Roll Play

I just discovered a game that's designed to get you talking. Not a general problem for me, but we're talking about conversations, not just yammering on and on about something that interests only half of those involved. The game is called ROLL PLAY created by Glen Alan Penrod in 1998, at least according to the site where I learned of the game. ROLL PLAY is billed as the game that gets you talking, or in my case, gets you writing. The gist of the game is to roll the dice and select from 800 different topics depending on the number rolled. There are hypothetical topics with questions like: What would you do if your best friend stole something from you. Description topics that ask such questions as: Describe someone your respect greatly. Opinion topics that ask: What is your opinion about fortune telling? Or what is your opinion on violence on TV? The game sounds intriguing especially if your goal is to encourage conversation among young people. A non-threatening way for a young person to express and develop his/her opinion without censure or giving a wrong answer. My first thought when learning about this game was how it could get me conversing with my teenage grandchildren who spend more times updating their FaceBook statuses on their phones than talking to me. In addition to talking with my grandkids, I immediately realized ROLL PLAY could be transferred to writing prompts. What if I don't know my heroine enough? I could ask her to describe her elementary school or tell me how she met her first crush. Or what if I can't come up with something for her and the dashing hero to talk about on their first date. Pick a card. Any card from the ROLL PLAY deck and maybe something will inspire me. What if he taught her the best way to fold a paper airplane? Or she taught him the fool proof way to throw pizza crust. The possibilities for the use of ROLL PLAY are endless. You could even create your own set of topics. How could you use something like ROLL PLAY in your writing or in your daily interactions? What would be your favorite topic? I like the hypothetical and opinion topics. It's a good way to get to know people, though maybe just as good as making enemies if you have strong opinions about a topic.