Unplug Play

COME UP WITH A SENTENCE NOBODY WOULD BELIEVE WAS WRITTEN BY YOU!

Each player takes a separate piece of paper, writes his or her name at the top, and makes a numbered list from 1 to however many players there are in the game. (For example, if there are six players, you should have numbers 1 through 6 written vertically down your paper with enough room to write a sentence next to each number.)

Each player should tear or cut another piece of paper into equal-sized strips (one strip per player in the game) and place them in the middle for all players to use. This should give you enough paper strips to complete one round per player.

In each round, players must come up with a sentence that the other players in the game would think was written by someone else . . . and then figure out who wrote all of the other sentences!

Players take turns coming up with an object or person to write about. It can be anything: a bar of soap, a pumpkin, an iguana, earwax, Cousin Gretchen, etc. The player who chooses the subject announces it to the group. Each player must then come up with a sentence of between five and ten words about that chosen subject and write it on one of the strips of paper. The sentence doesn’t have to be true or make any sense whatsoever!

IMPORTANT: Make sure your sentence is completely legible! It is advised to not write in cursive. Perhaps even write in block letters so not only is there no question anyone will be able to read it but the person reading it won’t be able to tell who wrote it.

Each player must then fold his paper several times and place it in a hat or bowl mixed in with all of the other players’ sentences. Each player then randomly picks out a sentence to read. (You may even end up picking your own.)

Player 1 goes first and reads the sentence he picked out without making any gesture as to who he thinks wrote the sentence. That is sentence number 1, and everyone writes it next to number 1 on their paper. Player 2 reads the next sentence, which is sentence number 2, and everyone writes it next to number 2 on their paper. Play continues as the remaining players read the sentence they picked out until all sentences are read and written down.

IMPORTANT: When you are reading a sentence, you don’t want to give away who you think wrote it if, for instance, you recognize the handwriting or you just know someone really well. You want to be the only one to guess correctly and get the points. (More on that under “Scoring.”)

Each player must now write down the name of the person they think wrote each sentence next to the sentence on the page. Circle your own name so the person scoring your answers knows not to give you credit for that sentence. Once everyone is done placing an author next to each sentence, players pass their score sheets to the left. That player will score your sheet for you.

Once the sheets have been passed, the author of each sentence is revealed one at a time and points are tallied.

Players earn 10 points for every answer they match with the right player (your own sentence doesn’t count, of course) and 5 points for every player who didn’t guess which sentence was theirs. The player with the most points after each round wins, or keep track of the scores for each round for a grand total at the end.

Let’s say there are seven players in the game. Player 1 selects Pumpkin as his topic, so each player (including Player 1) writes a sentence about a pumpkin and places it in the hat. All players then choose a sentence from the hat, and the game begins.

After all the guesses have been written down and the sheets passed to the left, it is time to find out who wrote each sentence. Player 1 goes first and reads the sentence he picked out of the hat: “My pumpkin ate my dog.” Player 2 reveals that she is the author. Points are awarded to players who got it right. If three players (other than Player 2) guessed correctly, those three players each earn 10 points and Player 2 earns 15 points (5 X 3) for the three other players who were fooled.

Player 2 then reads the next sentence, and Player 5 reveals that he is the author. Nobody guessed that he was the author, so Player 5 gets 30 points (5 X 6).