HOW TO PLAY THE DICTIONARY GAME
by Bruce Whitehill
The game of DICTIONARY, also called FICTIONARY or LEXICON, is one of the best of the parlor games (or party games); it is suitable for all ages and skills, and requires only three common materials: paper, pens or pencils, and a dictionary. The game is good for from five to ten players, with the optimum number being six or seven.
Preparation. Tear sheets of paper into small pieces, about 3″ x 3″, and hand out the paper and writing implements to all players. Choose one player to start as the reader; each player will be reader once, and there is no advantage to this occurring either earlier or later in the game.
This is what to do if you are the reader: Look through the dictionary to find a word that no one in the group knows. The best words are those which have humorous, strange or unbelievable definitions. (If any player knows the word you’ve selected, a different word should be chosen; if someone is not sure, ask the player to give the definition out loud–if the player is correct or even close, choose a different word.)
Writing Definitions. Each player makes up a definition for the word, writes it on a piece of paper, and hands it to you; you write down the real definition. Look at all definitions carefully, so when you read them out loud they all sound equal.
Mix up the papers, then repeat the word and read all the definitions, the correct one mixed in with the phony ones. To avoid confusion, give each definition a number, and read the number with the definition.
Voting. After the second reading, call for a vote. Read all the definitions again, asking after each one if any player wants to vote for that definition as the real one. Players wanting to cast a vote may raise a hand or speak out. Players must vote, but can not vote on their own definitions.
After everyone has voted, read the correct definition and tally the score. Then pass the dictionary to another player. The game is over when each player has been the reader once; the player with the highest score at that time wins.
Scoring: Players get one point every time someone votes for their phony definition. Players get two points if they vote for the correct definition. If nobody votes for the correct definition, the reader gets one point for each of the players who were stumped (for example, five points if there are six of you in the game); this is the only way the reader can get points during the round.
