Thursday, July 29, 2010

Balderdash

One of my favorite games ever is Balderdash. This game was made for writers. You play by making up definitions for the odd words they give you and trying to fool your opponents into thinking your definition is the real one.

Let's give it a try. I'll give you a word and four possible definitions, and you try to guess which is the correct one. I'll post the answers at the bottom (under the picture) so don't peek!


Koomkie:
#1 - A hairball
#2 - A trained female elephant used to attract wild male elephants
#3 - The reproductive arm of an octopus
#4 - Wild boar droppings

Golilla:
#1 - The upper lip of a camel
#2 - A worthless weed known as the nipple nightshade
#3 - A fruit grown in the West Indies
#4 - A high collar worn by Italian noblemen during the 17th century

Schemozzle:
#1 - A group of two or more monkeys
#2 - A mosquito's tongue
#3 - A fine paid by people who didn't join the army during medieval times
#4 - An antelope with very wide hooves


Ready for the answers? Don't peek unless you're ready!
Koomkie - #2 - A trained female elephant used to attract wild male elephants
Golilla - #4 - A high collar worn by Italian noblemen during the 17th century
Schemozzle - #1 - A group of two or more monkeys.

So...how'd you do?

Have a great weekend everyone!

41 comments:

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I've always thought about buying this game. We play a lot of board games at our house. Think my husband would kick my butt, though.

JE said...

Whoa...I bombed that! Now I'm wondering if there really is a word for a mosquitos tongue!

~JD

Susan Fields said...

L. Diane - How I wish my husband would play board games! He hates them, but when I do talk him into one, he usually kicks my butt at whatever game it is. :(

Justine - I took all of these from actual Balderdash cards, so they're all real definitions. A mosquito's tongue is a glossarium. I know - who uses these words anyway?

Unknown said...

I only got number one right!!! That was because I thought it was the funniest one! That was so much fun, I've never played the game but now you have me curious at how good I'd be at it!!

Happy Friday!

Old Kitty said...

Oh no!! I got one out of three!! I guessed the koomkie is no.2!! LOL!!

I picked the upper lip of a camel for Golilla (cos I love camels!)and a mosquito's tongue for schemozzle!! Cos it sounded like it should be the name for a mosquito's tongue! LOL!

Awww what a brilliant game! Thank you!
Take care
x

Jemi Fraser said...

I had to totally guess & I only got the last one right!

Fun game :)

Dr. Mohamed said...

Well, I failed the test :)

Great words; you created some imaginative alternate defns! I especially liked "schemozzle." Laverne and Shirley sang it in their show's intro song and I honestly never knew what it was...a group of monkeys!

Marcia said...

I struck out! I love how utterly different all the definitions are.

Bossy Betty said...

Love Balderdash! The problem is that in the end I can't remember th real definitions!

Kelly Polark said...

That is such a fun game! One of my favorite Thanksgivings was when my hubby and I played this with his cousins (before we had children) and we were all just rolling on the floor laughing. Fun, creative game!
And a shemozzle is two or more monkeys? Who knew?

Laurel Garver said...

This is my mom's absolute favorite board game. We play it at nearly every family gathering. As the writer in the family, I'm pretty good at snookering everyone into believeing my bogus definitions. It is a pretty fun way to develop your creativity and persuasive skills.

Patti Lacy said...

I did AWFUL but LOVE this game almost as much as Apples to Apples.

Have fun!!!

patti
www.pattilacy.com/blog

Talli Roland said...

I used to love this game - but I got them all wrong! Thanks for the fun, Susan. Happy weekend!

Jennifer Shirk said...

I did horribly! Even in real life I stink at this game. LOL

Kimberly Franklin said...

I've never heard of this game before, but it looks like lots of fun. Even though I totally bombed. :)

A Peculiar Person said...

I would like to invite you to visit my blog. I would love to get your comments on some of my recent posts.

http://alonganarrowway.blogspot.com

God Bless!

Blee Bonn said...

I love this game too! I got 1 right but number 2 I wavered between the camel lip and the Italian collar. I didn't even read #3 till later but I can tell you I'd have missed it after looking back at it. :)

Susan Fields said...

Jen - You should try it! It's a lot of fun, though my mother doesn't like it because it makes her think too much. :)

Old Kitty - I agree, a schemozzle definitely sounds like it should be a mosquito's tongue. The fact that there's even a special name for a mosquito's tongue is a little strange. :)

Jemi - I'm glad you enjoyed it! It's even more fun when you get to make up your own definitions.

Mohamed - That's exactly what I thought of when I saw schemozzle - Laverne and Shirley! I never imagined it was a real word. :)

Susan Fields said...

Marcia - Isn't it odd to think there's actually words for all those things? There are so many words out there I've never even heard of.

Betty - Oh no, I never remember the real definitions! But probably if I did, nobody would know what I was talking about anyway. :)

Kelly - This is such a fun game for family gatherings! Unfortunately, my mom is the big game player in our family (well, okay, she and I are probably tied for first), and she doesn't like this one because it makes her think too much. I probably like it best out of all my family, and I'm sure that's the writer in me, screaming to get out and make up new words! :)

Susan Fields said...

Laurel - I love the absolute creativeness of making up your own definitions. It could be absolutely anything, your imagination is the only limit. Definitely a good game for us creative writer types. :)

Patti - I love Apples to Apples too! That is one game all my kids love and they could play it for hours and hours.

Talli - It's okay if you get them wrong, as long as you can get other people to believer your bogus defintion. :) You have a wonderful weekend, too!

Susan Fields said...

Jennifer - I think nearly everyone stinks at this game, but it's still a lot of fun. :)

Kimberly - I totally bombed, too! But that's okay, I think just about everybody does. :)

Peculiar - Thanks for the invite! I'll check it out.

Blee - I thought the camel lip one was funny. Really, who comes up with these words?

Lenny Lee said...

hi miss susan! that was fun. i didnt get even one right. ugh! my family plays this game. mostly i watch but sometimes i play and its fun. my cousin tony is the best at it. hes a writer and he really fools everyone on this game.
...smiles from lenny

Vicki Rocho said...

I missed them all. (sigh). My brother is really good at this. Great bluffer, he is...and some of his definitions are hysterical.

Susan Fields said...

Lenny - You should join in more! Practice makes perfect. :)

Vicki - I wish I had more people to play this with. My mom is the only one in the family who loves games as much as I do, but she doesn't like this one because it makes her think too much. :( Can you send your brother over for game night?

Myrna Foster said...

I missed the first one, but I got the last two right. I've never played Balderdash, but it sounds fun!

Kelly H-Y said...

How fun! I'm going to have to check this one out!

Theresa Milstein said...

I only got the 3rd one correct. I thought #2 would be #2 because how can one make up "nipple nightshade"?

Sounds like a fun game. There's a similar game show on a 2nd NPR on Sundays at 11 am here in Boston.

Susan Fields said...

Myrna - You should play, it sounds like you'd be good at it!

Kelly - I've always played it at my sister's, but I just bought it this week because I like it so much. Now I just have to talk someone into playing it with me. :)

Theresa - I guess I actually cheated because I took definitions from other cards, so they're all real definitions. The nipple nightshade one is actually a soushumber.

Lydia Kang said...

I can't believe those words are real!
I used to play this game all the time in med school, until we realized that there are a lot of medical terms in there and the med students had an unfair advantage!

DL Hammons said...

0 for 3. I suck! :)

Susan Fields said...

Lydia - I bought the new version of the game (it's different from the one my sister has), and it seems like a lot of the definitions have to do with animals. I'll be a vet would dominate at this game. :)

DL - That's okay, almost everyone sucks at this game, but it's still fun. The best part is making up your own definitions, which is hard to do online, but I might see if I can find a way to let people to do that.

TerryLynnJohnson said...

So fun! I got 2 correct. Very tricky answers, you are good at this game!!

Aubrie said...

I got the first two, but I didn't get the smozzle!

Anonymous said...

Not very well. Got them all wrong. Good thing I have an editor or I'd be in real trouble.

Stephen Tremp

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

It's a fun game. I didn't do very well. I got Koomkie only. Hehehe
Lyn
W.I.P. It: A Writer's Journey

Susan Fields said...

Terry Lynn - I'll confess, I cheated by using their definitions. I should have made up my own, I didn't evern really think of it. I guess I knew they probably wouldn't fool anybody. :)

Aubrie - Two of out three is very good for this game!

Stephen - I don't have an editor yet, but if I ever get one, maybe I'll see if he'll be on my team for Balderdash. :)

Lyn - That's still pretty good! Thanks for playing. :)

Margo Berendsen said...

I haven't played this game forever! I miss it! You are right, it is the perfect game for writers.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Hi Susan! Thanks for following my blog. And yes, I watch a lot of movies!

Anonymous said...

Fun to know those are actual words! Usually I'm mumbling something similar after stubbing a toe when the kids are around!

MTeacress said...

How fun is that? I need to get that game. I've never played and I love a good word game - except crosswords. They make me feel stupid. HaHa. :)

Lola Sharp said...

Dude. Strike 3, I'm out! That was hard.

I've never played this game. I'm So going out to go buy it tomorrow.:)

Fun post!
Love,
Lola