Friday, January 1, 2010

Here's a Great Party Game - Dictionary

Without further ado.

The game starts and the starting person has a dictionary in front of them.

That person looks up a word that everyone in unfamiliar with. For example "Kincob" - An East Indian fabric of silk containing threads of Gold and or Silver.
They ask if anyone knows the word and as it happens, no one does.

At this point the person with the dictionary writes on a sheet of paper the definition of the word, or some portion of the definition so as to clearly define the word, but not so much that it sounds like it obviously came right from the dictionary. (You'll soon see why)

Everyone else makes up a definition for the word and writes it on a sheet of paper. The aim for these folks is to try to come up with something that is believable because they want to the other players to think their definition is the right one. (You'll soon see why).

The person with the dictionary, that knows the true definition, collects the sheets of paper from the other players and numbers each one. 1 thru 6 if there are 6 players for example.

That person then reads each of the definitions along with the corresponding number. ie. "One. A cob of corn that came from a Kin field". "Two. A large pot for cooking fish. Three. A democrat."....
(It is helpful that the person with the dictionary that will be reading the submissions be familiar with them so that they can read them easily and that they won't be surprised by someones lack of creativity or over creativity and LOL, which would give away the fact that this submission is definitely not the right definition)

At this point, the players can ask to have the submissions re-read as many times as necessary or maybe re-read an individual submission. "Hey, Read # 2 and # 5 again"
In a reasonable amount of time, the players decide which of the definitions is the correct one and place their bet. ie. "I think it's # 3".

(The person with the dictionary does not participate in this portion of the game since they know the true definition as well, as everyone's entries)

Scoring:

After all players have made their bet, the person with the dictionary reads through the submissions starting with # 1 thru the last. As each one is read, they state whether it was the true definition or not and if any (and how many persons) guessed that this entry was the true definition. "Gee, two people thought it was a pot for cooking fish."

If 1 person for example guessed that # 3 was the true definition:
-The person who submitted # 3 would receive 5 points. If two guessed # 3, then 10 points. 5 points for each player who picks their definition.

The exception would be that is # 3 was the true definition, then the person who guessed # 3 would receive 10 points since they guessed the true definition and the person who wrote # 3 receives nothing. (That person is the person holding the dictionary and cannot receive points.)

The dictionary is then passed either right or left to the next person and consequently around the table. (Conservatives don't give a damn of right or left, just pass it)

The person who currently holds the dictionary has no opportunity to score points since they know the true definition and hold the submissions of the other players.

I know it sounds a little complicated but after 2 or 3 people are passed the dictionary, everyone gets the hang of it quickly.

Takes a while to play, but it is a lot of fun. Decide for yourselves how to define a winner. Highest score after 2 or three trips around the table? First to reach 30 points? Up to you.

11 comments :

  1. This sounds like a lot of fun. Can we incorporate beer into this somewhere?

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  2. This sounds like a great game to play.

    I hope you have a healthy, prosperous and Happy New Year in 2010!!

    I bet Nickie played the Card drinking games Bullsh*t and A**hole.

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  3. Hi Kid! That is a fun game! I hope your New Year is the Best ever, Happy 2010 to you and the family.

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  4. lmao @ Nickie. Yes, I think this is a wonderful game, thanks for sharing. I think the beer (or shots?) can be easily added. :)

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  5. Nickie, my suggestion would be that anyone not able to find a word in the dictionary for the current game in 2 minutes takes a drink. Beer of shots, conservatives don't care which. heh

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  6. Teresa, Thanks, it is a lot of fun actually to see people's creativity in action.

    Same to you for 2010, infinity and beyond !

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  7. Bunni, Sounds like you've played it. How did you incorporate the booze.


    Fuzzy, It's fun, and Nickie's suggestion is a great one to keep things moving along.

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  8. You have to work someone being forced to have a shot in there somewhere.

    Happy New Year, Kid.

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  9. Snarky, Nickie's got that booze thing covered.

    Have a Great New Year. If you do we all will.

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  10. Then we can play Thesaurus next!

    God Bless America, and Happy New Year to you and your family.

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  11. Pasadena, Or a foreign language dictionary. North Korean perhaps.

    See the Great Reader for translations.

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