Telegrams

Telegrams were the first electrical form of communications, using Morse code. Because the cost was based on the number of words in the message, they were often written in abbreviated sentences. There were usually less than six words per sentence with all un-necessary words left out. There was also no punctuation and no numbers. The word "STOP" was used to end a sentence, and words were written in capital letters.

Age: Adults and older children

No. of players: 2 or more (suits large groups)

Equipment: Pen/pencil and paper per player

Time: 10 minutes+

Aim: To create a telegram-style message from a given series of letters.

1. Players are given a series of 12 to 15 random letters. Each player must create a message using these letters (in order) as the initial letters of the words. Alternatively, players can use the letters from a 10-15 letter word, such as PREJUDICIAL or INCOMMUNICABLE.

Some other words that you could use include:

ATMOSPHERICS, BOUGAINVILLEA, CHARITABLE, DISCOMPOSURE, ENTREPRENEUR, FAMILIARITY, GLADIATORIAL, HYDROGENATED, JOCULARITY, KALEIDOSCOPE, LARYNGITIS, MAYONNAISE, NUTRITIOUS, OBSTREPEROUS, QUATERNARY, RENDEZVOUS, SETTLEMENT, TELEPHONIST, UNSOPHISTICATED, VERSATILITY, WHATSOEVER, XYLOPHONE, YARDSTICK, ZOROASTRIAN.

(You could use a dictionary to find other suitable words. Some words using difficult letters [Z, Q, Y, X] may be less than 10 letters long.)

2. For example, IRREDEEMABLE could be:

IMMEDIATE REDUCTION REGARDING EXCESS DEBT STOP EVERY EFFORT MINIMISE ALL BUYING STOP LESS EXPENSES STOP

Or, the random letters SBOIBBLHDNIQ could become:

SEND BOOK ON INSECTS STOP BITTEN BY LARGE HAIRY SPIDER STOP HOPE DEATH NOT IMMINENT STOP QUENTIN

3. There are no winners or losers in this game. Just have fun!

Variations: Use words related to special occasions such as Christmas (Frankincense or BabyInAManger), Easter (Resurrection or EasterEggHunt) or Valentines Day (ValentinesDay or OneDozenRoses).

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