Pick a poetry anthology and some 'classic' novels from your bookshelf and get some people together and have some fun! At the Poetry Game Show, we have an MC and two judges to settle disputes -- who answered first, which answer is 'better', etc. -- and everyone in the audience can also be a contestant if they want.

Here are a few easy to 'play games' that we at the Poetry Game Show have pioneered:

1. Name That Poet: (first invented by Steve Evans and Jennifer Moxley) Take an anthology of poetry; find a well-known poem; read the first line aloud. The 'contestants' and / or the 'audience' guess the poet's name. The first correct answer wins. If no one gets it, read more, or give hints. A variation of this is to read 'famous' lines -- not necessarily the first.

2. Caption the Slide: Show a found slide. You can find your own, or go to the Found Slide Foundation -- it's part of the website: lostandfrowned.com -- and print some of the images you like and pass them around the audience. Have the contestants and audience write down a famous line or quotation (lyrics are good too) that they feel best captions the slide.

3. Fictionary: (introduced to the Poetry Game Show by Joanna Fuhrman) Take a novel -- maybe a classic, maybe not -- and read the title and back cover copy. The contestants write down what they think might be the first line of the novel. These are collected, along with the first line of the novel, and read aloud. Everyone votes on which they think is best. The author of the line with the most votes wins.

4. Name That Novel: (developed by Douglas Rothschild) Synopsize a novel into three sentences -- or read the back cover copy -- making sure to not say the name of the novel, or the author, or other novel titles by the same author. The audience tries to guess the novel's title and author. Give hints or more of the synopsis if no one gets it.

5. Neologism Contest (currently undergoing Beta-Testing) Invent a neologism. (example: Iraqnid) Have the audience write a definition for this new word. The judges decide which is best.

6. Poetical Impersonations (conceived of by Gary Sullivan) Have someone impersonate a poet. Have the audience guess who is being impersonated. Or, allow people to write poems that other poets 'might have written.' Have the judges judge who has best captured the 'essence' of the poet imitated.

Good luck,
Douglas Rothschild, founder & MC, The Poetry Game Show