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Mischmasch

No. of Players: 2+
Type of Game: written or spoken
What you need: pen & paper or nothing

Goal

To think of words that contain a given sequence of letters.

How to play

The gamemaster proposes a 'nucleus' – a set of two or more letters. The other players then try to think of a word which contains this nucleus within a certain time frame, say 2 minutes. One-by-one the players say or read the words they have written down. A legitimate word scores one point for the player. But if their word does not completely encompass the nucleus, or if they are caught trying to pass off a made-up word as legitimate, they lose a point. Players can also say 'no word' to indicate they believe no word contains the nucleus and if they are correct, they score two points. But if they are proven wrong, they lose two points. Five points is awarded to any player who thinks of a word containing multiple instances of the nucleus. The player who has the highest point total wins a particular round and becomes the next gamemaster to provide a fresh nucleus; ties can be broken by requiring players to think of additional words, or by comparing the length of the words (the longest word wins). The first player to reach a particular point total, say 20, is declared the grand champion.

This word game is similar to Superghost.

Example

Round #1: Ace is the gamemaster and proposes EDE as the nucleus.

Beck says CEDE.
Colleen says REDEFINED.

Colleen wins this round not only because her word is longer, but because Beck's word does not completely envelope the nucleus. Had he said CEDED or CEDES instead, he would have had a legitimate word. The score: Ace has 0, Beck has -1, and Colleen has 1.

Round #2: Colleen proposes ANS.

Ace says TRANSFERRING.
Beck says MISTRANSLATION.

Both words are legitimate. But Beck's word is longer, so he wins the second round. The score: Ace has 1, Beck has 0, and Colleen has 1.

Round #3: Beck proposes GHR.

Ace says 'No word.'
Colleen proves him wrong with HIGHRISE.

Colleen wins the third round. The score: Ace has -1, Beck has 0, and Colleen has 2.

And so on.

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