Pyramid (chat, con)

Players come up with categories to be used in a game based on the “Winner's Circle” segment of the Pyramid game show. The game involves a clue giver trying to convey a category to a player or players by presenting a list of items that belong to the category. The Guessing player(s) try to guess the category. Traditional formats for categories include: Things that (verb), Things that are (adjective), Parts of an (object), What a (person or object) would say, and Why you (do something). For example, given the category “Things that make tracks,” the clue giver might use the clues DEER, TANKS, SOME CD-DRIVES.

In the con version players write the categories on cards, usually three to a card. Each player gets a turn to draw a card and clue all three categories one by one. In the chat version only one category per round is sent to the clue giver by private message. Elaborate categories involving puns, wordplay, blending of pop culture references, and even null sets are popular among NPL Pyramid players.

“Parts of an elephant whose heart has been replaced by a broom” was a category written by Lunch Boy for an after-hours Pyramid game at the 2000 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. The absurdism was well received and the category has gained iconic status by inspiring many variations and parodies in Pyramid games since then.