Game Poem 2: All The Color Has Gone
Find two coins, and a few friends to play with. Sit with your other players. The person wearing the brightest color begins by naming a place that they have a strong memory of. The starting player picks up one of the coins, and hands the other coin to one of the other players. The starting player begins by noting their memory, only briefly, and then describing the place in which it took place. They may not use any color words in their description. After a minute or so, the player with the other coin waits for the starting player to note a particular thing in their description, lets them finish their current sentence, and then holds up the coin, asking “What color was that?” Both players then flip their coins.
If the two coins do not match, the starting player must pause, blink, take on a confused look, and say, “I don’t know.” If the two coins match, the starting player may answer with one or two color words, blink, take a deep breath, and then hand their coin to a player who has not yet asked for a color. The player who just asked “What color was that?” now begins describing their memory and place, as the starting player did, until the person with the other coin stops them again, and asks for a color. Coins are flipped again, they respond again as above, and then the describer passes their coin to someone who has not yet asked for a color. This is repeated until everyone has done this once.
After every player has had a turn describing their place, with or without a color, the two players who hold the coins flip them one more time, and then place them in the center.
If the coins match, a single color has returned to those who answered “I don’t know” to the question about their description. Each of those players take a turn describing one element of their place that they now remember having a vivid, brilliant color, using only a sentence or two. After every player has had the chance to name a color, pause for a moment, then, beginning with the starting player, go around and have each player speak their color aloud, in turn.
If the coins do not match, color has fled from those who were able to recall one color in their description. Each of those players take a turn describing how the colored item in their place fades, using only a sentence or two. After every player has experienced the loss of color, pause for a moment, then, beginning with the starting player, go around and have each player in turn speak silently, in their mind, the color that they know should have been in their place.
Remember your color, and hold it in your mind until the next time you play. Perhaps then you can remember another.