How To Play Name Place Animal Thing

This is a really fun, easy game we used to play as kids. I reckon my parents did this so we could learn more in a fun way.

Requirements:

  • Sheets of paper (one for each player)
  • Pencils / Pens (same as above)
  • A quick thinking mind

How to Play:

On each sheet of paper, draw 5 columns and name them “Name      Place     Animal     Thing     Points”

Tell one person to start counting the alphabet in his or her mind (not saying it out loud). Randomly stop them within seconds. The letter they stop at is your first alphabet.

So for example: Mary starts thinking “A …B…C…D….” and Tom says STOP! She stopped at D.

Now,  everyone starts writing furiously a name starting with D, an animal with D, a place and a Thing. Mary, smart wee thing starts writing Dianne, Delhi, Dog, Dish and finishes first.

So she says Stop and everyone has to. Read out your words – give yourself 10 points for each unique word, 5 if you’ve used the same word as someone else. Each round has a max of 40 words and a minimum of .. er.. 0.

Then someone else starts rattling off the alphabet silently while another person tells them when to stop. If that person says F, off you go filling the blanks!

Rules:

  • Whoever finishes first has to quickly say STOP!
  • If the others haven’t finished, too bad
  • If everyone got 4, you all get 10 points per word
  • If two of you got the same word (eg, Mary and Tom both wrote Dog) you split the points, so 5 each for that word. You still get 10 points each for the other unique words
  • Sometimes people get cheeky and make up words (when you get to the X’s and Q’s!) so you can challenge each other if you want (check the dictionary haha)
  • If someone stops at an alphabet that’s already been done, you’ve got to pick another one
  • Make your own rules ;)

Have fun!