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Consequences

No. of Players: 2+
Type of Game: written
What you need: pen and paper

Goal

To write a story with individual contributions from each player.

How to play

Each player writes an adjective that describes a man at the top of their sheet of paper. They then fold the paper over to hide what they wrote and pass the paper to the player on their right. This second player writes a man's name, folds the paper and passes it to the next player. This process continues until all the following information is collected:

(1) adjective for a man
(2) a man's name
(3) adjective for a woman
(4) a woman's name
(5) where they met
(6) why they went there
(7) what he gave her
(8) what she gave him
(9) what he said to her
(10) what she said to him
(11) the consequence (i.e., what happened afterward)
(12) what the world had to say about it

The number of steps between lines (5) and (11) can be adjusted to shorten or lengthen the story as desired. Each player then reads the completed stories, inserting linking words to make the narrative flow properly. A similar game instead composes a movie or concert review, where players would individually contribute:

(1) opening act
(2) headlining act
(3) lead singer
(4) opening song
(5) crowd response
(6) encore song
(7) one sentence review

This game usually produces nonsensical narratives that are often very odd and amusing.

A simpler version of this game is Headlines. Other similar games include NeverEnding Story, Unfolding Story, and Word By Word.

Example

A group of five players wrote the following story:

Bewildered Johnny met nervous Betty Grable at the racetrack to play video games. He gave her his telephone number and she gave him four cases of grape soda. He said to her “Did you know aliens are among us?” and she said “My nails aren’t dry yet.” As a consequence, the Germans lost the war. And the world said “The early bird gets the worm.”

Their concert review was:

The opening act was The Rolling Stones. The headliner was NSYNC fronted by their singer Ariana Grande. Their opening song was “White Christmas” and the crowd chanted “More, more!” For their encore song, they played “My Way.” What made the concert so unforgettable was the fantastic accordion solo accompanied by the jaw-dropping fireworks display.

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