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Unfolding Story

origami pigeon, folded paper resembling a pigeon
No. of Players: 2+
Type of Game: written
What you need: pen and paper

Goal

To build up a story using contributions from multiple people.

How to play

Players sit in a circle. Each player takes a sheet of paper and writes one line across the top with a partial line immediately below it. The sheets are folded so that only the second line is visible and then passed to the player to the right. This next player completes the second line and starts a third. Once again the sheets are folded so that only the incomplete line is visible and they are passed to the next player. This continues until all players have made a contribution to each sheet, with the last player ensuring he uses proper ending punctuation. The sheets are then unfolded and the resulting stories are read out loud. Multiple rounds around the circle can be made if there are a small number of players, or if a longer story is desired.

This game is similar to Unfolding Poem, Consequences, NeverEnding Story, and Word By Word.

Example

Seven players sit in a circle. After seven passes, they produce seven stories. Here is one of them:

The only way I can see this working out is if we stick together. So I told her, "Look, there's a crab walking towards me!" I began to think that I should ignore that type of talk, because Stan doesn't understand Chinese. So he went to get a pizza instead, Chinese never satisfies for long. Best you keep trying for love and win just sometimes, though. When she reached the door, she looked back and saw them still smiling.

Did you know?

According to Guinness World Records, in 2002 Britney Gallivan of Pomona, California was the first person to fold a single piece of paper in half 12 times.

cartoon of toilet paper roll looking at cardboard paper roll

While still a high school student, Britney used a single roll of toilet paper 4,000 feet in length. That's just over three-quarters of a mile long!

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