Eat Poop You Cat

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Eat Poop You Cat
Players 4 or more
Age range 8 and up
Setup time < 5 minutes
Playing time 5–30 minutes
Random chance Low
Skills required none

Eat Poop You Cat is a party game based on the multiple-contributor exquisite corpse concept, utilizing both written words and sketches; some liken it to a cross between Telephone and Pictionary. It requires a group of players as well as a writing instrument and paper, though no actual skill in writing or drawing is necessary (or, often, even desirable).

The game is also known as The Sentence Game, Telephone Pictionary, Pictophone, Paper Telephone, STDs (Sentence to Drawing) or Spanking Yoda [1].

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

The first player begins by writing any sentence or phrase they wish, though bizarre or surreal offerings may be preferred. The next player attempts to come up with an illustration that represents the sentence. The paper is folded over so that only the picture can be seen, then passed to the next player, who attempts to formulate a caption for the illustration. Usually there are some restrictions on what can appear in the illustration — alphanumerics are commonly forbidden — to ensure that the third player cannot easily replicate the original sentence. Once the third player has captioned the illustration, the paper is folded over so that only the caption can be seen, and passed to the next player.

The pattern continues until the game ends. There are a few different opinions as to when the game should end, but it should always end on a sentence, not an illustration, making the preferable group size an odd number if the game ends when every player has had a turn. Another variant holds that the game ends only when the entire sheet of paper is filled, and that for a longer game, two or more sheets of paper should be taped together at the start of the game. However, when the paper is passed around the group for several cycles, players may tend to draw on their own earlier contributions when creating new ones.

[edit] Concept

Much like the telephone game, this game is about starting with one idea, and sharing it along a chain of people so that it mutates into a completely new idea, the components of which are minor contributions from each person. Comparisons between the initial and final sentences are often humorous, as well as comparing two consecutive sentences or two consecutive illustrations.

Because this collaborative manipulation is the goal of the game, creativity is a desirable player trait. Even further and more unusual change is made possible by participants with poor artistic skills and/or penmanship. Frequently, group rules forbid asking for clarification.

Some ideas, once they enter a game, are very persistent, particularly if they can be conveyed through easily understood representations like symbols. Historical and pop culture references, especially those considered particularly amusing, sexual, or morbid, are the most common memes.

[edit] Variations

In the "paper telephone" variant, everyone begins at the same time with their own sheet of paper, passing them as usual after each person has finished — in effect running several games at once, and keeping all players occupied simultaneously.

Due to its informal nature, the game has come to have many names. Examples which are descriptive by nature include: Fax Machine; The Paper Game; Pictophone; The Picture Sentence Game; The Sentence Game; Paper Telephone; Sentence Picture; Telephone Pictionary; Descriptionary; and Writesy Drawsy. Examples which are likely derived from particularly funny results of the game itself include: I'pupiukat; EPYC (same as Eat Poop You Cat, but less likely to scare newcomers); Cricket Cricket I'm On Fire (or, more briefly, Cricket Cricket); Honk Donk Dicks; Moneyduck; and Garbage Balls.

[edit] References

  • Games Quarterly #11 (Winter 2006), pg 64.

[edit] External links