Questions (game)
Encyclopedia
Questions is a game
that is played by participants maintaining a dialogue of asking questions back and forth for as long as possible, without making any declarative statements. Play begins when the first player serves
by asking a question (often "Would you like to play questions?"). The second player must respond to the question with another question (e.g. "How do you play that?"). Each player must quickly continue the conversation by using only questions. Hesitation, statements, or non sequiturs are not allowed, and cause players to foul
. The game is usually played by two players, although multiplayer variants exist.
. Fouls can be called for:
When a foul is called on a player, his opponent is awarded one point. First player to get three points wins a game. Matches are played to best out of three games.
In one multiplayer variant, the game is played with two lines facing each other. The two opponents at the heads of the lines play each other and go to the back of the line (or the other line) when they foul. Scoring can be however the players like.
In another multiplayer variant, players are simply removed from the round for a foul.
, where a specific setting is established and players are replaced when they foul. The rules for determining a foul are not so strict in this version of the game, since the point is to entertain the audience rather than determine who is the best player. It is left to the judgment of the host, who "buzzes out" a player who fouls, with the purpose of keeping the game fast-paced and funny. (The host typically buzzes out a player for statement, hesitation, or "cracking up" with laughter.) As with the show's other games, it is played for an unspecified length of time; at the end of the game, the host arbitrarily chooses a "winner," who receives an arbitrary number of meaningless "points."
play, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
and in an abridged form in the 1990 film adaptation of the same. The following is an excerpt from the play:
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
that is played by participants maintaining a dialogue of asking questions back and forth for as long as possible, without making any declarative statements. Play begins when the first player serves
Serve (tennis)
A serve in tennis is a shot to start a point. A player begins a serve by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it into the diagonally opposite backside box without being stopped by the net. The ball can only touch the net on a return and will be considered good if it falls on the opposite side...
by asking a question (often "Would you like to play questions?"). The second player must respond to the question with another question (e.g. "How do you play that?"). Each player must quickly continue the conversation by using only questions. Hesitation, statements, or non sequiturs are not allowed, and cause players to foul
Foul
-In sports:*Foul , an unfair or illegal sports act, including:**Foul , in football , an unfair act by a player as deemed by the referee...
. The game is usually played by two players, although multiplayer variants exist.
Rules
Scoring is done by foulFoul
-In sports:*Foul , an unfair or illegal sports act, including:**Foul , in football , an unfair act by a player as deemed by the referee...
. Fouls can be called for:
- statement: player fails to reply with a question
- hesitation: player takes too long to reply or grunts or makes a false start
- repetition: player asks questions identical to or synonymous with one already asked this game (not match)
- rhetoricRhetorical questionA rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question posed for its persuasive effect without the expectation of a reply. Rhetorical questions encourage the listener to think about what the answer to the question must be. When a speaker states, "How much longer must our people...
: player asks a rhetorical question - non sequiturNon sequitur (logic)Non sequitur , in formal logic, is an argument in which its conclusion does not follow from its premises. In a non sequitur, the conclusion could be either true or false, but the argument is fallacious because there is a disconnection between the premise and the conclusion. All formal fallacies...
: player responds with an unrelated question
When a foul is called on a player, his opponent is awarded one point. First player to get three points wins a game. Matches are played to best out of three games.
In one multiplayer variant, the game is played with two lines facing each other. The two opponents at the heads of the lines play each other and go to the back of the line (or the other line) when they foul. Scoring can be however the players like.
In another multiplayer variant, players are simply removed from the round for a foul.
Whose Line is it Anyway?
A variation is also played on the show Whose Line is it Anyway?Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway? is a short-form improvisational comedy TV show. Originally a British radio programme, it moved to television in 1988 as a series made for the UK's Channel 4, for a 10 series run...
, where a specific setting is established and players are replaced when they foul. The rules for determining a foul are not so strict in this version of the game, since the point is to entertain the audience rather than determine who is the best player. It is left to the judgment of the host, who "buzzes out" a player who fouls, with the purpose of keeping the game fast-paced and funny. (The host typically buzzes out a player for statement, hesitation, or "cracking up" with laughter.) As with the show's other games, it is played for an unspecified length of time; at the end of the game, the host arbitrarily chooses a "winner," who receives an arbitrary number of meaningless "points."
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
The game of Questions is featured prominently in the Tom StoppardTom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
play, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is an absurdist, existentialist tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, first staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet, the courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern...
and in an abridged form in the 1990 film adaptation of the same. The following is an excerpt from the play: