“One-Word Story” – Fun Challenge for Parents and Kids

“One-word story” is a challenge to play with kids — but a FUN one! The concept is simple: take turns working together to make up a story by switching off every other word.

This is not only one of my favorite games to play with my theatre students, but it’s become a cherished pastime with my sister (we’re so in sync, we can literally play for an hour) and now with my husband and stepdaughter!

I also remember playing “one-word story,” as a teen, with my mom while hiking. One story ended up being about a girl named Martha, screaming at her mother that she “hated bananas!!!”

Why do I remember that little detail? Because we laughed so hard about it at the time. And THOSE are the kinds of childhood memories that last forever.

Spoiler alert: This is much harder than it seems!

If you are playing an improv storytelling game like this one for the first time with your kids, I highly recommend starting out with “Popcorn Stories,” where you each take turns telling a few sentences at a time.

Here are some helpful tips for playing “One-Word Story” with kids:

1. Warm-up: Start with at least one round of “Popcorn Stories” if you haven’t played this before (see note above).

2. Don’t overthink: Challenge yourselves to not take too much time to think in between words and just say the first thing that comes to your mind that makes sense!

3. Be in tune with each other: Work together as if you were one voice telling the story.

4. Be in the moment: Don’t have a preconceived notion of where you want the story to go. Take it one word at a time; the fun is in seeing where the story goes!

5. Air quotes: I like to do little finger “air quotes” when I’m starting a quote from one of the characters, to make it clear that one of the characters is talking.

6. Character voices: Using different, distinct voices for the different characters also helps clarify who is talking. Since you’re only doing one word at a time, it can get really confusing!

Listen to the audio at the bottom of this post for an example of us using different character voices to distinguish who is talking in the story.

An almost-guaranteed habit first-timers will have when playing “one-word story”:

Trying to influence/force the other player’s next words by whispering what they want to be next. For example:

Kid: “Suddenly…”

Parent: “The…”

Kid: “Wolf…”

Parent: “Jumped…”

Kid: “In… *whispers* FRONT — say front!”

You can work through this in different ways, depending on the moment.

In the moment, if the story is going well, I usually go ahead and say the word they really want, because they’re so excited, and I don’t want to disrupt the flow. However, before the next round, I’d probably say something like,

“That was a good one! Do you want to play again? Okay, hey, this time, how about we try super hard not to tell each other what words to say and just see how weird it gets!”

This game takes practice — for adults and kids alike!

Here’s why this game is so amazing for connection:

1. It’s silly and imaginative, and laughter is magic for connection.

For example, my husband and stepdaughter called me yesterday morning on the way to school to tell me that they had just done a “one-word” story about an eagle. I could hear the delight in both of their voices as they giggled telling me what it was about. I didn’t understand them at all, but that didn’t matter.

2. It’s challenging, rewarding, and satisfying.

This is an “easy” activity in that it requires no materials or prep, but it can be challenging mentally. You have to focus and work together to develop the story. The pay-off of coming up with a hilarious, random story together is rewarding. It’s silly, but satisfying to feel you’ve created something total original and unique together.

3. Equality.

When played as intended, kids and parents have total equality in this game. No one is “in charge.” No one is leading. It’s a true team-effort. That’s something kids really appreciate and can feel proud of.

I like this article in Motherly by Angela Tewalt on treating your child more like an equal.

4. Play anywhere!

• On a long car ride.

• While organizing/tidying up together.

• Over FaceTime.

Or my favorite:

• On the couch, with some snacks, when you are tired and do not want to move. (This was me yesterday and, quite frankly, most days.)

My favorite activities and games are the ones like this that require NO STUFF. No setup. No cleanup. But just as much, if not more fun than, say, a game of Candyland with all those little pieces. You know?

(Not knocking Candyland. It’s great. But you get it, right?)

Here’s a real-life example of my stepdaughter and me playing “One-Word Story.”

It’s not the funniest one ever. You’ll hear my dryer rumbling in the background. Chewing, because the kids were eating snacks. The story interrupted by my toddler, who did not want to share said snacks. The dogs whining because they couldn’t wait for these snacks to be dropped on the ground.

But, you’ll also hear a few minutes of real, genuine, sweet connection as we sat and relaxed on the couch after school, before I had to get up and figure out what to make for dinner.

Enjoy “Timothy, the Toad, and the Misunderstood Wolf”

Did you give this game a go with your kids? Was it easier or harder than you thought it would be? Let me know how it goes in the comments!