The Dictionary Game

Back in days of yore when I was in college, my group of friends would gather to play the Dictionary Game. We loved it!

It didn’t cost anything (which was good because we were all poor).

It was simple yet challenging and fun to play. It was so fun we played it almost every time we got together! Which was almost every weekend.

In fact, this is one of the best group games that I know!

This game takes a little bit of preparation beforehand. Get a dictionary. Browse through it to find words that you think that your grandchildren will not know.

Write that word and it’s definition on a slip of paper.

Get about 10 – 15 words and their definitions.

Next, write the word and then the words ‘fake it’ on a bunch of slips of paper. For example, if the word was argy-bargy the slip of paper would say ‘argy-bargy fake it.’ (By the way, I LOVE the word argy-bargy. It means lively discussion borderline argument.)

If you have 10 grandchildren that will be playing the game with you, you’ll have 2 teams with 5 players each. So, you’ll need 4 ‘fake it’ slips of paper along with the slip that has the word and its definition. (You’ll understand a bit better as I explain how to play the game. . . )

Fold the pieces of paper so that nobody can see what is written on them.

Okay. Let’s get ready to play! Divide your grandchildren into two teams.

Select one word definition in addition to the 4 ‘fake it’ slips of paper. (You’ll have 5 slips of paper. One with the word and the correct definition and 4 with the word and the words ‘fake it.’)

Mix up the slips of paper so that nobody knows which piece of paper has the word definition on it and which ones don’t. Hand one slip of paper to each grandchild on the team that will go first.

Your grandchildren then look at their paper without letting anybody else see it. They need to keep a straight face so that the other team won’t know whether or not they have the right definition or if they have to fake it.

Give your grandchildren a couple of minutes to look at their papers and think before starting to play. The grandchildren that got the ‘fake it’ slips of paper have to come up with their own definition for the word — to create a fake definition.

The grandchild who got the slip of paper with the word and its definition doesn’t have to fake it. She merely gives the correct definition.

When your grandchildren are ready, they take turns saying the word and then giving their definition.

The other team listens to the definitions and then selects the person that they think has the correct definition. They have to agree as a team on which person has the correct definition.

If they select the correct person, they get a point. If they don’t choose the right one, they don’t get a point.

You then hand out the next word and the fake it slips to the other team. Give them time to read their slips of paper and to come up with fake definitions. Then, they say their definition and the other team tries to guess which one is correct.

Play goes back and forth with the teams taking turns giving the definitions until all of the words have been used. The winning team is the one with the most points.

The idea of the game is that players who have to make up a definition try to think of one that could be real.Their goal is to fake the other team into believing they have the correct definition. They want to fool the other team so that the other team won’t select the person with the correct definition so that the other team won’t get a point.

Those faking their definition should act confident when giving it. That helps in fooling the other team.

The person with the correct definition could act hesitant in an effort to fool the other team into thinking that they are making up the definition. They don’t want the other team to guess that they have the correct definition.

The more you play this game with your grandchildren the easier it is for them to come up with fake definitions — and to fake out the other players.

The Dictionary Game is good to play on New Year’s Eve, at Christmas parties, family parties, birthday parties — or anytime that you gather grandchildren for fun times!