Noisy Neighbors

 

Noisy Neighbors - Can you hear what is going on?

 

We have lived in our home almost 20 years and have had the same neighbors on our south side the whole time. These neighbors have had countless LOUD parties over the years. Parties that have continued into the wee hours of the morning. I honestly do not understand how people with close neighbors on all sides can feel that that is OK. In addition, the man across the street and over one house has spent much of his life in the garage, with the door open, watching TV. I can tell you what his favorite TV shows are and exactly when they come on. How about you? Do you have noisy neighbors?

Noisy Neighbors is a game about just that - noises that you hear coming from your neighbor's place. The game comes with a large board (15" x 10") that has a different room image on each side. This is not your typical game board. It will actually be held up between the players to block the view, so that only the noises come across. There is a white plastic holder (see below) that slips onto the bottom of the board so that it can be held up. You will be guessing what is going on at your neighbors' by hearing only.

The rest of the game consist of  game cards. On each card is listed an object or activity (see the cards above). Others include doing push-ups, the beach, ordering at a drive-thru, bowling, fighting zombies, channel surfing, drinking soda, singing in the shower, and pulling a tooth. There are 224 cards in all.

Object:

Correctly guess the most cards as your teammates act them out on the other side of the wall.

Set up:

Unfold the wall board and insert the white handle at the bottom. Divide players into two teams. Shuffle and place the cards in a face-down pile nearby. The team whose player has the thinnest walls at home goes first. You will also need a timer. A cell phone is a handy timer.

Play:

People on a team will take turns being the noisy neighbor and the guesser. The player who is the Noisy Neighbor for the round will draw one card at a time from the pile. A timer will be set for 2 minutes and the guesser from the other team will guess as many cards as he can in 2 minutes. As soon as the guesser correctly guesses a clue, the Noisy Neighbor says "YES!" and draws another card to act out. Keep going until the 2 minutes are up. Here are the things you are allowed to do:

• Mumble to imitate speaking, but no talking.
• Hum
• Use any available prop (keys, zipper on your jacket, etc.)
• Move around to act out the clue

In addition, the guesser gets to use each of these ONCE per round:

• Peephole - If the guesser is having trouble and feels that seeing what is going on would help, he can call out "Peephole!". The guesser can then look over the top of the dividing board to watch, for that clue only.
• Passing - If the guesser just can't figure something out, he can call out "Pass" and the Noisy Neighbor will move on to the next card.

Keep playing until the 2 minutes are up. Record the number of cards that the Noisy Neighbor won for his team. Keep playing until each player has had a chance to be the Noisy Neighbor and the Guesser. Team with the highest score wins. 

Try this:

• Flip through the cards before you start and take out any that you feel will be inappropriate for the players.
• Come to the table with props you think might come in handy. Just don't let the other players see them until teams are chosen and the board goes up.
  
• Play remotely. You hold up the divider. When it is the other person's turn, pick a card and hold it up to the screen but don't look at it yourself.
• On harder clues, act out a scene. For "Getting a Speeding Ticket" start with a revving engine or zooming car sound. Follow that with sounds of a siren and footsteps, then mumbling, followed by, oh I don't know, maybe crying (depending on how many tickets you've already had).
  

In the box: 1 room divider board, 1 handle, 224 cards