The
fortune-telling game of pre-teen girls in the 80s.
Oh, the hours whiled away
figuring out just who I'd marry, where we'd live, how many kids
we'd have, the kind of car I'd drive and so on. Strangely, this
game did not accurately predict that I would live in the South,
have one child and drive a Nissan Murano (navy) and work on the
Internet - oh well. They didn't have Nissan Muranos in 1983 - or
the Internet for that matter. BUT, even with its dubious
scientific creds, this is the greatest of girl games - M.A.S.H.
You remember the game. It stood for
Mansion, Apartment, Shack, and House and promised to unlock the secrets
of your future.
In case it's been a while since you
played, we'll supply the basic rules for you. One word of caution: there
may be regional differences in how the game was played. In comparing my
MASHing experience with a friend I was able to see some small regional
variations between her Alabama version of the game and the Texas version
I grew up with. Even so, the essence remains the same. And, if you are
feeling a little lost and need some definite direction, M.A.S.H. can set
you straight.
1. Write down five each of the
following: names, types of cars, colors, number of children, places, and
careers.
2. Then, one person starts drawing a
spiral on a piece of paper and the person whose fortune is being told
tells her when to stop. Then, you count across the spiral top to
bottom to get the magic number for the game.
3. Alright, now all you do is count
through your lists of items AND the letters M-A-S-H, eliminating the
ones that you land on with your magic number. The last one left in
each group is your winner. Keep counting through until you have
only your last choice in each category left - et viola - your future.
The
fortune-telling game of pre-teen girls in the 80s.
