Utter Nonsense is a terrific, light-hearted game that is great fun, especially when played by creative people like your radio show!
How to Play Utter Nonsense
In the board game, each player gets a stack of cards. Each card contains a sentence that is unexpected and a bit outrageous. However, it’s also vague enough to leave room for creative interpretation.
Here are some examples of some of the sentences:
- I went viral, not the good kind. The cold kind.
- History class seems like it goes on forever.
- New parent fact: Your kid will poop in the bathtub.
- Happiness is finding the Apple TV remote.
After drawing a card, the host chooses a voice or accent for the player to act out the sentence and expand on it.
For example, they could assign a celebrity impression like Donald Trump, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Yoda.
Or they might ask you to do it in an accent like Australian, German, or someone from Alabama.
Another option is to pick an emotion, like someone being afraid, laughing hysterically, or angry.
Or pick a type of person, such as a Cowboy, Valley Girl, or Construction Foreman.
Maybe you want to have it performed as if you were in the middle of an activity like having sex, running a marathon, or being drunk.
Or how about using a different vocal range, such as screaming at the top of your lungs, talking out the side of your mouth, or whispering?
Tips and Best Practices
- This game is best for team shows with developed improv skills. Imagine a cohost going on a rant about “chasing people through the parking lot with a grocery cart” in the voice of Homer Simpson. How can that not be fun?
- Playing this with listeners is possible but will usually deliver weaker results. Listeners and callers are not as naturally talented to pull it off.
- There are two versions of the board game, regular and adult. Choose the one that best fits your brand, but you might want to get a copy of both games to mix and match the scenarios.
- The game will provide as much content as you’ll need, but if you want to make your own, it’s easy to search for famous sayings, quotations, or movie quotes to use as prompts.
Conclusion
Utter Nonsense is a good game to put in your rotation of games you bring out on occasion. It’s not a daily game; even playing once a week may be too much, but it is fun and engaging once in a while.
