Nothing says party fun like a bunch of silly games.  

THE NEWLYDEAD GAME

Rules

That wonderfully embarrassing couples game now revised for Halloween!  Couples are split into groups of guys and gals.  Both groups get pens and pieces of paper, numbered with the # of questions (7 for the 2002 version).  Gals leave the room and a Head Guy asks the guys the following questions.  Guys respond on the numbered pieces of paper.

Gals come back and they're asked the questions.  If their verbal response matches what their guy wrote, then the couple gets a point.  Next the guys leave the room and a Head Gal asks the gals the following questions.  Gals respond on their numbered pieces of paper.

Guys come back and they're asked the questions.  Matching answers gain a point for the couple.  The couple with the most points wins.  

2002 Questions

*To ask the guys*
 1.  What famous monster does your partner look like first thing in the morning?
 2.  A wonderful Halloween tradition is bobbing for apples - what thing does your partner bob for?
 3.  Dracula enjoys nothing more than sucking on a few necks during Halloween.  If he were to suck on your neck, how many pints would it take before you passed out?
 4.  You were bitten by a were-creature, and now change shape at every full moon - what creature do you turn into?
 5.  Who deals with the creepy crawlies in your household?
 6.  The day after Halloween is All Saints Day. What would you be the patron saint of?
 7.  The Addams Family has Thing, which is a hand.  What body part would your Thing be?

*To ask the gals*
1.  When visiting the Monster Buffet, what's the first item you grab:  Brains, Blood, or Entrails?
2.  What superstition is your partner most fanatical about?
3.  Ghosts are able to frighten many people - what scares you to death?
4.  Your partner is the invisible man - what vice or bad habit would he catch you in?
5.  Halloween is a spooky time of year, with all the bats flying about.  How many bats are in your partner's belfry?
6.  You are a powerful witch - what sort of spell would you cast on your partner?
7.  You and your partner are at the old abandoned summer camp next to the lake. Making whoopee.  Suddenly, you hear a strange noise in the bushes.  What do you do next?

2003 Questions

*To ask the guys*

1.  Ghosts are fated to haunt an area of great significance from their former lives.  As a ghost, where do you haunt?

2.  Dr. Frankenstein is, alas, not a genius at plastic surgery, and his monster is covered in scars.  What’s the most interesting location on your body having a scar?

3.  When at Trader Vic’s, the werewolves of London like to drink piña coladas.  Tonight we’re werewolves of Berkeley, what are you drinking?

4.  The Devil went down to California; he was looking for a soul to steal.  He was in a bind ‘cause he was way behind, he was willing to make a deal.  When he came across YOU singing a song about your relationship with your partner.  What song were you singing?

5.  Your partner is a powerful witch – what sort of animal does she have as a familiar?

6.  Obligatory whoopee question…Whoopi Goldburg, in the movie Ghost, channels Patrick Swayze and has to convince his girlfriend that he’s come back.  One way he does this is by having Whoopi say a phrase meaningful to the two of them.  Whoopi is now channeling you, and needs to convince your partner that YOU’VE returned.  What do you have her say?

*To ask the gals* 

1.  Zombies cry out for “Braaaaaains!!!”, their favorite food.  What’s your favorite food?

2.  On Sesame St., the Count is counting the bones in his body.  “1, 1 bone….ahahahahahaha!!…2, 2 bones….ahahahahahaha!!”  How many bones are in a skeleton?

3.  A common thing written as part of an epitaph is recalling a memorable event from the person’s life – since you’ll be dying, what do you want on your tombstone?

4. Your partner is obviously a monster, but what phrase best describes him?

    Does he keep you in stitches like Frankenstein?

    Is he all wrapped up in himself like the Mummy?

    When it comes times for chores, does he make like the Invisible Man?

5.  As a minor devil, Asmodeus has charged you with setting up a new level of Hell strictly for those who practice your one major pet peeve.  What is it?

6.  You opened the Mummy’s tomb, and the Mummy’s curse befell you.  You can now only say your favorite curse word – what is it?  

2006 Questions

*To ask the guys*

1.  When Mrs. Giant Anaconda was thinking back to her first date with Mr. Giant Anaconda, the song that came to mind was, “You Really Got A Hold On Me.” What song best describes your first date with your partner?

2.  Garlic repulses vampires something fierce. What food repulses you the most?

3.  Dracula hates to spend time with his mother, because she always embarrasses him by showing the naked baby pictures to everyone. Which family relative embarrasses you the most?

4.  Werewolf was privately taken aback, when he got a birthday gift from Miss Mummy’s mother – a silver necklace. Since you’ve been a couple, what’s the most bizarre or inappropriate gift you’ve received from a relative?

5.  The Devil went down to Berkeley, he was looking for a soul to steal, he was in a mind, he was way behind, he was willing to make a deal. When he came across YOU, and made a deal you couldn’t refuse. What one thing would you sell your soul to the Devil for?

6.  When Wally the Warlock is looking to quench his thirst, he reaches for a Conjurer Cooler. What’s your favorite thing to drink?

*To ask the gals* 

1.  When Frankenstein met the Bride of Frankenstein, his pickup line was, “Friend…”. What pickup line did your partner first use on you?

2.  The Headless Horseman was upset when he came home and found Mrs. Headless Horseman throwing out his collection of Big Punkins. What is something of your partner’s that you’d like to throw out the first chance you get?

3.  Mrs. Mummy hates the hours she spends laundering and ironing the Mummy’s endless yardage of gauze, but she does it because she loves him. What activity do you do for your partner just because you love him?

4. Mrs. Dracula keeps getting annoyed with Dracula, because he always leaves the coffin lid up. What’s your partner’s most annoying habit?

5.  When asked why he married the scientist, Zombie responded her married her for her “Braaaaaains…”. What would your partner say is the reason he married you?

6.  Obligatory whoopee question…Whoopie Pies are beloved of trick-or-treaters. What would your partner say is HIS favorite kind of pie?

The Halloween Match Game 

Rules

Before beginning:  Print out questions, attach each question to its own card, and label half the questions as “A” and the other half as “B”.

The game must be played with an even number of people.

Two people are designated as the Contestants; the others are members of the Gallery.  Contestant #1 is presented with two cards, A and B.  The choice is made and the question is read aloud.  

Contestant #1 thinks of a response for the <blank> mentioned on the card, but does not say it yet.  Members of the gallery have 60 seconds to write their own responses down.  Once time is up, Contestant #1 says his response.  In turn, each member of the gallery reveals his own response.  One point is awarded for each match to Contestant #1’s response to both the Contestant and the Gallery member.

Sample round:

    Question:  Peanut butter and <blank>

    Contestant #1’s response:  Jelly

    Gallery member #1:  Jelly

    Gallery member #2:  Jelly

    Gallery member #3:  Elvis

    Points earned during round:

        Contestant #1:          2

        Gallery member #1:  2

        Gallery member #2:  2

Play continues with the remaining question read aloud.  Contestant #2 responds in this case.  This ends the first round.

For the second round, an A and B card are presented again, this time to Contestant #2.  Contestant #2 selects, and play continues; contestant #1 gets the remaining question to end the round.

Once the two rounds complete, the Contestants enter the Gallery and two Gallery members become Contestants.  

Play continues until each player is asked two questions.

The winner of the game is the player with the most points.  In the case of a tie, tiebreaker questions can be asked.

2003 Questions

Based on the rules, this is suitable for 8 players.   

2004 Questions

2005 Questions

25,000 Spirits Pyramid 2004 

Rules

Before beginning:  Print out questions, attach each question to its own card, and label the backs of the cards with 25,000 Spirits.  Draw a pyramid on a piece of poster board, with outlines of 5 of the cards within the pyramid (2 on bottom row, 2 on middle, 1 on top).

All players are divided into two teams.  The game should be played with an even number of people, if one team has an odd number then someone on that team will end up “going” twice.

The Gamemaster tapes 5 cards to the board and sets out a 60-second timer.

Two people from Team #1 step forward to play and are seated opposite of each other.  One person is the Giver and the other is the Receiver.  A Delegate from Team #2 is selected and stands behind the Giver.

When ready, the timer is started and the Gamemaster reviews the bottom left card and hands it to the Giver.  The Giver must then say clues to get the Receiver to guess the category.  The Giver does not have to wait for a response from the Receiver, and may speak as in a stream-of-consciousness.  Words contained within the category may not be used.  If so, a penalty is indicated by the Delegate and a point is scored for the opposite team.

If the category is guessed correctly, then a point is scored for the giving/receiving Team.  The Giver may choose to pass to the next card, doing so scores a point for the opposite team.  Passed cards are held and used with the opposite team.

As categories are guessed or passed, the Gamemaster hands cards to the Giver.  Cards are handed from left-to-right in the pyramid, starting with the bottom row and working upward.

The round is finished when 60 seconds have elapsed or all categories have been guessed or passed.  The Gamemaster replenishes the pyramid with cards.

The Giver and Receiver switch places and a second round is played.

Once the second round is finished, the Giver and Receiver return to Team #1, and two people from Team #2 step forward to be Giver and Receiver.  Once they’ve each taken a turn, Team #1 continues to play.  The game continues until pairs of people from each team have both given and received.

The Team with the most number of points is the winner.  In the case of a tie, tiebreaker questions can be asked.

Sample round:

            Category:  Things a baseball player might say

            Giver’s clue #1:  I hope that I can hit the ball with my bat…

            Delegate from Team #2:  Bzzzt! (penalty due to using the word “ball”, score 1 point for Team #2)

Sample round:

            Category:  Things a baseball player might say

            Giver’s clue #1:  I hope that I can hit the round object with my bat…

            Receiver’s response:  Something a ball player would say

            Giver:  Ding! (score 1 point for Team #1)

Tabloid Teasers

Rules

Put out notecards and pens/pencils for guests.  

The Leader reads a tabloid headline that’s missing a key word or phrase.  Players write down their suggestion on a note card for what’s missing.  The Leader collects these, and goes off briefly to a separate room.  

Due to the large number of guests playing (which makes recalling all possible answers difficult) and the likelihood of recognizing the Leader's writing on the correct card, all collected answers and the correct response are copied onto a sheet of paper.  Note that similar responses are combined (e.g., a response of "dog" and "puppy" and "poodle" may be combined by the Leader as "dog" when transcribing).  Note also that the correct response should be copied to different positions in the list each time.

The Leader returns, reads aloud the headline missing the key word or phrase, and reads through all possibilities on the separate piece of paper.

The Leader then goes through them again quickly, and asks for a show of hands as to which is correct.  At last, the Leader reveals which one is truly correct.

Players score a point for themselves if guessed correctly.  After all tabloids are done, the player with the highest score is the winner.

2005 Tabloid Headlines (taken from Weekly World News)

Know any good questions?

I'd love to hear if you've got some original questions.   Let me know and you'll have my eternal gratitude.