Caption if You Can! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Overview
• Playing a Round
  • 1. Choose a Photograph
  • 2. Write Captions
  • 3. Read the Captions
  • 4. Vote
  • 5. Score
  • 6. End of the Round
• End of the Game
• Variants

Components

• 80 double-sided photograph cards
• 200 caption slips
• 60 scoring gems
• 8 pencils
• Rules booklet

If you run out, use scrap paper!

Caption slips and photograph cards.

Setup

Before you begin, take the following steps to set up the game:

• Place the scoring gems in a pile in the middle of the table.
• Each player takes a pencil and a few caption slips.
• The players randomly choose one person to be the reader for the first round.

That's it, you are ready to go!

Overview

The game is played over a number of rounds. Each round, every player will write a caption for a photograph, and the reader will read them out to the group. Players then vote for their favourite caption and points are awarded to the successful writers. Once each player has had a turn being the reader for a round, the game is over. This means there will be as many rounds as there are players in the game.

Tip: It is a good idea for groups new to the game to play a practice round. This is a great way to get the creative juices flowing for your session!

Playing a Round

1. Choose a Photograph

To begin a round, the reader draws the next photograph card from the box. The reader then looks at both sides of the card and decides which photograph will be used this round. After choosing, the photograph is placed face up in the middle of the table.

The photograph card may be passed around so all players can get a good look at it.

2. Write Captions

Now each player takes a moment to think up a caption for the photograph. A caption may be any short piece of text that will make the photograph funny or interesting. Here are some examples of the forms a caption may take:

• A description of the photograph
• A newspaper-style headline for the photograph
• A quotation from one of the people in the photograph
• A question about the photograph
• Anything else you can come up with – try and be as creative as you can!

Each player writes their caption on a blank caption slip, fills in their name, and passes the slip face down to the reader. The reader also writes a caption and places his or her completed slip with the rest of those submitted. When everyone has submitted a caption, the reader shuffles all the caption slips together and prepares to read them out.

Tip: If you find that players are taking a long time to submit their captions, why not try a timed game? Simply start a timer or stop-watch running when the photograph is chosen and agree on a time limit. Three minutes is a fair amount of time for beginners. Any player who has not submitted a caption when the time runs out, will not have a caption in play for that round.

3. Read the Captions

The reader now presents the captions to the group by reading them aloud one at a time. The reader does not announce the writers' names, so each caption will remain anonymous. After all the captions are read, the players will probably want to hear them again. So the reader should read the captions a second time, in the same order.

Tip: Before reading the captions aloud, the reader should look over each one to get familiar with them. This way the reader will be able to present them in a more confident way to the group. When you are reading, have fun with it! Try and bring out the qualities of each caption with your voice.

4. Vote

Starting with the player to the left of the reader and moving clockwise around the table, each player announces which caption is their favourite. It is easiest for players to simply identify their favourite caption with a brief description, such as "the one about the kissing booth" or "the clown one". The reader does not vote for a caption.

As each player announces their favourite, the reader makes a mark in the top right corner of the corresponding caption slip to show that it has received one vote.

Players may not vote for the caption which they wrote. If it is later revealed that a player has done so, this vote will not be counted.

The reader records the votes for the caption here.

5. Score

When all players except the reader have voted, it is time to reveal the scores! The reader reads the captions one more time. After each caption, the reader announces who wrote it, and how many votes it received. The writer of the caption then takes the corresponding number of scoring gems from the middle of the table and places them in front of him/her.

6. End of the Round

When all the captions have been read and scored, the round is over. The player to the left of the reader becomes the new reader for the next round. This player selects the photograph for the next round and play begins again.

End of the Game

When every player has had a turn being the reader for a round, the game is over. Whoever has collected the most scoring gems is the winner!

In preparation for the next game, place all the photograph cards that were used at the bottom of the pile in the box. This way, the photographs will be new next time you play!

Variants

Tip: If players wish to play a longer or shorter game than usual, they may simply decide to play for a set number of rounds.