How to Play Consequences on Paper

How do you play Consequences on paper?

Give every player a sheet of paper and a pencil. The host reads one story prompt; everyone writes one short answer, folds the paper to hide it and passes it to the right. Repeat with the same prompt order on every sheet. After the final pass, unfold the papers and read the mixed-up stories. No one wins: each completed story is the result.

What do you need?

Use one full sheet of paper and one pencil or crayon per player. Seat everyone around a clear table so each sheet can travel in the same direction. The host also needs the seven prompts below, printed or displayed in large type.

Do not cut the sheets into small slips. Keep loose pen caps, clips and other small items away from young children and pets. Pencils stay at the table and point down when passed. Children need supervision appropriate to their age and ability.

Before writing, tell the group what kind of content belongs in the game. The reveal should be suitable for the youngest person who will hear it. Anyone may skip a prompt, ask for a private replacement sheet or choose not to have their paper read aloud.

For more low-equipment games, see paper games for family night.

What are the seven family prompts?

Use these in this exact order:

1. Who was the first character?
2. Who was the second character?
3. Where did they meet?
4. What did the first character say?
5. What did the second character reply?
6. What happened next?
7. What did everyone say at the end?

Characters may be familiar fictional figures, animals or invented names. They do not need a gender. One prompt should produce one short line, not a paragraph.

The host reads only the current prompt. Do not reveal later prompts in advance during a first game. Every player answers the same prompt at the same time, folds, and passes before the host reads the next one.

How should the host screen the game?

Set the boundary before anyone writes: fictional, kind enough to read aloud and free of private information. Do not use a real player, classmate or family member as a character unless that person has clearly agreed. Leave out comments about bodies, health, religion, money, fears, relationships or past mistakes.

Ban threats, humiliation, slurs, sexual content, graphic injury and instructions for dangerous acts. A silly event can be harmless: a character loses a hat, arrives at the wrong picnic or discovers that the cake is shaped like a boot. The host may quietly remove a sheet that crosses the boundary. No public interrogation is needed.

Give everyone a private way to flag a prompt or sheet, such as placing it face down beside the host. A player may dictate to a trusted scribe or draw instead of writing. Participation never requires reading a result aloud.

What is the complete fold-and-pass sequence?

These are our house rules for one closed round:

1. Each player starts with one blank sheet in portrait orientation.
2. The host reads prompt one. Everyone writes one answer along the top edge.
3. Each player folds the written strip backward so the answer is completely hidden. Make one narrow horizontal fold, not a crumpled bundle.
4. Everyone passes the folded sheet one place to the right at the same time.
5. The host checks that every player has one sheet, then reads the next prompt.
6. Players write immediately below the fold without opening earlier sections.
7. Repeat the fold, right-hand pass and count after every prompt.
8. After prompt seven, fold and pass once more.
9. Each player receives the finished sheet in front of them, keeps it closed, and waits for the host.
10. The host ends writing time. Players unfold one sheet at a time and read it in prompt order.

There is no scoring, guessing or elimination. The round is complete when every finished sheet has been offered for a reveal, even if its holder chooses to pass. Return each sheet to the person who wants to keep it, or place it face down for recycling.

How do you fold the paper correctly?

Write close enough to the top edge that one narrow fold hides the full line. Fold the top edge away from you and down behind the sheet. Press the crease flat on the table. The next writer uses the blank space immediately below the fold.

Which answers are legal?

A legal answer fits the current prompt, uses one short line and meets the announced family boundary. It does not need to connect with anything written earlier because the writer cannot see it.

If somebody answers the wrong prompt, leave the line in place. The surprising fit is part of the game. If an answer is blank or unreadable, the reader may say “blank,” skip it, or ask the host to read it. Nobody has to identify the writer.

Do not add somebody else's name after the boundary has been set. Do not write on the back of a folded section, where the next player may see it. Do not mark, scent or decorate a sheet to track who wrote which line.

How does the reveal work?

The host collects attention before any sheet opens. The player holding the first paper unfolds it fully and reads the seven lines through the story frame:

[First character] met [second character] at [place]. The first character said, “[line].” The second replied, “[line].” Then [event]. Everyone said, “[ending].”

The frame supplies the grammar; players' words stay unchanged. If a pronoun is unclear, repeat the character's name rather than guessing. A reader may silently show the paper to the host, ask someone else to read, or decline the reveal.

Read one sheet at a time. Do not vote for the “best” or “worst” story. If a line is unkind or unsuitable, the host skips it and continues without naming its writer. Stop the reveal if the person targeted by an accidental reference asks to stop.

When every sheet has been offered, the round ends. There is no last place and no requirement to explain an answer.

What happens if the passing order goes wrong?

Pause before the next prompt. Count one sheet per player and place each in front of its current holder. Do not unfold them to reconstruct the route.

• If one player has two sheets, move the top one to the player with none.
• If a sheet falls, the nearest adult or designated player picks it up without opening it.
• If two players passed in opposite directions, choose one direction again and continue from the current positions.
• If someone accidentally saw a line, refold it and keep playing; do not ask them to forget it or restart the group.
• If a sheet is torn, put it inside a larger folded sheet and continue writing on the wrapper.

The pass happens only when every pencil is down. Players remain seated; papers travel hand to hand or slide gently across a clear table. Do not throw pencils or folded packets.

How can non-writers play picture Consequences?

Replace written answers with simple pictures while keeping the seven-stage structure. The host shows one large visual prompt at a time:

1. draw a first character;
2. draw a second character;
3. draw a place;
4. draw an object or speech bubble for the first character;
5. draw an object or speech bubble for the second;
6. draw one event; and
7. draw how the scene ends.

Use broad crayons and generous paper space. A child may point to a picture choice, dictate a few words to a scribe or work with a partner. The scribe records only what the player chooses and does not improve the answer.

Can two people play?

Yes. Each person starts a sheet and the papers alternate between them after every prompt. Because the same sheet may return to a previous writer, keep every fold closed. The seven-prompt endpoint and reveal stay the same.

With a larger group, everyone still writes simultaneously and passes one place right. Do not wait for a sheet to travel all the way around the circle; the round ends after prompt seven, wherever each paper happens to be.

If one player needs more time, remove the timer entirely. The host waits until every pencil is down, then calls the pass. Speed is not a scoring category.

How should the round end?

After the final reveal, ask before displaying or photographing any sheet. A player may take their own work, leave it with the host or put it face down for recycling. Do not post children's names, handwriting or drawings online without the appropriate adult permission and the child's agreement.

Collect pencils, crayons, caps and all paper pieces before people leave the table. Keep small loose items away from young children and pets. Store or recycle the stories according to the choices made at the reveal.

Sources

• British Council TeachingEnglish: Writing consequences — one sheet per participant, write-fold-pass rhythm, names, meeting place, dialogue, event and final reading.
• British Council TeachingEnglish Young Learners Activity Book — facilitator cues, hidden folded answers, repeated passing and the final story reveal.
• Ideas Alliance: Collaborative creative writing as a community tool — folded anonymous contributions, confidence about later reading and theme-based prompt alternatives.