Count to 20

The Funniest, Simplest Game to Play Before Dinner:

So, this week, the boys and I went to dinner with our friend Grace, and while we waited for our food, we played the funniest simple game. As a group, you try to count to 20, and anyone can call out each number, but two people can’t say the number at the same time. So, for example, in our game, Toby said, “one,” and then we all looked around nervously until Anton called out, “two!” and then I quickly said, “three” before anyone else did, and then Grace and Anton said, “four” at the same time, and we had to start over. Make sense?

We do this as a warmup exercise in our improv class, and it can be fascinating: you stumble and wobble forever, then something meshes—perhaps everyone closes their eyes, or breathes together, or moves closer—and, presto, you’re a beautiful synchronized counting machine.