Did someone say, “Let’s play MadLibs,”?
Because who wouldn’t want to __________ a story full of unusual __________ that makes everybody __________?!
(And I have a huge collection of MadLibs-style games here.)
As it happens, we begin almost every day with a round or two of MadLibs. Ever since we discovered the game, a few months ago†, it’s been a popular activity.
†Why didn’t somebody tell me this before?!
As a home-educating family, we are, naturally, no strangers to word games, fill-in-the-blanks activities and silly stories. I once even made a laminated story with blanks left for a choice of words.
It was only when we were watching an episode of Friends in which Phoebe was playing MadLibs that I first became aware that it was a published game with a name.
“That looks funny and creative,” I said to myself (in my teacher voice, probably) and I went to Google what exactly Phoebe had been doing.
Let’s Play MadLibs
MadLibs, in case you are wondering, is a game in which players are first asked to generate a list of words, according to certain criteria. An example list might be:
- noun
- verb
- adjective
- noun
I might choose:
- guinea pig
- sing
- purple
- teapot
Then a story is read aloud with pauses for the player to insert their chosen words, with potentially hilarious results.
To continue with our example, we might read:
“Please will you pass the __________? I’d like to __________ my soup. It’s very __________, otherwise. I think it needs a bit more __________.”
With our ill-chosen words, we get:
“Please will you pass the guinea pig? I’d like to sing my soup. It’s very purple, otherwise. I think it needs a bit more teapot.”
For some reason, this is very funny.
I immediately ordered the original MadLibs book* but I couldn’t wait for it to arrive so we started writing our own MadLibs-style stories. Home-education, most mornings, had us scribbling prose with strategic blanks and word lists which we would then read aloud with much hilarity.
*affiliate link
And that’s how SillyLittleCat.com began. The MadLibs-style word-games on this site are all new and original. They are suitable for anyone to play (you can keep them clean for home-school and be as x-rated as you like for grown-up gatherings – we won’t tell).
Go on – pick a story. I hope it makes you laugh 🙂