Overview
People of all generations love music. What's better than to have a game involving everyone's favorite songs? Although it's a great game for teens you should try this at your next family reunion. Team up members from different generations and challenge them to identify as many musical eras and styles as possible.
Age
School-age, Tweens, Teens, Adults, SeniorsNumber of Players
3 to 4, 5 to 10, 10 to 20, 20+Team Division
Every man for himself (individual players), Teamwork! (divide into teams)Competitiveness
Either/or (can be played either way)Difficulty
Easy peasy (fun and simple)Indoor or Outdoor
EitherSpace Needed
Small (a clearable open space the size of a 1-car garage), Medium (a clearable open space the size of a 2-car garage)Noise Level
Semi-rambunctiousMess Factor
Clean and tidyPrep Time
20 minutes or moreGame Time Length
15 - 30 minutesSupplies
Setup
1. Preparation is required prior to playing this game to get the songs ready.
2. Select however many songs (20 or more to be safe) you would like to have for the game and burn them onto a CD or transfer to a .mp3 player.
3. The songs can be random, theme specific, genre specific, or decade specific. It's completely up to you. Just make sure you record the title and artist of each song.
4. Prepare a place to keep score. It could be a simple piece of paper, cardboard, white board, chalk board or bulletin board.
5. Designate an emcee or team leader to run the game.
6. Divide your group into teams. Two teams are easiest to keep track of, but you can do three or more.
How to Play
1. Decide which team will be first.
2. Play the first song - usually about 10/15 seconds - and then stop the music.
Here are the rules -
A. The team has 30 seconds to discuss and present the title or artist. They only need to present one of the two to lay claim to the song. The team receives 1 point for each part of the answer - meaning that a team can get both parts and receive 2 points, or just one part, and receive 1 point.
B. If the team names at least one part of the answer the song is done, and the next team is up with a new song.
C. If the team can not come up with any part of the answer the other team(s) may steal.
D. If you have more than 2 teams - you will need to have a "hand off" - meaning whichever team places their hand in the air first, gets the next crack at the song. If that team is wrong, then the next team can try, etc.
E. If the stealing team gets it wrong then the round goes into "free for all" - the song is restarted and allowed to play until one team shouts out the answers. Whichever team puts their hand up first gets the opportunity to guess. One point is awarded for each correct part of the answer. If the teams split the song (meaning 1 team has the artist, and 1 team has the title) each team is awarded a point.
F. If, after the chorus plays, no one has an answer - the song title and artist are revealed, and the next team up takes over.
3. Play the next song and repeat the process.
4. Play as many rounds as you like, just make sure than each team gets the same number of turns.
5. At the end of the game, whichever team has accumulated the most points is declared the winner.
Variations
1. Rapid fire free for all - play the song, whichever team shouts out the title first wins a point, go right into the next song, no delay.
2. Give out clues for each song before you play them - for example - "Ed Sullivan tried to edit this 1960's performance, but the artist refused and sang it in the original way even though he had promised he would edit it" - then you would play "Light my Fire", by the Doors.
3. Add a final jeopardy round. Give each team a piece of paper and play 5 songs in a row (about 20 seconds of each one). Have the teams write down their guesses for artist and title. Each correct guess wins 2 points for each team.
Tips
1. If you've got a range of ages, make sure to mix up the music...the more eclectic the better.
2. Keep things light and fun. Encourage teams to hum or sing song until they can figure out title.
Educational
1. You can use this game for studying a variety of different music styles. If you prefer, you could have the players call out the era or style of music, rather than the artist or title. This would be a great way to explore the different types of music, from classical to big band.