Tea kettle

Teekesselchen , also known as teapot , is a game in which a word with multiple meanings, i.e. a homonym or a polyseme , has to be guessed based on the definition of the meanings.

origin

The currently known earliest mention and description of this game can be found in The Book of a Hundred Games by Mary White, (1896), p. 117, under the English name Teapot .

regulate

Normally only be nouns used frequently but no proper names or foreign-language terms. Accordingly, handles (for the washing powder manufacturer and as part of the cup) or surfing (on the Internet and on the surfboard) would not be permitted.

Usually several of the players agree on such a term in secret, each taking on one of the meanings. Then, one after the other, individual statements about the respective meanings are made, whereby the term to be guessed is always replaced by the word teapot . The other players have to guess the term from the statements.

Examples:

“My kettle can shine.” - “My kettle can be eaten.” Solution: The pear as a lamp and as a fruit .

“ You can sit on my kettle .” - “ You can change money on my kettle .” Solution: The bank as furniture and as a credit institute .

Often two teams compete against each other, with the winner who has needed the least amount of information. A common variant is that the term is selected by the team to which the counselors do not belong, and then as many other players are told the term as it has meanings - the initiated must then paraphrase the term so skillfully that it can be used with as few clues as possible can be guessed by one's own team.

Rating

If two teams play against each other, the fewer explanations a team needs to guess, the more points are usually awarded. The type of explanation can be specified, for example that the color is described first, then the shape, etc. If no teams are formed, everyone except the game management can guess, and whoever guesses the term first receives one point and takes over the game management for the next round.

Web links

Wiktionary: Teekessel - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Lists of ambiguous words:

singenundspiele.de
familie-online.de
Small tea kettle ( Memento from May 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

^ Mary White: The Book of a Hundred Games. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York NY 1896, p. 117. Scan of the 8th edition under the new title The Book of Games. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York NY 1898, p. 129.

[1] Mary White: The Book of a Hundred Games. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York NY 1896, p. 117. Scan of the 8th edition under the new title The Book of Games. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York NY 1898, p. 129.