Example, starting with "money":
pound
punch
fight
resistance
defence
attack
fortress
sumo
maze
Now, these aren't free associations; there is a pattern to be followed.
First, you go "down" and by that I mean that you "zoom in" and select a part or a subcategory of the previous word. There are thousands and thousands ways to define this, but to give an example let's say the word is "body", you might choose "arm". Try not to "zoom in" ridiculously far: If someone says "the universe", continuing with "atom" is discouraged.
Then, you go "sideways", and this is more like free association. Try avoiding zooming in/out as much as you can: If someone says "cat", continuing with "paw" is questionable. However, if you continue with "dog", you stay on the same level - going "sideways".
Then, you go "up". This is the opposite of "down" (gasp!)... If the word is "South America" you might continue with "Earth". If it's "car", you could go with "machine", and if it's "machine" you could continue with "factory". If it's "wheel", you can pick anything that has wheels - pick your favorite.
Be creative! Ambiguous words are encouraged.
Bending words is allowed.
Put a number before your word, so we can easily keep track of where we are and what direction to go in.
1.down
2.sideways
3.up
4.sideways
5.down
6.sideways
7.up
8.sideways
9.down
etc...
the order is always the same. down, sideways, up, sideways - repeat.
Include a short motivation. We all think differently most of the time and some explaining couldn't hurt.
Example, starting with "money":
1.pound - a currency, you could say a sub-category of "money" (down)
2.punch - similar to "pound" (sideways)
3.fight - a fight may consist of many punches. (up)
4.resistance - fighting/resisting are similar (sideways)
5.defence - defence is a type of resistance (down)
6.attack - opposite of defence (sideways)
7.fortress - attacking is a part of (armagetron) fortress (up)
8.sumo - another game mode in the same game (sideways)
9.maze - you might maze if you're playing sumo (down)
As some of you have noticed, my example isn't perfect. But I don't expect this to go perfectly either... I just think it'll be fun to see where we'll end up. If we can go from money to fortress in 7 steps, just imagine where we'll be after 40
Respect each other. There's no need to tell anyone they're stupid, even if you really think they are. If someone accidentally breaks a rule or guideline you can let them know nicely.If a given word is very hard to continue from, and it has been 72 hours (3 full days), you may pick a new word and start from 0. (Then I guess you could say the guy with the unanswered word wins). Repeating words within the same round is not allowed.
Let's start with...
0.Armagetron Advanced
