Apples to Apples

One of my favorite games of all time is “Apples to Apples.” I first played the boxed version, but at one party in Waco a few years back some old friends discovered that, with a little labor-intensive preparation, you can have an even better experience with a homemade version. The game itself involves each player taking turns reading an adjective (a word that describes a noun). Then the other players turn in a noun that they feel fits that adjective. The adjective reader is then the judge, and decides which noun best fits the adjective. This process is theoretically like comparing apples to apples, hence the title

.I know it sounds less than awesome, but it’s actually great, especially if you are a strange person who comes up with strange nouns and adjectives. Remember, a noun can be any person, place, thing, idea – even a situation. For example, “the sun” is a noun. “Inside the sun” is a better noun. “Tom Cruise’s secret hideaway inside the sun” is an awesome noun. You just have to twist it a little into weird territory. Purists might say that such a “noun” includes too many adjectives already. Well, purists are boring.
We are really good at coming up with weird nouns, including nearly-forgotten inside jokes from the past. Here’s some of my favorite adjectives to use:- Apocalyptic- Strangely Attractive- Likely to Float- Almost Certainly InedibleAnd here’s some of my favorite nouns from past homemade games (including yesterday), both mine and others’:- Unlikely break-dance king- Buttered pillow pajamas- Laser vision catfish- Magical talking barbecue sandwich- The Word Find of Love- Pickle-sicle- Moses MacGruber- One-winged plane that still flies on the power of hope- 9 and ½ volt battery in a twelve-volt world- Flesh-colored ice skates that aren’t fooling anyone- Epileptic banjo prodigy.

Feel free to use these the next time you play a homemade version of Apples to Apples!

** Oh, you may ask "what does this have to do with marriage or Ramon?"... Apples to Apples is on my gift registry.