Play This Moby Dick-Inspired Card Game

Tired of Apples to Apples? If finding a fun new group activity is your white whale, you might want to check out the Herman Melville-inspired card game Dick. The name pays homage to Melville’s classic maritime novel, Moby Dick.

Here’s how it works: Dick comes equipped with 400 white cards, which contain prosaic—and sometimes suggestive—short lines from the book. Each player gets 12 cards, which they use to finish an open-ended prompt. A judge chooses the best one (“best” is usually measured by how apt, bizarre, or hilarious the completed sentences turn out). Then the next player serves as arbitrator and the process begins anew.

Tim Cassedy, an assistant professor of English at Southern Methodist University, invented the game because he was inspired by Melville’s “hilarious, fascinating language and imagery.” Want to marvel at Moby Dick’s elaborate turns of phrase, or simply laugh at them? You can purchase Dick online for $19.75, and even order extra prompts tailored toward particular audiences called, erhm, "Dick Enhancements." 

[h/t The Washington Post]