Europe (parlour game from at least the 19th century; name 'Chinese Whispers' recorded in The Guardian, 1964)
Chinese Whispers
Also known as Telephone (USA/Canada), Broken Telephone, Russian Scandal (early UK name)
A message is whispered along a line; the final version is read out and compared to the original.
5+ playersAges 5+In or outCalmSmall spaceNo kit
The rules
How to play
1
Players sit or stand in a line.
2
The first player thinks of a phrase, the sillier the better, and whispers it once into the next player's ear.
3
That player whispers what they heard to the next, and so on down the line.
4
No repeats allowed.
5
The last player says the phrase out loud.
6
The first player then reveals the original phrase.
7
The group laughs at how much it changed.
8
Rotate the first and last positions and play again.
Keep it fair
No asking for repeats and no whispering too slowly or clearly on purpose, the rule is one natural whisper; that's what makes the game funny.
Good for building
listeningmemorycommunication
What you need
Nothing at all, just the kids.
More to play
