Mad Libs
Mad Libs (from ad lib, a spontaneous improvisation) is a phrasal template word game where one player prompts another for a list of words to substitute for blanks in a story, usually with funny results. The game is especially popular with American children and is frequently played as a party game or as a pastime.
Mad Libs was invented in 1953[1] by Leonard Stern[2][3][4] and Roger Price, who published the first Mad Libs book themselves in 1958. It resembles the earlier games[5] of Consequences and Exquisite Corpse. Mad Libs books are still published by Price Stern Sloan, an imprint of Penguin Group, cofounded by Price and Stern.
Contents |
[edit] Format
Mad Libs consist of a book that has a short story on each page with many key words replaced with blanks. Beneath each blank is specified a lexical or other category, such as "noun", "verb", "place", or "part of the body".[6] One player asks the other players, in turn, to contribute some word for the specified type for each blank, but without revealing the context for that word. Finally, the completed story is read aloud. The result is usually comic, surreal and somewhat nonsensical.
Stern and Price's original Mad Libs book gives the following sentence as an example:[7]
"_____________! he said ________ as he jumped into his convertible exclamation adverb ______ and drove off with his __________ wife." noun adjective
After completion, they demonstrate that the sentence might read:
"Ouch! he said stupidly as he jumped into his convertible
cat and drove off with his brave wife."
[edit] Books
- The Original Mad Libs 1 (Mad Libs) - ISBN 0-8431-0055-9
- Cool Mad Libs (Mad Libs) - ISBN 0-8431-7660-1
- Mad Mad MadLibs) - ISBN 0-8431-7441-2
- Worst Case Scenario Mad Libs (Mad Libs) - ISBN 0-8431-0298-5
- Napoleon Dynamite Mad Libs (Mad Libs) - ISBN 0-8431-2011-8
- Goofy Mad Libs (Mad Libs) - ISBN 0-8431-0059-1
- Vacation Fun Mad Libs (Mad Libs) - ISBN 0-8431-1921-7
- Off-The-Wall Mad Libs (Mad Libs) - ISBN 0-8431-0108-3
- Mama's Got A Brand New (Diaper) Bag! (Adult Mad Libs) - ISBN 1-59609-202-5
- Dysfunctional Family Therapy (Mad Libs) - ISBN 1-59609-181-9
- Night of the Living Mad Libs (Mad Libs)-ISBN 0-590-48468-0
- Once Upon A Mad Libs Junior (Mad Libs Junior) - ISBN 0-8431-0768-5
- Mad Libs 40th Anniversary Edition (Mad Libs) - ISBN 0-8431-7823-X
- Super Silly Mad Libs Junior (Mad Libs Junior) - ISBN 0-8431-0758-8
- Sports Star Mad Libs Junior (Mad Libs Junior) - ISBN 0-8431-0770-7
- School Rules! Mad Libs Junior (Mad Libs Junior) - ISBN 0-8431-0853-3
- Bachlorette Bash (Mad Libs) - ISBN 1-59609-178-9
- Animals, Animals, Animals! Mad Libs Junior (Mad Libs Junior) - ISBN 0-8431-0951-3
- Keepers and Losers Mad Libs (Mad Libs) - ISBN 1-59609-150-9
- Mad Libs from Outer Space (Mad Libs) - ISBN 0-8431-2443-1
- Camp Daze Mad Libs (Mad Libs) - ISBN 0-8431-2239-0
- Mad Libs for President (Mad Libs) - ISBN 0-439-69679-8
- Scooby-Doo Halloween Mad Libs Hanna-Barbera
- The Powerpuff Girls Mad Libs - ISBN 0-8431-7738-1
- Family Guy Mad Libs
- American Dad Mad Libs
- Mad Libs on the Road
- Star Wars Mad Libs - ISBN 0-8431-3271-X
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars Mad Libs - ISBN 0-8431-3357-0
- Operation(TM) Mad Libs - ISBN 0-8431-2090-8
- Primetime Mad Libs
- Night of the Living Mad Libs
- Kid Libs Mad Libs
- Grab Bag Mad Libs
- Indiana Jones Mad Libs
- Club Penguin Mad Libs
- How To Train Your Dragon Mad Libs
- Fear Factor Mad Libs - ISBN 0-8431-0664-6
- Fear Factor Mad Libs: Ultimate Grossout! - ISBN 0-8431-1157-7
- The Penguins of Madagascar Mad Libs - ISBN 0-8431-9816-8
[edit] Other media
A game show called Mad Libs, with some connections to the game, aired on the Disney Channel in 1998 and 1999.
Several imitations of Mad Libs have been created, most of them on the Internet. Imitation Mad Libs are sometimes used in educational settings to help teach the parts of speech.[6][8]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "As Mad Libs turn 50, play an exclusive game - books - Humor - TODAY.com". Today.msnbc.msn.com. 2008-04-16. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/24160656#.Tx1pFaUS01I. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
- ^ Duralde, Alonso (2012-01-12). "Review: 'Contraband' Operates by the Numbers, Loses Count". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/12/idUS252047225720120112. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
- ^ "A look back at 2011’s notable departures - Boston.com". Bostonglobe.com. 2011-12-30. http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2012/01/01/look-back-notable-departures/Kooa7d3RCEisf9oeJdbr4M/story.html. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
- ^ "Leonard B. Stern, Creator of Mad Libs, Dies at 88". The New York Times. June 9, 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/10/arts/television/leonard-b-stern-creator-of-mad-libs-dies-at-88.html.
- ^ Weekend Edition Saturday (2007-02-24). "'Revelations' About a Precursor to 'Mad Libs'". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7584979. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
- ^ a b "Mad Libs and Dangling Participles – SchoolBook". Nytimes.com. 2012-01-09. http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2012/01/09/mad-libs-and-dangling-participles/. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
- ^ Price, Roger; Leonard Stern (1974). The Original Mad Libs 1. Price Stern Sloan. p. 3. ISBN 9780843100556.
- ^ "Schools Scramble to Prepare Students". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Oct 7, 2002. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZrUaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=80EEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3172,5992183&dq=mad-libs&hl=en. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
