All right, the Forehead Game isn’t a game in the strictest sense—it’s more like a shared group activity. A parlor game, perhaps. That doesn’t stop it from being a hell of a lot of fun. I was introduced to another such game/activity this weekend, and now I’m all aflutter.

Telephone Pictionary

Players: Strangely enough, an odd number is best. 7 is perfect; 5 or 9 works OK, and 6 or 8 is manageable.

Materials: A blank sheet of paper and a pen/pencil for each player.

Setup: Everyone writes their name at the bottom right of a sheet of paper. Then on the top, write a phrase or sentence. Song lyrics, sayings, quotes, or random thoughts are all fine.

Play: After writing the sentence, each player passes the paper clockwise. Upon receiving the paper, each player draws the phrase or sentence as best as possible.

When finished, that player folds the paper so the original sentence cannot be seen—only the drawing. The paper is then passed to the right again, and the next player has to interpret the drawing as a sentence. That player then folds the paper so the drawing cannot be seen—only the new sentence—and passes it again. Repeat passing the paper, writing a sentence or drawing, and folding until the paper comes back to its originator. (With an even number of people, skip the last drawing.) Unfold the paper and be amused at how your sentence changed as it was interpreted and re-interpreted by your fellow players.

Strategy: There is no way to win or lose, of course. I’ve seen three ways of picking sentences, all legitimate:

1. Choose a phrase that’s pretty easy and see whether or not it can survive. For instance, “Raining cats and dogs” made it through unscathed. “Stop in the name of love” did all right too.

2. Choose a phrase that you know will be very hard and see what fundamental truth you get about the universe. “I’m afflicted; you’re addicted” came back to me as “Smoking kills.” “Every little thing she does is magic” returned as “All people, big and small, near and far, love the Fourth of July!”

3. Choose an incredibly complicated phrase and watch the mayhem. “The knife-wielding gundam flew to attack the gun-wielding gundam” returned to its creator as “Just like a Sicilian, bringing a knife to a gunfight.” (After only 5 players!)

Animals come up pretty regularly. My experience is that cats, dogs, monkeys, and maybe horses can make it through unscathed. Anything else is going to get misinterpreted somewhere along the line.

It was also brought to my attention that the game is also known as “Cat Eat Poop,” almost certainly because that phrase came up during someone’s session.