Palindromes
| No. of Players: | 1+ |
| Type of Game: | written |
| What you need: | pen and paper |
Goal
To think of a word or phrase that reads the same backward as forward.
How to play
A palindrome is a piece of writing that spells out the same word or phrase backward as it does forward. Players challenge themselves or others to write palindromes in a set amount of time. Points can be awarded for the total number of palindromes written, the total number of letters used overall, and/or for having the longest palindrome – since palindromes are much harder to create the longer they are.
In another challenge, players can write pseudodromes. Pseudodromes are effectively palindromes. But instead of individual letters, it is the words themselves which read the same backward or forward in the phrase or sentence(s). For instance, 'Women understand men. Few men understand women.'
This game is similar to Word Reversals.
Example
The players agree to give themselves 10 minutes to write down palindromes. They can use well-known palindromes if they desire. They are also tasked with writing down palindromic given names. One point is awarded for each proper palindrome, plus five points for the longest palindrome in each of the two categories.
Allie's list:
KAYAK
RADAR
DON'T NOD
WAS IT A CAT I SAW?
WOW
REFER
HANNAH
ANNA
EVE
AVA
Bert's list:
ROTOR
MADAM
DAD
MOM
TOP SPOT
DO GEESE SEE GOD?
MADAM, I'M ADAM
OTTO
EVE
BOB
AVA
Allie earns 10 points for her 10 palindromes, and Bert 11 points. Since they both came up with the longest palindrome (at 13 letters), neither earns bonus points in that category. But Allie does have the longest palindromic name, so her final point total is 15 points. This beats Bert's score of 11 points, so Allie is crowned the winner.
