This is the second time in three weeks that I completely forgot to write my Five Minute Friday post on the actual Friday. Fortunately the linkup is still open, so here is my contribution for this week.
The word is PLAY.
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One thing we like to do in our house is play a game Allison and I invented when she was little. It's called "The
Three-Letter Game."
This game is best played with two or three people. We use the Scrabble Junior tiles, which have no point values on them. The first person picks three letters. If your letters can make a word, and you want to make that word, then you make it and set it aside. Then the next person picks three letters, and you just keep taking turns, picking three letters and making words if you can. Your words must be three letters long or more. Names are only allowed if they are also words, like SUE or ROD. Once you have made a word, you can't rearrange its letters, though you can add to it: you could make PAN into SPAN or PANG. In a two-person game you will probably end up with 12-15 words; in a three-person game, 8-10.
But now comes the really fun part of the game: you have to tell a story with your words. So that can affect what words you choose to make: for instance, ONE is a lot easier to use in a story than EON. Here's an example of a story that a player might come up with:
"ROD and EVE left their cul-de-SAC and went to the KEG on ELM Street. They ordered ginger ALE and scrambled OVA. But the waiter, who had a ZIT on his chin, ERRed and brought them corn on the COB instead. Eve began to CRY-- and Rod, who had an enormous EGO, was filled with IRE. He got in a fight with the waiter, but the waiter had rock-hard ABS and won the fight. Rod made a VOW he would never go to the Keg again. The END."
This game is best played with two or three people. We use the Scrabble Junior tiles, which have no point values on them. The first person picks three letters. If your letters can make a word, and you want to make that word, then you make it and set it aside. Then the next person picks three letters, and you just keep taking turns, picking three letters and making words if you can. Your words must be three letters long or more. Names are only allowed if they are also words, like SUE or ROD. Once you have made a word, you can't rearrange its letters, though you can add to it: you could make PAN into SPAN or PANG. In a two-person game you will probably end up with 12-15 words; in a three-person game, 8-10.
But now comes the really fun part of the game: you have to tell a story with your words. So that can affect what words you choose to make: for instance, ONE is a lot easier to use in a story than EON. Here's an example of a story that a player might come up with:
"ROD and EVE left their cul-de-SAC and went to the KEG on ELM Street. They ordered ginger ALE and scrambled OVA. But the waiter, who had a ZIT on his chin, ERRed and brought them corn on the COB instead. Eve began to CRY-- and Rod, who had an enormous EGO, was filled with IRE. He got in a fight with the waiter, but the waiter had rock-hard ABS and won the fight. Rod made a VOW he would never go to the Keg again. The END."
If you and your family enjoy playing games, you might want to try this one. We've been playing it several times a week for years, and it's always good for some laughs.
That is a great idea for a game and I love the idea of using the words to create a story too. It sounds like a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lesley! We just love it.
DeleteI'll bet some crazy stories have come out of this game. So cool! Love it! I'm in the 5 spot this week.
ReplyDeleteWe have had many silly versions of the "Noah's Ark" story, that's for sure! Thanks for visiting, Tara.
Deletehi jeannie:) sounds fun. i'll be the stories can be rather funny! i'm your next door neighbor at FMF.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Martha: yes, we do a lot of laughing during this game.
DeleteThanks for sharing this game, Jeannie. Sounds like a lot of fun.
DeleteAnd thanks for stopping by to read!
DeleteThat's a HOOT! Although I'd probably settle for the word HOT and never get to make up a story with the word hoot in it.
ReplyDeleteYou have already figured out a central principle of the game, Tim: more words is usually better than longer words. By the way, some of the words we really hate being stuck with are NEE, PEE, SIC, and TIC. :-)
DeleteYou are cracking me up with your Five Minute Sunday, Jeannie! Late is always better that Never. I LOVE the idea of this game. Totally want to play this with my daughter!
ReplyDeleteYou should try it, Betsy. It is a really fun game; we always end up laughing.
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