You buy a new board game and one of the first things you do is reach for the instructions.  It is pretty essential that you know what you are doing when playing a new game, otherwise there is little point in buying new games.  But what if your family specialised in party games where the whole point is that not everyone knows the rules?  My family have been played these games for as long as I can remember.  The only thing you need for these games is new blood.  If family members bring a new girlfriend or boyfriend to the party then its game on! 

I have seen the look on many a young candidates face when they realise that the game is all about them and their ability to solve the puzzle.  If they discover the hidden rules of the games they are deemed a winner and suitability to date said family member is confirmed.  If they should fail then the humiliation of knowing you are the entertainment can be crippling!  Imagine standing in front of a room full of people you are trying your best to impress whilst they are all laughing at you because you don't know the secret rules- ground swallow me now!

I will explain a little bit about one of these games but its not worth my life's worth to reveal their true secrets- the knowledge must come from humiliation and attention to detail:

Black Magic
We always start these games with people who know the rules showing you just how easy it is.  They leave the room and once gone a secret item is picked in the room.  The leader then calls the person back into the room using special code words and phrases.  The leader then starts to point to different items in the room.  After several wrong items are pointed to the secret one is pointed to and the person who left the room miraculously knows the right answer!  The outsider will not know how it is possible that they get it right every time and will then watch this happen several times until they possibly have a theory on how to work it out.  Is it what they say when they come in?  Is it how many letters in the first word he speaks?  Is it the first letter of the last word?  They leave the room, come back in and get it wrong.  They leave again, get it wrong.  They leave again, get it wrong.  You see the pattern, its hilarious for those in the know. 

Luckily my hubby is a clever guy and faced with these special challenges he shone through discovering the secret rules after a few wrong guesses!  Family mutter under their breath that he is a keeper! 


There are many more games and I have had years of fun knowing full well that every new boyfriend I brought to the party would be subjected to this trial.  I know it is unkind to find entertainment in the suffering of others but yet I never once let them know the rules before we arrived or even gave them a clue of what to expect because where is the fun in that!