Just One

You all play on the same side. Each round one player closes their eyes while the others see a secret word and write a single-word clue on their little easel. Before the guesser looks, any duplicate clues are wiped away, and they get one guess from what is left. Right, and the team scores the card; pass, and the card is lost; wrong, and it costs a second card too. Thirteen cards, and the total is your score. The game is entirely in the duplicates rule. The obvious clue is the one two other people will also write, so you reach for the second-most obvious and hope nobody else did. It teaches in one minute, plays in twenty, and there is no losing side, which is why we hand it to families and office groups on their first visit. Our regulars pull it out between heavier games as well.