telephone (game)

The telephone game, also known as Chinese whispers, is a game often played by children at parties or in the playground in which a phrase or sentence is passed on from one player to another, but is subtly altered in transit.

How to play

As many players as possible line up such that they can whisper to their immediate neighbours but not hear any players further away. The player at the 'beginning' of the line thinks of a phrase (or, in the case of young children, is supplied one by an adult), and whispers it as quietly as possible to her/his neighbour. The neighbour then passes on the message to the next player to the best of his/her ability. The passing continues in this fashion until it reaches the player at the 'end' of the line, who calls out the message s/he received. If the game has been 'successful', the final message will bear little or no resemblance to the original, due to the cumulative effect of mistakes along the line. Often, however, the message does not reach the end of the line, due to someone accidentally speaking too loudly. Deliberately changing the phrase is often considered cheating, but if the starting phrase is badly picked, there may be disappointingly little natural change.

Purpose

The game has no objective, and no winner - the entertainment comes from comparing the original and final messages. Even if the line is not completed, the last few people to receive the message can compare this with the original, and some messages will be unrecognisable after only a few steps. From an educational point of view, the game requires good teamwork to co-ordinate a successful line, as well as teaching an important truth about how easily information can become corrupted by indirect communication. The game has also been used in schools to simulate the spread of gossip and its harmful effects.

Other Names

This game is also known in various parts of the world as broken telephone, whisper down the lane, gossip, stille post (German for "silent mail"), El telfon (Catalan for "the telephone") and telefono senza fili (Italian for "telephone without wires").

Telephone (Game)

How to play

Purpose

Other Names

See also