Games for Valentines Day

Unless you're in middle school playing "Seven Minutes of Heaven" in your linen closet, you might want to try some new games for Valentine's day. There are three games listed below. The first is a game of interactive Storytelling. The second is a drinking game. (Alcohol can be substituted for root beer, but that's a little like substituting baked beans for chocolate cake.) And the third is a game that combines kissing with competitive wrestling, for exponential increases in entertainment.

-Baron Von Munchausen

For all ages.

Requirements: Creativity, imagination, and silly accents.

This is interactive storytelling. First of all, have everyone sit in a circle. Each person should have five chips. They can be poker chips, potato chips, chocolate coins, whatever you want, really. Assuming you're organizing the game, you pick a person to tell the first story, but you're the one who gets to tell them their name and what their story is. For example:

"So, Mistress Elektra of the Golden Knickers, tell me of the time you traveled to the heathen lands in a hot air balloon and fell in love with their savage prince."

The person you have just named Mistress Elektra must now tell that story in the first person: "Huh? Oh, right, right, the savage prince saga. Hmm, well, it was lonely and cold in my air balloon when..."

At some point during their story, you may feel they're getting boring, or there's something you want to add or change. This is when you put your poker chip in the middle and try to change their story. "I'm sorry, but I think you misremember. It was actually his squeaky codpiece that you saw in the window." Mistress Elektra can either accept this change and take your poker chip, or put a poker chip of her own in the pile and refuse to change the story. You can counter again with another poker chip, or you can take both chips for yourself. When Elektra has finished her story, she picks the next person, and gives them their name and story. "...and we ruled his heathen lands for the next fortnight, but I got bored and came home shortly afterwards. So... Duke Danish, could you tell us about the three deadly tasks you had to complete to win the heart of the Amazonian Queen?"

And so on, and so forth. After everyone has had a turn, the one with the most chips is the 'winner', although since the chips are distributed democratically, you can also decide to turn them in for drinks, candy, or kisses.

-Kings

Ages 21+

Requirements: Beer, pack of cards.

This is a drinking game you can play with any kind of drink, although you'll be drinking a lot so it is recommended you avoid strong drinks. Sit with your drinks around a table.

Take a standard deck of cards and remove the jokers, in case they're still there. Don't bother shuffling the deck, but pour the cards face down in a pile on the center table. Mix them around, but don't worry about neatness.

In a circle, everyone takes a turn picking a card from the pile. Each card has a task accompanied with it. Here's what they mean:

2 = You. When a 2 is drawn, the person who drew it picks another person in the circle to drink.

3 = Me. When a 3 is drawn, the person who drew it drinks.

4 = Floor. When a 4 is drawn, everyone has to touch the floor with their hands. Last one to do it drinks.

5 = Guys. All the men drink.

6 = Chicks. All the women drink.

7 = Heaven. Everyone reaches up. Last one to reach up drinks.

8 = Mate. Person who draws an 8 picks another person, and they both drink.

9 = Rhyme. Person who drew the 9 says a short sentence, and the person to their left has to say a sentence to rhyme with it. It goes around the circle until the person who can't think of anything has to drink.

10 = Categories. Person who drew the 10 says something like "Science fiction books" or "Movies that Kevin Bacon has been in." The person to his left has to give one example, and it goes around the circle until the person who is stumped has to drink.

Jack = Never Have I Ever. Each person hold up five fingers, and the person who drew the Jack gives the first statement of: "Never have I ever... gotten roses for Valentine's day." Everyone who has gotten roses for Valentine's day has to put down a finger. Go around the circle with Never Have I Ever statements, the first one to lose all fingers has to drink.

Queen = Question Game. The person who drew the Queen asks a question, and the person to their left has to respond with a question. It goes around the circle until the person who accidently doesn't ask a question has to take a drink. (It's harder than it sounds.)

King = Make Your Own Rule. This is the best card. The person who draws the King gets to make their own rule, that can contradict any of the other rules of the game. For example: "Whenever a four is drawn, all the girls have to run around the table."

Ace = Waterfall. Everyone starts drinking at the same time. The person who drew the ace can stop anytime, but the person to his left has to drink until he stops. The same for the person to his left, all the way around the circle. The person to the right of the one who drew the Ace is the last to stop drinking.

-Wink

For all ages (although not at the same time)

Requirements: Wide floor space, an odd number of people, some physical prowess.

This is a game of competitive wrestling. Players pair up, with one odd person out. The single person, called the Winker, sits in the center of a circle composed of the pairs. A pair sits with one person in front of the other. The front person sits cross legged, while the person behind kneels with both knees and hands on the ground.

If called upon by the Winker, the front person in the pair will try to move forward, the ultimate goal being to kiss the Winker on the cheek. The back person in the pair will try, by (almost) any means necessary, to stop him/her.

The Winker decides who will struggle to get to the middle. He/she could call out "all people wearing blue" or "pairs 1, 2, and 4." If the Winker says "Wink," then everyone goes. The round is over when the first person to get to the middle kisses the Winker.

There are a few rules specifically created for safety and fairness.

The person in the front, trying to get to the Winker, must stay on all fours. If he/she gets away from the back person somehow, it's not allowed to just get up and run forward. The person behind can resort to any dirty move necessary to keep the person in front from getting to the middle, but actually hurting your partner or resorting to sexual harassment is not allowed.

While the Winker may have any ulterior motives for deciding which pairs to call upon, he/she is not allowed to move or make it easier on any one pair. That's just playing dirty.

When someone succeeds in getting to the middle and giving the kiss, they switch places with the Winker. The Winker then becomes the back person, and the person who failed to prevent their partner from getting to the middle moves to the front of the pair. The circle is reformed around the new Winker and the game begins again.

People have gotten hurt playing Wink, so make sure everyone knows what they're getting into. If you're feeling uncomfortable, or if you think you're in danger of being hurt, communicate that instead of being 'tough.'

One final caution, this game is fun just about anywhere, but be careful about carpet burn and scrapes on hard floors.