AboutJoyce D Expertise Religious Educator (former director for six years, lifelong Unitarian Universalist - "UU"). I`m familiar with UU history & resources on the internet. I belong to many UU forums, have attended many congregations, and have been a delegate at the UU General Assembly.
Expert: Joyce D Date: 1/12/2005 Subject: Dear Joyce D. Many years...
Question Dear Joyce D. Many years ago I was a volunteer driver at a UU church and took teenagers to youth conferences where they played a game called Silent Football. I was never able to learn the rules for this game and have long ago lost touch with the teens who might remember what the rules might be. Do you possibly have this information or can you give me an idea of where to find it?
I realize this is a somewhat unusual query, but I thought I'd give it a try since finding this website. Thank you very much. And if you can't help, simply thank you for volunteering to answer questions--it's such a UU kind of thing to do!
Answer Hi Robin,
I heard of it, but I confess that it's been a while since I've been a youth advisor, so I didn't know. But I'm an internet search whiz, so here are some links I found. (You'll have to have them sent to your email software where the links may become clickable since this site doesn't make them clickable or else copy and paste them in another window.):
One site commented on the game, "It was played in a circle , on the floor and there were rules that you had to follow like not using personal pronouns and you communicated mostly with signals and there was a dictator who could change the rules whenever he wanted…"
Another site said, "The first rule of Silent Football is that you're not supposed to talk about it."
FINALLY! I found it. "From talking to youth in other regions of the country, I have seen that while the basic concept of the game is the same, details of the rules can vary quite a bit. It may seem like a ridiculous amount to learn in order to play a game, but it's an awesome game, and once one person knows it, they can teach the others much faster. Learn it, play it, get creative.
The point: The point is to cooperatively move an invisible football between all the players, while simultaneously working to screw each other over. Trust me, it'll make sense once you've read the rest of this." Lots more at:
