The chairperson selects an object/idea/whatever and announces whether it's animal, vegetable, mineral, and/or abstract. The others have to ask questions to figure out what it is. Whomever guesses the object correctly is given the chair for the next round; repeat ad nauseam.
*Geography of England never was my strong point, (now if it was Wales!) off to find out where Strattford and potteries are, see you at work tommorrow!*
Someone in my office said Coventry was once a thiving wool town with a Cappers Guild - nothing to do with checking the tyre pressure at Longbridge then!
[Chalky] Does that exist? There might be a connection to something along these lines. [Raak, 2nd question] Yes. [Inkspot] Nope. [Lib] Maybe, but not primarily.
[Kim] No. (BTW, I took "a function of time" to mean "having something to do with time".) [Chalky] (ripple of laughter from the audience) To some people it is. (More laughter.) No, not really. [Riff] No.
[rab] The Snark's tail has been grasped. [Inkspot] The Snark gulps them down and burps. [Chalky,Penelope] The Snark flings two of its hunters into the top of a tree. [Software] Wielding the Sword of Truth and the Shield of Fair Play, Software has captured the Snark! (Hogmanay, actually, rather than the festival of stocktaking at the piggery, but I'll give you that.)
Audience presents Software with the mounted head of a Snark.
Hey! There's a whole new game here. We ask a whole load of questions (say, 20) and then, only when 20 questions have been asked, the winner of the previous round thinks of something that fits some of the questions, but not all of them. On second thoughts.....where is Software, anyway?
Inky: No Raak: Yes (slight ripple of clapping and murmering from audience) Chalks: No, well not exactly, oh, all right, technically yes. (one lonely individual in audience claps a loud, embarassing single clap).
Ooh! Goodness! *stands up and takes a brief bow, blushing furiously* I apologise for keeping you waiting so long, have been out doing the Christmas necessaries with the relatives. Okay, the next one is ABSTRACT.
[ZK, Kim] ahem ... like Ann Elk - I have a theory. However, it would be unfair to hijack this game in order to expound it. I'll mention it in Banter one day, I'm sure :-)
[Chalky] No. [Inkspot] No. [Kim] In a way. [Software] No. [Raak] (excited murmurs from audience)OOOoooh....no. [Chalky] It depends what you do with it :)
Thank you one and all and especially to ZK for a festive and entertaining go. Right: this one is.....*flattened trumped makes ham-fisted attempt at fanfare*....ABSTRACT!
I had assumed that ZK was male, on the basis of my theory that the more strange the nickname, the more likely the person is to be male. But I really want to hear Chalky's theory now.
Sorry, everyone, but I had no chance to get to a computer today. Right, let's see.. [Raak] No. [Software] Y..y..y..y..y...just about. [Inkspot] No. [Breadmaster] No. [ZK] No. That's my favourite opener! [snorgle] Strictly, yes. And Yes. [Lib] No. [Tuj] Not in any conventional sense.
[snorgle] Yes, a bit. It's not a hard and fast rule. But your name is less silly than, say, "DrQu+xum", "I Say! Porter!" or indeed my own. What is the origin of "Snorgle"? Or do I not want to know?
Snorgling is a noise my dog makes - it sounds like a snore and a gargle - usually when he wants some food or attention. It's quiet but effective at getting your attention, although it can be quite annoying! (I also saw the name in a comic book letters page once, and fancied it...)
[Chalky] No. [Fridge] Sorry, you have to post a question or a guess as well. [LotUS] No. I'd be interested to hear the origins of a lot of these names. Perhaps we could turn it into a game. [Breadmaster] No. [snorgle] No. [Raak] Yes. *The Snark is sighted in the distance. Raak rallies the hounds with a clarion call on his bugle and sets off in hot pursuit.*
Ok, that makes no sense. I meant to say.... The origin of Lib is rather underwhemling, but I'm still quite ford of it. (I've got a cold and my head isn't working!)
[Raak] No. [Inkspot] No. [LotUS] I cannot answer that definitively, without researching other faiths, which I am not in a position to do. I *think* that it is uniquely associated with Judaism.
[Inkspot] Yes. *One of the hounds has picked up the scent of The Snark. "If he turns down that way, shouts Inkspot, we can run him to ground!"* [Raak] No. [Tuj] In the sense that it was something that supposedly happened a long time ago and got written about, yes.
Was it written about in the Old Testament of the Bible?
Is there an interesting reason why you call yourself Kim? Also, if we had a game about the origins of all our screen names, how long would it last? *schizophrenic voice chips in* I suppose it would depend on what you made the rules...
[ZK] Yes! Well, I had this idea that it could be played within the general boundaries of Animal-Vegetable-Mineral-Abstract. People ask yes/no questions and from the answers given slowly uncover the truth. [snorgle] No.
No idea what I'm babbling on about, but my name is not very well disguised, I keep posting the latest Celebrity MC tables on an of and on weekly ad hoc basis, so players would have to diliberatley not get it right;)
[ZK] No, no, no, no and no. [Inkspot] No. [Raak] No. I'm tempted to post a clue, but Inkspot is perilously close to a breakthrough with his last two postings and ZK may get there by a process of elimination. I'll provide a clue, if asked.
[Inkspot] No. Go back to your question before last. [Software] No. I think we've already eliminated the Torah. One more go, then I think we'll put up a clue.
[Software] No. Isn't that what Inkspot was *babbling* on about before? [Inkspot] Yyyy...yes. In the sense that it is something that He caused to happen. Now, go back again to your question about language and your question about the Tanakh and put them together. If you don't get this one, I will be disappointed. [Ibid] Not as such. [Raak] Not as such. [Breadmaster] No. *But the Snark is utterly trapped between several of the hounds and cannot move one way or another. Surely one of them will now deliver the fatal blow...*
[Raak] Yes! The exact words I was looking for were "Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin", although I would, at this point, have accepted "The Writing on the Wall". I was sure that Inkspot would succeed. It is from the Ketuvim, the third section of the Tanakh, it had everything to do with language, it was not a prophesy as such, although it did tell the king what would happen to his kingdom and it was not Balshazzars feast, as such, although it did occur at the same time. Many contestants came within a gnats, but Raak hits the spot once again. Congratulations, Raak! The chair is yours, but with an honourable mention to Inkspot for incisive questioning.
Goddammit! That was going to be my next question. I had forgotten that the book of Daniel is traditionally considered one of the prophets, although today it is always classified as an apocalyptic work. Arrrgh!