Adolescent Games for Adults

Posted by beth on July 8, 2009

By all logical assumptions, the awkwardness of shady adolescent games like “Truth or Dare” and “Spin the Bottle” would only increase with age. As adults, we would ask even more probing questions, come up with stronger dares and raise the stakes on “Spin the Bottle.” At the very least, we’d add a drinking game aspect to each. But maybe because my friends and I are not immature college students, or maybe because we’re Christians, or maybe because we’re weirder than most people, we decided the other night to give “Truth or Dare” quite the opposite adjustment.

When LaurenJosh, WillyMac, JBeau and I left the fairgrounds post-fireworks the other night, the traffic was just awful. We decided to wait it out rather than fight with it, so we moseyed across the street to the gas station where we got a few beverages, and then we went back to sit in the car for an hour and a half.

Someone (probably me) suggested that we play “Truth or Dare,” to which I think one of the guys replied, “Uhhh…that would be awkward.” And thus, “Non-Awkward Truth or Dare” was born. Determined to keep it clean and non-awkward, we asked the tamest questions and required the easiest dares ever in the history of the game. Here is a small sample of the truths and dares that were demanded:

• Truth: What is your favorite kind of sandwich?
• Truth: What’s something that annoys you that most people don’t know about?
• Dare: I dare you to sanitize your hands with this hand sanitizer.
• Truth: What’s your favorite place to go?
• Dare (to me): I dare you to sing that color song from Les Miserables.

Honestly, y’all, I think it was the most fun I’ve had playing “Truth or Dare” ever, including that time my friend Carrie gave a pair of Bert and Ernie slippers a lap dance.

Well, this opened up a whole new world of possibilities. When we got out of the parking lot, I suggested that we go back to Jon’s house and play “Spin the Bottle,” only instead of kissing, we’d just say nice things about each other. My friend Adam later suggested that we also give high fives following the compliments. YES. I like it.

So what else could we de-awkwardize? My immediate thought is a version of “7 Minutes in Heaven” where instead of making out, you just go into a closet and talk about your day. Ironically, all of these de-awkwardizations somehow wind up making the game slightly more akward. Huh.

Ooo!! What’s say we have a non-awkward party where we play them all?! We need more ideas, though, people! Let’s put on those thinking caps and get started!