Thursday, November 1, 2007
I promised to explain Carnelli, the game I sat in on at the gathering in Chicago. Way back in the late '70s and early '80s I was a member of Washington Metropolitan Mensa (WMW), where the game was invented, and I knew the folks who invented it. I've seen the game played as it was MEANT to be played.
What I saw in Chicago was a watered-down ghost (Ahah! I've got my costume for next year. I'll go as a mixed metaphore!) of the real Carnelli. They allowed only straight word connections. Each player had to use a word from the previous title. That was the only link allowed. What a disappointment. I'm beginning to think that the dumbing-down of America is spreading even into Mensa.
Anyway, Jan and Jim's explanation of the real game is better than anything I could offer. See http://www.mwm.org/carnelli.html. [Link is broken. See edit below.] Please do go look. Print it off. Play it sometime. Even two can play. Heck, even ONE can play! (For a game of solitaire, try writing an interesting chain, like the example at the bottom of the page. Note that the example is a circle - the last title links to the first.)
It's better than Charades, honest.
Much later (02/01/2016) edit: The MWM (Washington Metropolitan Mensa) link above is kaput. Washington Mensa in general seems to have gone downhill. However, Carnelli is now on Wikipedia, and it's pretty much the rules I remember, sick puns and all. New link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnelli
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