state of the union: the game

Tonight is the State of the Union address, broadcast live on various channels at 9PM EST (#SOTU on twitter). I’m sure there are lots of serious ways to approach this hallowed speech, but I gotta admit, I loved John Parkinson’s “10 Things to Watch for in the State of the Union address” on ABC.com.

In case the speech itself isn’t enough fun for you, I thought I’d set out the rules to The State of the Union: The Game. It’s a game my brothers and I played last year. It’s easy, fun, and vegan-friendly.

Each person makes a list of 8 words he or she thinks the President is likely to use in the speech. You can pick phrases or single words, but you can’t pick words like “the” or “or.” Real words, people!

Each person compares their list with the other players’ lists. Similar to Scattegories, if more than one person has chosen a particular word or phrase, neither party gets credit for it. So if two people put “economy” on their list, neither of them get points for it, regardless of how many times Obama uses that word. (Also, if you picked questionable words–like “the” or “and”—the other players can decide you must eliminate those words from your list, and you don’t get to replace them.)

Then you watch the speech. Mark down every time a word or phrase on your list is spoken by the President in the text of the speech. At the end, the most points win. In the case of a tie, winners are determined by thumb wrestling.

This year, my words are:

(oh, wait, I won’t reveal that till later.)