The Noun Game

Divide a lined piece of paper into 4 columns like this:

       
       
etc      

In the first column, insert random letters chosen by the students, like this:

F      
B      
M      
etc      

Now fold the edge of the paper over so that the students cannot see the letters. In the second column, insert the same amount of nouns, again chosen by the students, like this:

F Animal    
B City    
M Country    
etc      

NB: make sure the students understand it is important that the nouns begin on the same line as the first letter.

The students now have to think of an answer for each noun, that begins with the adjacent letter, like this:

F Animal Fox  
B City Bangkok  
M Country Mexico  
etc      

The game finishes when the students have completed all the answers or as many as they can. In the event they cannot finish, a time limit must be imposed. Scoring is as follows:

  • no answer: 0 points
  • same answer as another student: 1 point
  • an answer nobody else has: 2 points

Scores are written into the end column on the sheet, like this:

F Animal Fox 1
B City Bangkok 1
M Country Mexico 2
etc      

The scores are then totalled up and the winner is the one with the most points. The length of the game can be extended or shortened by using more or less letters and nouns.

Contributed by: Anthony Dalton