stump player 1 by asking leading questions about the initials. Here's an example:
Player 1 thinks of a person (Jimmy Carter) and says the initials JC.
Player 2 can ask a question such as 'is your person a singer?' (Keep in mind, this question isn't necessarily to determine the identity of player 1's secret person, but to earn a right to ask a question.)
Now player 1 has to try to think of a singer with the same initials. If he responds 'No, my person is not Johnny Cash,' then he has not been stumped, and the players must try again. Player 1 can respond with any singer with initials JC. If he cannot think of one, then he is stumped, and player 2 can now ask a yes/no question about the identity of player 1's secret person.
The 'stumping questions' the players ask cannot be repeated, but you can ask similar questions that are either more or less specific. For example, after the singer question above was asked, another player could try the question 'is your person a country singer?' or 'is your person a female singer?' to try to stump player 1 with June Carter Cash.
The game can be won either by asking player 1 either directly or indirectly about their person. For example, after you have enough information, the players might suspect that the person is Jimmy Carter. They could directly ask player 1 'is your person Jimmy Carter,' which would let them win, or they could ask 'is your person a former president?' In this case, that question would be enough to win, since there are no other former presidents with initials JC, so player 1 would have to answer 'yes, my person is Jimmy Carter.' However, if the question were more general, player 1 could have a chance to save themselves. So if the question was 'is your person involved in politics,' player 1 could slyly respond, 'no my person isn't James Carville.'
The strategy is for player 1 to pick a name that has common initials. Even better if somebody in the same or a similar field has the same initials. Andrew Jackson would be a good one, because it gives you an out for the president question with 'Andrew Johnson.' The strategy for the other players is figuring out how to best phrase your stumping questions so as not to reveal the person you have in mind too easily. You want to make the questions broad enough that you won't give clues to player 1, but specific enough that player 1 won't be able to answer with somebody else in the same field.
Even if the other players are thinking of somebody specific, player 1 can respond with any person with the correct initials if it answers the question.
The game gets more interesting if you include fictional characters as well.
The game's a lot less confusing than it sounds, and I'm sure there are plenty of variations you can try out.
posted by SBMike at 11:26 AM on June 4, 2007 [2 favorites]

I've had some fun times playing some game I don't have a name for.
Since it's you and your girlfriend, I think it'll work.
You just say are you this or are you that.
You ask her 'Are you a butterfly or a bumblebee?' - she has to answer with what she feels she is, not what she wants to be or thinks other people think she is. So she might say she's a bumblebee because she stings but it's not fatal, and overall she's cute and useful.
After she answers, then you have to answer the question too, then it's her turn. So then she might say 'graymouser, are you a Redwood or a Sycamore?' And you might say a Sycamore because you love being by the water and you're pasty white, or whatever. Then she has to answer that same question.
And so forth. It's fun.
posted by cashman at 11:26 AM on June 4, 2007 [6 favorites]

I've passed long car journeys with games of 'Five Best'. Some picks a top - e.g. favourite sandwich, favourite holiday destination.
After a couple of minutes to think, each player gives their top5 with plenty of detail.
It's not complicated but it's fun.
posted by Lionel d'Lion at 11:36 AM on June 4, 2007 [1 favorite]

bdk3clash, my brother and I play that game when we're walking somewhere with nothing better to talk about, and people think we're nuts -- it's great. It goes by the name of Ghost.
posted by chrismear at 11:43 AM on June 4, 2007

You can also play some improv games. One I like best is the word-at-a-time story game. You start telling a story, and you tell it so that each person speaks one word of it. Works well with two people, and can be hilarious with more.
It's really easy: one person starts with a word, and the next person adds a word to continue the story. The only rule is that the next person cannot stop to think, and the next word has to be blurted out on the heels of the previous one.
posted by Arthur Dent at 11:57 AM on June 4, 2007 [2 favorites]

Another good question game is to ask for the opposite of things that don't have natural opposites. For instance, 'What's the opposite of a pufferfish?'
posted by Schismatic at 11:58 AM on June 4, 2007 [1 favorite]

cashman's idea can be taken quite far and is a great way to good conversation and to get to know the other.
A more complicated question could be, 'If you were a statue, what would it be of, what material would it be made of, where would it stand and what would people throw at it?'
Alternatively, you can ask reverse whole or part of this, and ask '...and why do people throw icecream cones at your statue?'
Basically just asking very random things can be a great game in itself.
posted by Grensgeval at 12:23 PM on June 4, 2007 [2 favorites]

Another good game is the question game. Everything you say must respond to the previous person and be in the form of a question. The first person to use a regular sentence loses. For example: 'How're you doing?' 'What could be better than today?' 'What about skydiving?'.
posted by Margalo Epps at 12:25 PM on June 4, 2007 [1 favorite]

I've played booksandlibretti's Shag, Marry, Cliff before, but under the name Marry, Fuck, Kill.
Another good alphabet game is Sex, Drugs, and Rock-n-Roll. You have to name something to do with sex, drugs, or rock-n-roll (natch), and it has to be in alphabetical order. Example: Alice Cooper, Beatles, Cocaine, Dick, Ecstasy, Fuck, Green Day, etc.
I also like the Famous Name Game someone else mentioned; Jimmy CarteR leads to Rosie O'DonnelL leads to Lisa SimpsoN leads to Neil DiamonD, etc.
And on preview, the Question Game is also fun- we used to play that in English class in high school (I think it was after we watched Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead).
posted by kidsleepy at 12:37 PM on June 4, 2007

I love 'Road Toad.' It's a rhyming game. One player formulates a pair of rhyming words or phrases, then provides a second pair of unrhymed words as the clue.
For example, if I were tell you the clue is 'street frog,' the closest set of rhyming words would be 'road toad.' Are toads the same as frogs? No! But close enough.
Then, you switch roles-- perhaps your partner supplies 'dirigible henchman' and you reply 'balloon goon.'
posted by RossWhite at 12:53 PM on June 4, 2007 [7 favorites]

Quotations. Pick a topic (e.g. 'money') and alternate turns giving quotations relevant to the topic, together with their source ('Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.' -- Woody Allen.) If you can't think of one that hasn't been used yet, make one up, including the source. The opposing player can call bullshit on a quote - if you get caught fibbing, you lose the round. On the other hand if call bull on a legit quote results in a loss for the over-hasty wolf-crier.
In the absence of reference books, this must be played with an honor-system understanding.
posted by Wolfdog at 12:56 PM on June 4, 2007

My friends and I used to play a game all the time where one player says the name of a famous person, such as Michael Jackson. The next player must then think of a famous person whose first name starts with the same letter as the previous response's last name, in this case J. So James Naysmith, in this case, would be a valid answer. The same person can not be used more than once. Also, using a celebrity with the same first and last initials reverses the order of play (or with two people technically has no result). But, doing so is also basically an unofficial challenge to the next person (also the previous person since play order was reversed) to come up with another response with the same double initial. Whoever survives such a showdown for longer wins nothing but bragging rights. The game ends when all players have given up, or have been eliminated by failing to answer within some time limit, by being unable to explain a response's notability when challenged, or by giving invalid answers (someone who is not famous, does not exist, or has the wrong first initial). It's up to you whether players must say what letter their person's last name starts with when asked.
Generally, we didn't use particularly strict criteria for determining level of celebrity. If someone asks who the hell your person is, you just explain to them what they are notable and famous for. So if someone challenges James Naysmith, I would just have to say, 'well they invented Basketball, one of the most popular sports in the world, you idiot. I can't believe you don't know who he is.' Then in most cases they agree that your response passes muster. If not, and there are only two players, debate ensues as to whether the person is sufficiently famous. With more people, you can put it to a vote. The other rule that comes as a byproduct of this system is that you can't use someone if you don't know what that person has done. So if I say Benjamin Disraeli, and someone challenges me (either because they don't know who he is, or because they don't think I know who he is) and I am not able to explain who he is, then I lose. Usually we didn't eliminate the challenger if the answer is justified, but you could I guess.
posted by gauchodaspampas at 12:56 PM on June 4, 2007

SBMike is describing Botticelli, btw.
posted by nkknkk at 1:08 PM on June 4, 2007

Jotto (paper optional if you have good concentration)
Ghost
Categories - good for a road trip. Pick a category and go back and forth naming things in that category; object of the game is not to be the one who runs out of things to say. You can also do this by naming things in the category in alphabetical order - begin with an A thing, then a B thing and so on.
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:15 PM on June 4, 2007

My favorite conversation game is 'Just A Minute,' which is also a quiz show on BBC radio. I wrote out the rules here, and while you're checking them out, you should take a look at that whole thread.
posted by grumblebee at 1:18 PM on June 4, 2007

i play a game that works just like all the others about naming a person and then using the last letter of their first name for the next person --- but mine is restricted to dead celebrities. in fact, that's the name of the game. so the trick is you have to make sure the person you're naming is dead! more fun that way.
i second ghost.
'going to the picnic' games are good too, if you theme them. you just list things (on a theme, in alphabetical order) that you'll be bringing to the picnic. my friends did this with a star wars theme and they said it was pretty tough.
the game amyms is describing is called 'would you rather?' and it's really fun. especially the way my friends and i did it, which was really outlandish and often kind of vulgar.
you could always play 'never have i ever,' that kids' game where you hold out ten fingers, mention stuff you've never done, and if the other player(s) have done it, they put a finger down. first one to have no fingers left loses (or wins, i guess). it's a good way to find out dastardly secrets!
posted by timory at 1:42 PM on June 4, 2007

gauchodaspampas, I used to play that game with a coworker. Love it.
Another game (that works better with more people - say around a dinner table) is one where someone comes up with a topic, and you have to go round naming something of that topic alphabetically, one following on from the other.
e.g Car brands
- Alfa Romeo
- BMW
- Chrysler
- Dodge
etc etc
posted by djgh at 2:06 PM on June 4, 2007

I just have to add that that spelling game is totally awesome, and is likely to end with much hilarity. We always just played that the first person to spell any word was out and had to start the next round.
We used to play it on the bus in high school when we were driving to field hockey games. I went to school with a bunch of nerds. It helps sharpen your spelling skills, as well.
posted by mckenney at 3:08 PM on June 4, 2007

The Would You Rather game that several have mentioned plays well as 'Who would you rather have sex with,' or 'What ghastly fate would you rather suffer,' but I like it best as a choice between superpowers. They can be heroic ('Would you rather have invisibility or flight?') or silly ('Would you rather be able to make change for a dollar just by putting it in your mouth, or be able to change the length of your hair by thinking about it?'). The answers should ideally spark discussion about the reasoning behind each choice. (It's also been made into a series of books and a board game, if you're interested.)
posted by Rock Steady at 3:28 PM on June 4, 2007

Great thread, BTW.
posted by Rock Steady at 3:28 PM on June 4, 2007

We like the 5 letter word game. Someone thinks of a 5 letter word, say ummm 'quite'. People then guess 5 letter words, and the designated person has to inform the guessers how many letters in their word match the designated word, same letter, same position.
I'm not explaining it well, but if the word was 'quite' and the guesser said 'paper' the leader would say '0', as none of the letters in paper are the same letters in the same position as in 'quite'. If, however, the guesser said 'quiet' the answer would be '3', as in 3 of the letters are the same letters in the same position as in the secret word.
It can be challenging to be the designated person as it involves visualizing the word and matching it all in your head. We play it w/friends while waiting for food at fancy restaurants.
posted by purenitrous at 4:25 PM on June 4, 2007 [1 favorite]

You might also try Theater Games.
Many of the games on Whose Line is it Anyway do not require props and can be done with two people. (world's worst, etc)
posted by softlord at 5:43 PM on June 4, 2007

purenitrous, that's 'Jotto'
posted by LobsterMitten at 5:58 PM on June 4, 2007

My favorite is 'One, Two, Three.'
You and your partner each think of a word or phrase -- typically a noun, but it doesn't have to be. Ready? Count to three together, then say your words at the same time.
Now you each have to think of a new word or phrase that somehow relates to both of the words just used. Quickly now! The first person to make the connection calls 'one.' The second person, when ready, calls 'two.' Then you both call 'three' together and blurt out the new words.
Repeat until you both say the same word at the same time.
Simple example of play: [High-fives.]
I've had the game last anywhere from 10 seconds (we started with 'fingernails' and 'Nixon' and both went straight to 'dirty') to half an hour (lots of agonizing near misses, plenty of non sequiturs too). This is one of the few games I know in which the players are not adversaries, but are trying to work together to make something happen. This allows for very simple rules; there needn't be any restrictions on what is a valid play, because if you go against the other player's expectations, you haven't got a chance. Which is not to say it isn't sometimes fun to do.
posted by aws17576 at 6:22 PM on June 4, 2007 [63 favorites]

A college roomate and I used to combine questions with the Alphabet game - you had to ask questions back and forth, but also each one had to be the next letter of the alphabet.
We'd also 'write' a story the same way - one line at a time, going through the alphabet.
posted by filmgeek at 9:17 PM on June 4, 2007

that girl's suggestion of 'breakfast combo' sounds like an more complex variant of 'French Toast'. If you want to make things tougher for the guesser, skip the comparisons.
posted by aneel at 10:44 PM on June 4, 2007

@ booksandlibretti and kidsleepy
Same game, yet another name: Do, Date, or Die (where we substitute marriage for a long-term relationship, for the sake of the alliteration.)
This game gets really fun, especially when you start using mutual friends.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 1:54 AM on June 5, 2007

Name Ten! Simple, elegant, easy for everyone to play.
One person thinks of a category; the others have to name ten things in that category; the category-thinker-upper is the arbiter of correctness. The role of category-thinker-upper rotates between everyone.
I think it works better with harder categories because everyone is trying to think of things that fit and reach five/ten so they can move onto something less devious. Unexpectedly challenging ones have included 'ten American national parks' (for a car full of Brits and Aussies), 'ten songs with 'hand' in the title,' 'ten famous Spaniards,' and 'ten languages spoken in Africa.'
posted by mdonley at 4:13 AM on June 5, 2007

Some friends of our played the umbrella game and it nearly killed me.
You tell people that you're going to a party and they can come too if they decide to bring the right item. It's not actually what they bring that gains them entrance. It's saying 'umm' before they name the thing. So, and umm apple goes while a pear doesn't. I never figured it out and they had to tell me, because I don't rely on space fillers on my language to the extant that a lot of folks do.
Next up is psychiatrist. One person leaves the room and everyone who remains decides what that person will be. The person returns and asks questions until they figure it out.
posted by bilabial at 5:54 AM on June 5, 2007 [3 favorites]

Its kind of a variation on the 'Would You Rather...' game, but I've spent countless hours of my life (in airports, at work, just sitting around) playing the 'Would you [X] for $X?'
More often than not, it involves some discussion - let's say I ask if you'd eat an 8oz. jar of mayo for $100. Then you'd ask me how long you'd have to do it in, are you allowed to spread it on bread or turn it into a veggie dip, etc. I then redefine my question: Ok, will you eat an 8oz jar of mayo in 2 hours, with a spoon, you can't use it as a dip or on bread but you can have a pint of ice water to help you.
Of course, the questions could get as gross or raunchy as you'd like, and they don't have to do with food (although a lot of mine do, and at my old job, a lunch with coworkers in the breakroom turned into one guy drinking a concoction of wonton soup, wasabi, Mountain Dew, salt and pepper, ketchup, mayo and some other things for $50 - we all chipped in a bit). You can ask if, for $20, the other person would go up to someone (like that lady over there by the soda machine or something) and pretend like she was your long-lost best friend Amy and then when she says she's not Amy, act like Amy was put into the witness protection program and that she shouldn't worry, you won't blow her cover. Or, go up to the counter at Starbucks and order a Big Mac and then throw a fit and refuse to believe them when they say they don't serve them, etc etc etc.
One of my favorite books for this type of thing is The Book of Horrible Questions, but the questions in that book are REALLY horrible. Pretty entertaining though, and you can get it for about $4.50 used right now.
posted by AlisonM at 7:14 AM on June 5, 2007

There's also that Victorian standby 'I love my Love with a _'. You go through the alphabet with two people (or with a large group use the initial of the person on the left), and fill in the following phrases, like so:
'I love my love with an 'O', because she is organized. I hate her with an 'O', because she is obstreperous. She likes to eat olives and oranges. Her name is Oneirodynia, and she lives in Ohio with an ostrich and drives an Opel.'
Add or delete as many phrases as you like.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:08 PM on June 5, 2007

Gyles Brandreth's Word Box was completely chock full of these games. (If I remember right, bdk3clash's game was referred to as Donkey.)
posted by zamboni at 12:32 AM on June 6, 2007

My family used to play 'Sausages' on long road trips.
One person would be 'IT' and the others (it plays best with three or more people) would take turn asking IT questions, like 'what did you pull out of your nose this morning,' or 'What did you do with the body?' and IT would have to answer each one with 'Sausages' without laughing. Once IT laughed, the next person would be IT.
It's a VERY fun game, with low competition, which makes it good for families.
posted by smoakes at 5:26 PM on June 8, 2007 [2 favorites]

The game is actually called Fuck 'Em, Chuck 'Em, or Marry 'Em. According to the cool kids anyway!
posted by wemayfreeze at 4:01 PM on June 25, 2007

My family used to play a word-string game where you deliberately misunderstand a word, for instance the first person uses the word 'fussed,' the next place says, no that's when you do something no one else has done. Then the next player has to guess what they meant ('first') and says, no you mean 'first' that's when you fold your hand to hit someone, etc. We've kept these strings going for 50 or 60 words.
Round robin stories are also fun, but work best with more than two people (also GREAT with kids). Each person adds one phrase or even one word to make a story. Always start 'once upon a time there was' and the next person continues the story. Much hilarity ensues. We eventually had to ban the words 'teenage mutant ninja turtle' 'guns' and 'poop' but then we were playing with 6-year olds.
Thank you for reminding me about Boticelli. Great game.
posted by nax at 8:43 AM on July 21, 2007 [1 favorite]

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