CURRICULUM VITAE: Exquisite Fruit

EXQUISITE FRUIT
(Trivia)

Eight or more players sit in a circle. Each starts with a piece of paper and writes an “answer” at the bottom. Papers are passed clockwise and players write the first three words of a question that would lead to the answer on the new paper; words are written in a series of rows with two words per row. Players fold the papers so that only the last written word is visible and pass papers clockwise. Players add two words the question on the new paper, fold the paper so only the last word is visible, and pass. The rotation of papers continues for a set number of passes, at which point the player writes the final word of the question. Players in turn unfold the papers and ask the questions to the player seated clockwise.

Exquisite Fruit came from a dream featuring Greg Pliska hosting a quiz show. The show featured a series of clue givers in soundproof isolation booths simultaneously offering 30-second clues leading to a target answer. The audio output from the booths was presented one at a time, for a few seconds each, in a random order, so the hope was that these audio segments could combine to form a solvable clue. The concept was interesting and I simplified it to an Exquisite Corpse variant. The game debuted at Jenny Gutbezahl’s house after Intercoastal Altercations event in 2008, with the name “The Greg Pliska Game.” Katherine Bryant suggested renaming the game “Exquisite Fruit,” which combined “Exquisite Corpse” and the question in the photo above, created in the first round of the game for Lance Nathan’s answer “Apricot.”

Update (August 2014): At an Exquisite Fruit game played at MaineCon, “Exquisite Fruit” was chosen as an answer phrase for one of the rounds. The resulting question turned out to be an entertaining meta-description of the game: WHAT PARTY GAME WRITING CLUES ARE WRITTEN BY PLAYERS WRITING REPETITIVE INFORMATION TO HILARITY?