The Movie Game

Posted by benjamin on July 5, 2010

On this Fourth of July weekend, many people will be heading to the movies (home, theaters, or both) and those of us here at The ACG will probably be no different.  However, I did want to pass along a fun game for movie buffs if you find yourself in need of a way to pass the time.  This game was first introduced to me as a drinking game, but you can still enjoy it without the need for a drink.

No boards, notes, or additional pieces of any kind are needed.  You just need a group of people that love movies and know many of them.  Here are the rules:

1 ) Someone starts off the game by naming a movie or actor/actress.
2 ) Each person, in turn, responds with someone from the movie or another movie that the actor/actress appears within.  I.E. if the game starts with Batman Begins, then the next person would respond with Christian Bale or Michael Caine.  Or the game could start with Tom Hanks, then the next person would respond with Toy Story 3 or The Da Vanci Code.
3 ) The game continues and changes based on each person’s answer.
4 ) Each person always has two options to respond:  Another actor/actress in the movie or another movie based on the previous actor/actress that was mentioned.
5 ) The time allowed for each person playing to respond can be customized based on those playing. Advanced players might want to allow for shorter time.
6 ) No movie or actor/actress can be repeated.

That’s it.  However, while playing the other night, my friends and I decided to add to the game with inclusion of a Lightning Round (LR).  A LR is started whenever a predefined list of actors/actresses are mentioned. Here are the rules of the Lightning Round (LR):

1 ) Once a LR actor/actress is named someone else must call out “Lightning Round.”
2 ) Everyone must now only name a movie that the LR actor/actress is in.
3 ) If someone can’t name another movie, they are out and must take a drink.
4 ) The remaining players continue until only one player remains who can name a movie.
5 ) The last player must provide one last movie before the LR ends.
6 ) Once the LR ends with a winner, the winner can restart the game with a new movie or actor.
7 ) If no winner results from the LR, everyone drinks and the game starts back with the player who initiated the LR.
8 ) The predefined list of actors/actresses can be modified and changed prior to the start of the game so that all players are in agreement and have a list that matches the types of movies/actors/actresses that everyone enjoys.

Here is the current list of LR actors/actresses:

1 ) Tom Hanks (Beginner)
2 ) Tom Cruise (Beginner)
3 ) Sandra Bullock (Beginner)
4 ) Julia Roberts (Beginner)
5 ) Will Smith (Beginner)
6 ) Robin Williams (Beginner)
7 ) John C. Reilly (Advanced)
8 ) Meryl Streep (Advanced)

Enjoy for those interested in playing.

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