Boomer's Journal - Catching a phrase, a chameleon... and a pair of glasses

By Rachel Barduson

Scenes from our Fourth of July get together. Photos by Rachel Barduson

There’s something about the “board” games of Catch Phrase and Chameleon that have captured our family in a big way. We seem to pull them out every time we get together — no matter if it’s winter or summer.

We pulled them out again during our Fourth of July gathering, after a boat parade and between eating, swimming, floating and paddle boarding. We have definitely put a new twist on “lawn games.”

Catch Phrase is a fast-talking, fast-passing game where one team member gives clues to their team so that they can shout out the correct phrase shown on the disk. The disks contain a mix of single words and short phrases or names. Teams guess the right answer and pass the disk to the next player. However, in our family it isn’t that easy.

Here’s how our Catch Phrase game goes. In our family, now that there’s more than one version of the game available, we have to first debate on what version should be played. I have the original version, but my niece’s family brought the newer digital version. We soon realize that we have worn out my version because “the timer” doesn’t need batteries after all — instead, we have simply worn it out. We have to move on and go with the digital version.

Next, there is the question of setting up teams. We have 11 people in the circle. The only one who isn’t in the circle at this point is the one person who is trying to look obscure in a crowd where we all look alike because we are all related to each other. Without mentioning any names, let’s just call him Brian. We try to convince him that an even number would be best for the game and he needs to play. And besides, what else is he going to do? Excuses are dismissed. Discussion ensues. Laughter is abundant.

At this point, we are about 20 minutes into the game, yet we haven’t played “a round” at all. However, it is concluded that Brian will play.

More time passes as next we choose teams. We think we should have boys against the girls. That, until we realize it’s too lopsided and there is no way the boys could win on their own anyway. After all, each team needs fast talkers and teammates must not be caught holding the disk player when the timer goes off. Who’s better at that? A debate about all things begins. Finally, we decide to just number ourselves around the circle: 1 - 2, 1 - 2 — and so on and so on. The teams are ready.

The circle is set. The game is ready. Game on. We don’t get far. The timer on the buzzer will run a random length of time, up to 60 seconds — on purpose — so you never know just when your time will be up. Fast talking is a must.  As time is running out the “hand-off” always, every single time — becomes an issue. Is the one holding the disk when the buzzer goes off, but is handing it off to the next person, a point for the team that answered the phrase or not? Did they beat the buzzer? If the hand-off happens but the next team hasn’t had time to begin clues, does that mean their team is penalized? Or...who does the point go to? There is a debate. We won’t count that round. Laughter ensues. Pause. Start again. Repeat. Restart the game. Debate about the “hand-off.” We are at least 15 minutes into the game and neither team has advanced  on the playing board. So far, the game isn’t so much about faster talkers as it is about faster passers.

Things are going fine for team number 1. And then there’s team number 2 — you know, the one who has the “Brian” – the one who needs the cheater glasses. Every time the disk is handed off to Brian, the first phrase he says is “OH!” followed by...“I need my glasses” which are either firmly planted on his head, or he can’t find them, and pulls on his sunglasses instead. (As a side note - things just seem to go south for us “old guys” because of our cheater glasses. If you are of the age where you need cheater glasses, well – you just know what I’m talking about and each team has a “Brian”).

Before we know it, a chunk of time has passed. We haven’t had a winner or a loser — which is great because it doesn’t really matter — and everyone has had a good time. With a summer holiday such as this, now it is time to take a break, eat some more watermelon and take a dip in the water.

Scenes from our Fourth of July get together. Photos by Rachel Barduson

On this particular Fourth of July we turned another “situation” into a new water game.  We had paddleboards and floaties and as my niece stood up and began her journey gliding over the water, she lost her balance and took a quick jump into the lake. Her glasses flew off. Some of us saw the “jump” as it happened before us - in slow motion.  Immediately we had our entire crew looking for her glasses at the bottom of the lake, which has a bed of weeds (not bad – they are just there). The water is clear, but the weeds make finding and retrieving more of a challenge.

We are in a loose circle now, floating...and being told to try not to disturb the bottom of the lake because it clouds our view. Our heads are down and our noses are on the surface of the lake...looking for my niece’s glasses. This isn’t a pair of cheater glasses — this is the real thing. Of course, the exact place of the fall is discussed and debated. Let’s just say it’s Brian to the rescue as he borrows the neighbors goggles and finds the glasses — this after about 20 minutes of the rest of us thinking we knew exactly where those glasses landed.

Having too much fun at this point, it’s time to pull out another lawn game. This time it’s Chameleon, a new game we discovered about a year ago that is all about being a good liar with a good poker face. If you are the Chameleon, your mission is to blend in with the other players and pretend to know what the secret word is, yet try to figure out what the secret word might be.

The key is to be a good liar and hope your facial expressions don’t give you away. I learned that I am a terrible liar and have no poker face at all. Once again, in our family, we didn’t even keep score. We were laughing and having too much fun just trying to expose the Chameleon.

Before we know it, time has passed, and it’s time to eat again. The food never really is put away inside the house — it’s just there for the taking.

By the end of the day the watermelon is gone and the roasted marshmallows and S’mores have been consumed. The campfire survives the rain. The thunderstorm and lightning bring us inside and we begin Charades. Funny, when we sit down inside the house we realize our position around the circle is exactly the same as when we started out earlier with our original count off of teams — 1 - 2, 1 - 2 and so on. (I’d share how our Charades game went — but that is a whole other story — at least in our minds).

As we end our family gathering with sparklers (in the rain) and watch fireworks across the lake, we know we have celebrated a day of fun and love with what our family gatherings include. With all the games we played, whether in the water or on the lawn, we all came out winners because we were together. The memories we created will last a lifetime. And, when it was time to go home at the end of the evening, both Brian and my niece leave with their glasses firmly in place. Brian with his cheaters, and my niece with her real ones.