Talk:Psychiatrist (game)

So is this a prank game where you always agree that you'll pretend to be the person on your left, or is the person who wrote this just amused at the idea that some victims will take it more seriously? --McGeddon 12:51, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

No this isn't fake. I've actually played before. The trick is that you can only really play it once as the "psychiatrist" (because you know the trick once you're done). The patients are not really playing the game (since they already know the secret), and get their jollies from laughing at the person playing psychiatrist. Wikipedia brown 20:33, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

I didn't ask if it was fake. Is the rule that you always agree to pretend to be on the person on your left? "One common affliction used that often confounds the psychiatrist" suggests that it can also be played with whatever afflictions you can think of, and that "person on your left" is just a good one to trick people with, but the rest of the article implies that it's a one-joke prank game. Should the "common affliction" sentence be removed? --McGeddon 00:18, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

Of course, the people playing the patients can decide on any malady they choose, for example that they are their favorite actor. However, this malady is the one I first played with, and it is recommended (by me) as one that will make the game more fun. I'm not sure if there's a write-up on this game anywhere for the "official" rules (since it's a party game not copyrighted by any particular corporation), but feel free to scour the web for them. In any case, I would not have a problem with removal of the "common affliction" sentence. Wikipedia brown 07:01, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks - heavy emphasis on your first game and favourite affliction is, of course, original research. So this is really just twenty questions, but playable by a group and having a mental illness theme? I'll see if I can dig anything else up. --McGeddon 10:15, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Okay, I've found a reasonable source now that I know what sorts of phrases I should be searching Google for. If the game you played was different, find a counter-source and write it up appropriately. --McGeddon 10:44, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

I apologize - I didn't realize that the second version had been written up before. Since this was the only version I had ever played, and it was common at my college and others I visited, what type of source would it take to be included in Wikipedia? Surely the fact that I played the game should count for something.Roscius 01:08, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Found a new source. I'm going to rewrite accordingly. Roscius 23:47, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes/No

attempts to diagnose the collective illness by asking indirect yes/no questions to each patient in turn

("How would you feel if I turned the lights out?" rather than "Is your illness related to light?").

The article seems to contradict itself here, and the referenced website with a version of the rules doesn't specifically state whether questions must be yes/no. Is it simply a practice to avoid foils "What is your name/deviation/phobia?" or is "How would you feel if I turned out the lights out?" a valid stem J-Kama-Ka-C 23:09, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Mea culpa, this was careless merging - the original Wikipedia write-up mentioned yes/no questions. Until someone can provide another source, I've removed the "yes/no" element of the article. --McGeddon 10:25, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Gimmick variant

Before the game starts, the patients must agree on a common affliction, such as being afraid of the dark, or believing themselves to be a particular film star.

When my sixth-grade class played it, the agreed-upon rule for answering was more like a gimmick. It could be believing oneself to be a particular person or thing, but it could also be a gimmick such as: 1) If the teacher is touching his glasses with his hand, we tell the truth; if not, we lie, or 2) if the psychiatrist's question ends in a letter from A to K, we tell the truth; if L to Z, we lie. We weren't limited to yes/no questions or answers. In this form I've also heard the game called "Name the gimmick." Has anyone seen this variant in a source somewhere? Troiscoins (talk) 17:09, 25 November 2009 (UTC)