Entries in the Category "games"
Fun and games
Jeremy and I went to a birthday party for one of his coworkers last night. The party was OK--and anyone who chooses a birthday cheesecake can be my friend--but the true event of the evening was when we discovered that we kick ass at Mad Gab.
This is the game where you get a card with a nonsense phrase on it, have to say it aloud, and try to translate it into a common colloquial phrase or saying. Like this:
"Up Racked Hick Gulch Oak" equals "A practical joke"
"Rye Doubt These Dorm" equals "Ride out the storm"
The game is enormously frustrating because as you say the nonsense phrase aloud, everyone else can hear what you're saying ("a practical joke") but your mind is so focused on "up racked hick..." that it's difficult to make the connection. It's quite hilarious to hear someone saying, "A prACTical joke. A practicULL joke. A practical joke? I have no idea what I'm saying."
It's comparable in difficulty to that name-the-color game, where you see the word "blue," but it's written in red and you have to try to identify it as red. It's hard because you're reading "blue."
Jeremy and I pretty much figured it out, though. You have to play with the stresses, putting the emphasis in different places experimentally. Also, some of the nonsense phrases are better-rendered than others, so you sometimes have to try eliminating consonant sounds, for example, dropping the "g" in "gulch" in "Up racked hick gulch oak."
Edited to add: Found the other game online! For real, try it.
