Generica
the ultimate in generic board games!
For ages Qf to R3!
Generica is not just a board game like any other. Generica is the board game like any other.
Not only is it a generic board game, but it is also a generic ice breaker; when you are playing it, you will laugh and perhaps get to know the other players better. It will blur the line between silly and serious!
The Board
This is the board I use now; I encourage you to design your own. Basically, you get a sheet of posterboard, a marker, brainstorm a little, and draw something that will let people move around and give them lots of opportunities to draw cards. Print out the printer-friendly version, so you'll have the rules and can cut apart the cards. That's all there is to it!
Rules
- Each player is to bring his own game piece — a small object of a size of approximately one inch or less — to use during play. The personal significance, if any, of the piece, may be explained.
- Sit down around the board. The person with the loudest socks moves first.
- When it's your turn, roll the die and move as many spaces as are indicated. You start at the antechamber and want to get to the inner room.
- On a space with a diagonal picture of a card ("card space"), draw a card and do what it says or answer what it asks.
- Colored spaces are secret passage spaces. If you are on a secret passage space, you may move to the other secret passage space of the same color and pattern as the space you are on. This counts as moving one space.
- Play Generica as a generic board game. I'm not going to bore you by describing further.
- Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah foo blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blorg blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blorf blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. You didn't have to read all this.
Cards
| Go back two squares. |
| Move one square. |
| Switch places with someone you're fond of. |
| Bonus — get three candies. |
| Poke someone ticklish. |
| Tell who you are trying to become. |
| Tell of one literary character whom you identify with, and why. |
| Tell of one TV show which you find to be boring and predictable, and why. |
| Give a friend a hug. |
| Tell of a book you enjoyed reading. |
| What was the house of your childhood fantasies? |
| This card intentionally left blank. |
| If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you like to be? |
| Move your game piece to the square most directly to its left. |
| Get a pencil and an index card, and add another card to the stack. |
| Mention one childhood memory of a kludge involving bailing wire or duct tape. |
| Give a left-handed handshake to the person to your left. |
| Grab the nose of the person opposite you. |
| Tell of one ice breaker you like. If there is general agreement that the described ice breaker is better than Generica, put this aside and start that game. |
| State one nickname you would like to be called, and why. |
| If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you like to be? Why? |
| What do you think of these cards? Why? |
| Move someone else's game piece one space. |
| Tell about one culture, past or present, which you would like to visit, and what about it interests you. |
| Tell about one fantastic place which you would like to visit, and how you'd fit in. |
| Name one thing that you are really looking forward to, and what the hope is like. |
| Tell of one cherished memory. |
| Share one musing you have had lately. |
| Tell of one way in which a close friend challenges your tacit assumptions. |
| Is this a stupid question? |
| State one quality you admire in the person opposite you. |
| What do you most wish that others understood about you? |
| What does your name mean? |
| What kind of animal would you like to have as a pet? |
| Are you bored? |
| Tell of one way in which Mammon has poisoned you. |
| Is your belly button an innie or an outie? |
| What is your favorite kind of weather? |
| What is your favorite food? |
| What is your favorite drink? |
| And now, for something completely different. Each player should move to the space previously occupied by the player to the left. |
| Draw two cards. |
| Take two ashtrays, and call me in the morning. |
| Jump in the air. |
| Give one cent to the player to your left. |
| Reverse. Players take turns in the opposite direction. |
| Thumbwrestle the player to your right. Winner moves forward two spaces. |
| Give one adjective which you would like to you. |
| Give one adjective which describes the player opposite you. |
| Give one adjective which describes your left thumbnail. |
| Take off your shoes and socks. |
| Tell what color is your favorite, and what about it you like. |
| Tell the story behind one of the objects in your bedroom. |
| Tell your favorite Bible story. |
| Describe a virtue you would like to embody. |
| Describe your favorite Calvin and Hobbes cartoon. |
| Of these three art movements — neoclassicism, impressionism, and cubism — which do you find to be the most representative? Why? |
| Share something from your daydreams. |
| Share an epistemological musing. |
| Share an ontological musing. |
| Share an aesthetic musing. |
| Share an ethical musing. |
| Tell of one thing which happened today that you are grateful for. |
| Tell of something you learned from another culture. |
| Tell a joke. |
| Improvise on the nearest available musical instrument. |
| What is your favorite book in the Bible? Why? |
| Evaluate the causes and effects of a major historical event. |
| Scripture excluded, name one theological classic which has influenced you. |
| Tell one lesson which you learned from a little child. |
| Describe one way in which you have changed over the past five years. |
| Do a push up. |
| Describe one way in which you would like to change over the next five years. |
| Using three or four works, analyze the essential characteristics of an artist you appreciate. |
| Give your reactions to the previous given response. |
| Say one sentence in a foreign language. |
| Give your opinion of the OJ media circus. For additional challenge, try to do so without using any four letter words. |
| Tell where your mind has most recently wandered. |
| Name one TV commercial even more generic than this game. |
| You're off the hook. You don't have to do anything now. |
| Use words to paint a picture. |
| Share one religious experience in the past year. |
| Describe a small personal possession which holds no emotional significance to you. |
| Tell of one time when you found a big treasure hidden in a small package. |
| Describe one attribute of a character whom you admire. |
| What is your favorite food? |
| Share one thing about yourself which you wish others understood. |
| Insert this card in the middle of the stack. |
| Shuffle the stack of cards. |
| Sing a song you like. |
| Tell of one thing in your life which is important and which you take too seriously not to take lightly. |
| Describe one moment when you knew that somebody loved you. |
| Lose a turn. |
| Describe one facet of virtue which you have thought about and try to live. |
| Share one thought about time as viewed by different individuals and cultures. |
| Write your own card, using one of the blank cards provided. |
| Share one of the things you are living for. |
| What do you fear? |
| Flip a friend over your shoulder. |
| Tell your favorite joke. |
| Tell about your favorite website. |
| Imagine that you grew up speaking, not the language of the people around you, but one that you yourself formed. What would that language be like? |
| What do you value of the worlds you have visited? |
| If a fantasy author were to base his hero on you, what would that hero be like? |
| What failures haunt you? |
| What card do you wish was in this stack? Answer it. |
| What's your favorite Dilbert strip? |
| Think about how you have changed over the past five years. What have you lost? |
| Think about how you have changed over the past five years. What have you gained? |
| What do you have to be thankful for? |
| What struggle do you wish people to understand? |
| Tell about a person who has influenced you. |
| What is your dream pet? |
| What is your favorite musical instrument? |
| If you could shave one friend's head, who would it be? Why? |
| Would you rather play with a cat, dog, monkey, or dolphin? |
| Would you rather have no options in a choice, or have no options in a choice? |
| What is your favorite hymn? |
| Try not to think of a glowing pink bear jumping up and down on a pogo stick, making more craters on the moon. |
| What is your favorite artistic medium? |
| What sense would you most like to lose for a day? |
| If you could change places with any one person in history, for one day, who would it be? |
| Speak in the voice of a character from your favorite story. |
| What treasure in you are you afraid to share with others? |
| What was an embarrassing moment from your childhood? |
| What element of beauty would you like to share with others, of all that you have seen? |
| Move across the nearest secret passage. |
| What would you like to lecture on? |
| Put your socks on your ears. |
| What was your worst cooking experiment? |
| What is one way in which you are trying to mature? |
| What books are you reading? |
| What book would you most like to read, of those you don't? |
| What would you like to be better at? |
| Describe how you're feeling today... from the persepective of your favorite comic strip character. |
| If you could be one egg in a carton of twelve, which one would you be? |
| Which is different: a book of Derridadaist essays, or a slow-moving barge? |
| What is your favorite computer horror story? |
| See how long you can balance on your toes. |
| How can the rest of us better love you? |