Gibberish Dictionary

Arrange all participants in a large circle. Ideally you'll be working with an odd numbered group of people, so step in to participate yourself as the facilitator if working with an even number of people or stay out of the exercise if your group is comprised already of an odd number. 

Once you’re situated, here’s how it goes:

Player One turns to the person on their right and tosses out a gibberish word. This can be any word you want. For example, “flarpenblat,” would work well. No actual words! Players are inventing language here.

Once a made-up word has been offered the player to the right will translate it, to the best of their ability, into plain English. Remember, there are no wrong answers and players should allow their imagination to run wild. For example, “flarpenblat” might mean “eager to meet new challenges,” or "someone who prefers pants to shorts," or "a breakfast dish that doesn't involve eggs." Any of those definitions would be great.

No using the same definition for any two gibberish words. Encourage both the word creator and translator to add some physicality or emotional flavor to their contributions.

After a translation has been provided, the next person in the circle moving counter clockwise, or to the right, offers up a freshly invented gibberish word while the person to their right translates it. The process repeats, moving around the circle. 

Run through the circle at least twice. Provided you are working with an odd number of participants that should result in everyone getting a turn to both make up a gibberish word and to translate one.

Variations 

• Double Duty: Instead of just translating, the translator in each round also invents the next gibberish word. So, after you reinterpret “schmekadoo” as “an umbrella for ducks,” you immediately shoot your neighbor another strange word: maybe “gribnax” or “woojoop.”

• Language Origins: Level up your explanations by tacking on an imaginary origin of your translation. For example, after translating “barbadoo” to “the feeling of finding extra fries at the bottom of the bag,” you might add, “from the ancient Marshmallowian dialect.” Note, the origin must always be of a fictional culture or language, never an existing one. This little detail unlocks even more creativity and gives everyone a chance to show off their goofy side.

• Use In A Sentence: This variation ups the number of people involved with each gibberish word. One player invents a word, the next translates it and then the next person in the circle, moving counter-clockwise must use the made up word in a sentence. For example, "Even though I own a number of finely crafted schmekadoos, no one ever asks to borrow one." NOTE: With this variation the exercise works better with an even number of players. Don't stress it too much, if you find the same players are fulfilling the same roles the second time arounds the circle, just change everyone's order so there is a variance in players' tasks.

• Play Out A Conversation: This adds a 4th player to the mix. The first player makes up a word, the second translates it, the third uses it in a sentence and the fourth responds to that sentence conversationally. Allow the third and fourth players to continue a conversation related to the made up word for 30 to 60 seconds befoire moving on.