WRITING GAMES

Many of the games under this heading look harder than they really are. But the mere suggestion of a writing game is often enough to frighten away timid players who mistrust their powers of composition—although the result can be as funny when these powers are small as when they are considerable. The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.

Simple Acrostics

There are "Simple Acrostics" and "Double Acrostics." The simple ones are very simple. When the players are all ready a word is chosen by one of them, either from thought or by looking at a book and taking the first promising one that occurs. Perhaps it is "govern." Each player then puts the letters forming "govern" in a line down the paper, and the object of the game is to find, in a given time, words beginning with each of those letters. Thus, at the end of time, one player might have—

G ravy O range V iolet E sther R obin N umbskull

The players then describe their words in turn, one letter going the round before the next is reached, and from these descriptions the words have to be guessed, either by any player who likes or by the players in turn. The player whose paper we have quoted might describe his words like this: G—— "Something that makes hot beef nice"; O—— "A fruit"; V—— "A flower"; E—— "A girl's name"; R—— "A bird"; and N—— "A name for a silly person." If any one else has the same word neither of you can score it, and it is therefore important to seek for the most unlikely words.

Another way of playing "Simple Acrostics" is to insist on each word being the same length. Thus "govern" might be filled in by one player thus:—

G rave O ddly V erse E arth R ebel N inth

Double Acrostics

In "Double Acrostics" the game is played in precisely the same way, except that the letters of the word, after having been arranged in a line down the paper, are then arranged again in a line up the paper, so that the first letter is opposite the last, and the last opposite the first. Thus:—

G N O R V E E V R O N G

The players have then to fill in words beginning and ending with the letters as thus arranged. One paper might come out thus:—

G rai N O rde R V ersatil E E ... V R apall O N othin G

This word is rather a hard one on account of the E and V. As a rule, words of only three letters are not allowed in "Acrostics," nor are plurals. That is to say, if the word has to end in "S," one must not simply add "S" to an ordinary word, such as "grooms" for G——S, but find a word ending naturally in "S," such as "Genesis."

It is not necessary to invert the same word in order to get letters for the ends of the words. Two words of equal length can be chosen and arranged side by side. Thus (but this is almost too difficult an example):—

D K I I C P K L E I N N S G

"Acrostics" may be made more difficult and interesting by giving them a distinct character. Thus, it may be decided that all the words that are filled in must be geographical, or literary, or relating to flowers.

Fives

"Fives" is a game which is a test also of one's store of information. A letter is chosen, say T, and for a given time, ten minutes perhaps, the players write down as many names of animals beginning with T as they can think of. The first player then reads his list, marking those words that no one else has and crossing off all that are also on other players' papers. Then the names of vegetables (including flowers, trees, and fruit) are taken; then minerals; then persons; and then places. The player who has most marks wins the game.

A variety of this game is to take a long word, say "extraordinary," and within a given time to see how many smaller words can be made from it, such as tax, tin, tea, tear, tare, tray, din, dray, dairy, road, rat, raid, and so on.

Lists

"Lists" is a variety of "Fives." Paper is provided, and each player in turn calls out something which the whole company write down. Thus, suppose there are five players and you decide to go round three times: the first may say a river; the second, a doctor; the third, a complaint; the fourth, a play; the fifth, a State in the Union; the first again, a musical instrument; the second again, a poet; and so on, until the fifteen things are all written down. Each paper will then have the same list of fifteen things upon it. One of the company then opens a book at random, and chooses, say, the first letter of the third word in the first line. Perhaps it is T. For a given time each player has to supply his list with answers beginning with T. At the call of time one of the papers may present this appearance:—

A river Tees A doctor. Mr. Treves A complaint Tic Doloreux A play Timon of Athens A state in the Union Tennessee A musical instrument Trombone A poet Tennyson A flower Trefoil A mineral Tin A lake Tanganyika A tree Tulip A country Turkey An author Trollope An artist Tadema A preacher Talmage

Each player in turn reads his list aloud, strikes off those words that others also have, and puts a mark against the rest. The specimen list here given is too simple to be called a good one. Players should reject the first thing that comes into their thoughts, in favor of something less natural.

Buried Names

The first thing for the players to do is to decide what kind of name they will bury. The best way is to call out something in turn. Thus, if there are four players they may decide to bury the name of an author, a girl, a town, and a river. Each player writes these down and a fixed time is given for burial, which consists in writing a sentence that shall contain the name somewhere spelled rightly but spread over two words, or three if possible. At the end of the time the sentences are read aloud in turn, while the others guess. Of course, the whole game may be given up to burying only one kind of name, but variety is perhaps better. Examples are given:—

An author: I like to keep the yew in good order. A girl: The boy was cruel, lazy and obstinate. A town: Clothes that are new have no need of brushing. A river: To see spoilt ham especially annoys me.

It is permissible to bury the name in the middle of one longer word, but it is better to spread it over two or three. Perhaps the best example of a buried English town is this: "The Queen of Sheba sings to keep her spirits up." This is good, because the sentence is natural, because of the unusual number of words that are made use of in the burial, and because in reading it aloud the sound of the buried town is not suggested.

Letters and Telegrams

In this game you begin with the Letter. The first thing to write is the address and "My dear ——," choosing whomever you like, but usually, as in "Consequences," either a public person or some one known, if possible, to every one present. The paper is then folded over and passed on. The next thing to write is the letter itself, which should be limited to two minutes or some short period, and should be the kind of letter that requires a reply. The paper is folded and passed on again, and the subscription, "Believe me yours sincerely," or whatever adverb you choose, and the signature are then added. (These may be divided into two separate writings if you like.) The signature should be that of another public person, or friend, relation or acquaintance of the family. The paper is then passed on once more, and a reply to the letter, in the form of a telegram, is written. That is to say, you must say as much as you can in ten words. Example:—

The Letter

The first player writes:—My dear Buffalo Bill. The second player writes:—Can you give me any information about suitable songs for our village choir? The third player writes:—Believe me yours slavishly. The fourth player writes:—Kitchener of Khartoum.

The Reply Telegram

The fifth player writes:—Be with you to-morrow. Have sheets aired. Am bringing everything.

Telegrams

There is also the game of "Telegrams." In this the first thing to write is the name of the person sending the telegram. The paper is then passed on, and the name of the person to whom it is sent is written. The papers are then passed on again and opened, and the players in turn each say a letter of the alphabet, chosen at random, until there are ten. As these are spoken, each player writes them on the paper before him, leaving a space after it; so that when the ten are all written down his paper may look like this:

—

From the Duke of York To Barnum and Bailey. H ... A ... P ... N ... W ... E ... K ... S ... F ... T ...

A period of five minutes or more is then allowed in which to complete the telegram, the message having to be ten words long, and each word to begin, in the same order, with these letters. The players should, as far as possible, make the telegrams reasonable, if not possible. Thus, the form given above might, when finished, read like this:—

From the Duke of York To Barnum and Bailey. Have Awning Prepared Next Wednesday Evening Kindly Send Five Tickets

In calling out the ten letters which are to be used in the telegram, it is well to avoid the unusual consonants and to have a vowel here and there.

An amusing variety is for all the players to compose telegrams on the same subject; the subject being given beforehand. Thus it might be decided that all the telegrams should be sent from President Roosevelt to Alice in Wonderland asking for her views on the tariff. Then having completed these messages, the answers may also be prepared, using the same letters. But, of course, as in all games, family matters work out more amusingly than public ones.

Initials

Paper is handed round, and each player thinks of some public person, or friend or acquaintance of the company, and writes in full his or her Christian name (or names) and surname. Then, for, say, five minutes, a character sketch of the person chosen has to be composed, each word of which begins with the initial letter of each of the person's names, repeated in their right order until the supply of thought gives out or time is up. Thus, suppose the person chosen is Frank Richard Stockton, the story writer. The character sketch might run:—

F ancifully R ecounts S trange F reakish R omantic S tories. F inds R isibility S urely. F requently R aises S miles.

An occasional "and" and "of" may be dropped in if necessary. Where one of the names begins with a vowel (such as William Ewart Gladstone) the character sketch can be made to run more easily.

It is sometimes more amusing to give every one the same names to work on; and in some houses the players are not allowed to choose names for themselves, but must pass the paper on. The characters of towns and nations may be written in the same way, using all the letters of the word as the initials.

Riddles

A more difficult game is "Riddles." At the top of the paper is written anything that you can think of: "A soldier," "A new dress," "A fit of the blues," "A railway accident"—anything that suggests itself. The paper is passed on and anything else is written, no matter what. It is passed on again and opened. Suppose that the two things written on it are, first, "A school-teacher," and second, "A pair of skates." The duty of the player is to treat them as a riddle, and, asking the question either as "Why is a school-teacher like a pair of skates?" or "What is the difference between a school-teacher and a pair of skates?" (whichever way one prefers), to supply a reasonable answer. This game, it will be seen, is suited particularly to clever people.

Rhymed Replies

This is a game that needs a certain amount of readiness and some skill with words. Each of the party writes at the top of a piece of paper a question of any kind whatever, such as "How old was Cæsar when he died?" or "What is your favorite color?" The paper is folded over and passed on, and the next player writes a word—any word—such as "electricity," "potato," "courageously," "milk." The papers are then passed on once more and opened, and the task of each player is to write a rhyme in which the question on his paper is answered and the word on his paper is introduced.

Missing Information

Every one is supplied with a piece of paper and pencils and tries to write down correct answers to questions about everyday things which we none of us know. A suggestive list is given but any one can add to it indefinitely.

1. How big do you think a postage-stamp is, in inches—a five dollar bill? 2. Draw a picture of a clock's face with the hands pointing to five minutes of twelve. 3. How tall do you think a man's silk hat is, a derby? 4. Draw the design in panels of the door to the room you are in. (Of course without looking at it.) 5. How many holes are there in a high laced shoe—your own? 6. How many toes has a cat, a dog? 7. How many legs has a fly? 8. How does a cow lie down? A horse? 9. About how many petals has a common daisy? A wild rose? A sun flower? 10. How high from the ground is a street-car?—a railway car?

The person who can answer most correctly the greatest number of questions is the winner.

Consequences

"Consequences" is always a favorite game when a party has reached its frivolous mood. The method of playing is this: Sheets of paper and pencils are handed round, and every one writes at the head (1) an adjective suitable to be applied to a man, such as "Handsome." This word is then folded over so that it cannot be read, and each paper is passed on to the next person. The name of a man (2) is then written, either some one you know, or a public person, such as the president or Mr. Carnegie. This in turn is folded over and the papers are passed on. The word "met" is understood to be inserted at this point. That is to say, the completed story will tell how Handsome Mr. Carnegie met some one. The next thing (3) is to put down an adjective suitable to apply to the woman whom he met, such as "Buxom," and then (4) the woman's name, again either some one you know, or a public person,—the papers being folded and passed on after every writing. The remaining items are these:—(5) The place where they met—say, on the pier. (6) What he said to her—say, "I hope your neuralgia is better." (7) What she said to him—say, "There's nothing like rain for the crops." (8) What the consequence was—say, "They were married." (9) What the world said—"All's well that ends well."

It must be remembered that unless there are very few players, when it is less fun, you do not get the chance of writing more than once, or at most twice, on the same sheet of paper, so that it is of no use to have a reasonable series of remarks in your mind. The specimen given above is an average one. In print nothing could be much less funny, but when the company has the spirit of "Consequences," even so tame a story as this might keep the room merry. The game is always full of the unexpected, and the people who meet each other are almost sure to be laughing-stocks. The results are often better if all the papers are handed to one player to read.

Consequences Extended

The form of "Consequences" above given is the ordinary one and the simplest. But in certain families the game has been altered and improved by other clauses. We give the fullest form of "Consequences" with which we are acquainted. As it stands it is rather too long; but players may like to add to the fun of the ordinary game by adopting a few of these additions:—

Adjective for a man. The man. What he was wearing. What he was doing. (Met) Adjective for a woman. The woman. What she was wearing. What she was doing. The person he would much rather have met. Where they met. What he thought. What he said. What she thought. What she said. What he gave her. What she did with it. Where they went. What they did. What the consequence was. What the world said.

Example:—

The honorable Theodore Roosevelt, who was dressed in a Moiré antique bath-towel and was eating walnuts, met coy Aunt Priscilla in a Khaki tea-gown playing with her Noah's Ark, when he would much rather have met Madame Tussaud. They met at South Hampton. What he thought was, "Here's this woman again," but he merely said, "That's a very chic costume of yours." What she thought was, "I wonder if he's seen Peter Pan," but she only said, "That's wet paint you're leaning against." He gave her a piercing glance, and she swallowed it. So they went to prison together and learned to ride the bicycle, and the consequence was they caught influenza, and the world said, "It's an ill wind that blows nobody good."

Composite Stories

Another folding-over and passing-on game is "Composite Stories." Paper is passed round, and for five minutes each player writes the opening of a story with a title prefixed. The papers are passed on, and each player reads through as much of the story as has been written and for five minutes adds to it. And so on, until each player has written once on each paper. The papers are then passed on once more, with the result that each paper will be found to be lying before the player who began it. The next and last five minutes are then spent by each person in reading through the story and bringing it to an end, sometimes a difficult enough task. If six persons are playing and allowances of five minutes have been given, there will be at the end of thirty-five minutes six complete stories to read aloud.

Another Story Game

A variety of the story game is for each player to write the name of a well-known person or friend of the family on the top of the paper, fold it over, and pass it on. This happens, say, five times, which means that when the papers are opened the names of five persons will be found on each. A story has then to be written introducing these people.

Improbable Stories

Another story game is one in which each player attempts to tell the most improbable or impossible story. In this case the papers are not passed on, but a certain amount of time is given for the stories to be written in.

The Newspaper

This is a rather elaborate but really very easy game to play. One player, who acts as editor, takes as many sheets of paper as there are players and writes at the head of each the title of a section of a newspaper. Thus on one he will write, Paris Correspondence; on another, English Correspondence; on another, Berlin Correspondence; on a fourth, Political News; on a fifth, Our Fashion Page; on a sixth, Reviews; on a seventh, Weather Report; and so on. Each player then, for a given time, writes on the subject allotted to him, more or less in the manner of the daily press, and at the end the result is read aloud by the editor.

The plan is easily adapted to family or village life. The heading may refer to domestic matters, such as Nursery Correspondence, Kitchen Gossip, Fashions for Gentlemen (an account of father's new suit), Garden News, Village Chatter, and so on. Or, instead of a newspaper, a popular magazine may be contributed, with illustrations.

Predicaments

This is a good game for a company of ingenious people, and it will be found that almost every one is ingenious when confronted with a difficult situation and given time to think out a solution. Every one is given paper and pencil (or this is not necessary since the solutions may be oral). Then one player starts the game by suggesting some predicament and asking the company "What would you do in such a case?" Five minutes are given for reflection, and fifteen if the answers are to be written. Then each in turn must say how he would have extricated himself from the scrape.

A few suitable subjects are given here. If you found yourself in a strange city, where you didn't know a soul, with no money and nothing you could pawn, what would you do?

If you should wake up in the night and see a burglar just entering the room, what would you do?

If you should look out of your school-room door and see smoke and fire in the hall, what would you do?

If you should be in a foreign country, not able to speak the language and wanted to order a room and breakfast, what would you do?