Paper Telephone

Set up

Sit around a table. Give every player a pen and a stack of small sheets, one sheet for each person playing. Everyone writes their name small on the back of their stack so it can find its way home.

How to play

1. Everyone writes a sentence on their top sheet. Anything works: a saying, something that happened today, a line about someone at the table.
2. Everyone passes their whole stack to the left.
3. Read the sentence you receive, move that sheet to the bottom of the stack, and draw it on the new top sheet. No letters or numbers in drawings.
4. Pass the stack to the left again.
5. Look at the drawing you receive, move it to the bottom, and write a sentence describing what you think it shows.
6. Keep passing, alternating drawing and writing, until every stack returns to its owner.
7. One at a time, each player reveals their stack in order, from first sentence to last.

Allow about a minute per turn. A timer keeps the fast players from waiting.

The reveal

The reveal is the game. Take turns, lay the sheets out in order, and read each sentence aloud while holding up each drawing. Give it time; this part usually lasts as long as the drawing did.

There is no scoring. If your group wants a winner, vote for the funniest stack.

Ways to change it

• Themed start: every opening sentence must be about the occasion, such as something that happened this year for New Year’s Eve.
• One sheet, folded: for fewer supplies, use one long sheet per player and fold over everything except the most recent entry before passing.
• Short game: with eight or more players, stop after six passes.

Who it suits, and who it doesn’t

Paper Telephone is a strong pick for a table of friends, colleagues or a family with children who can read and write. Nobody loses and nobody performs alone. It needs at least four players for the sentences to drift. It does not suit very young children or a party that is standing up and moving around.