One Line Each — One sheet, one line each, and nobody can see anybody.

One person does not know the word. Everybody else adds a single line to the same sheet at the same moment, then they get one guess. 3 to 8 people, about 12 minutes.

Nobody is playing against anybody. There are no teams, no scores to compare and nothing to be knocked out of — the table has one number and everybody at it has the same one, which is a different kind of half hour from every other game on this shelf.

Nobody waits and nobody performs. Every seat draws in the same seconds, so a call of eight takes what a call of three takes, and no one person is ever the one being watched.

Nobody has to be able to draw. You get one line. The person who can only manage a wobbly circle is contributing exactly as much of the picture as the person who went to art school, and their line is usually funnier.

A round

A word five of you knowOne line eachOne guessWhat it was

On the sheet

+3Everybody at the table — the sheet is read on the first lap

+2Everybody at the table — the second lap

+1Everybody at the table — the third

Also on

Games for a team of six Games for eight people at once Games that are best with five Games that fit in fifteen minutes Co-operative games for a team Games that work in any language

How to play One Line Each