Players: 3 or more
Time: 15 to 30 minutes
You need: Nothing
Ages: 8 and above
Type: WhatsApp group games

Who it suits and when to play

Story Chain suits imaginative groups: cousins, friends, a class, a writing club. It works from age eight, and it is lovely with grandparents, who often take the story somewhere nobody expected. It needs patience more than speed, so play it across an afternoon rather than in ten rushed minutes. Keep the group to about twelve writers; in a larger group, play in teams.

How to play

The host posts the first line of a story.
Members add one line each. A line must follow from the line before it.
Nobody may post two lines in a row.
After 20 lines, or when the host types "The end", the story stops.
The host copies the whole story into one message and reads it back to the group.

Ready message to start the game

Story chain! Add ONE line each. No two lines in a row from the same person. First line: On a rainy Monday, the school bell rang by itself, and nobody was near it.

First lines to start a story

On a rainy Monday, the school bell rang by itself, and nobody was near it.
Grandmother's old trunk had a second lock that nobody had ever opened.
The last bus of the night had only one other passenger: a goat wearing a red scarf.
When the lights came back, the wedding cake was missing.
The new neighbour moved in at midnight, carrying only a ladder and a parrot.
Ravi found a phone on the park bench. It was ringing, and the caller's name was "Ravi".
Every morning, one fresh mango appeared on the school gate, even in December.
The lift stopped between the fourth and fifth floors, and then a voice said, "Welcome."
The village well had been dry for years, until the day it started to hum.
Meera's kite did not come down. It went up, and it took the string with it.

Tips and variations

Add a rule for more fun: every line must contain a given word, or must start with the next letter of the alphabet.
Save the finished stories. They are lovely to read again at the next get-together.

Common problems and how to fix them

Two people add a line at the same time. Fix the order of players before the first line, and post it in the group.
Someone ends the story or kills the hero too early. Make it a rule that only the host may end the story, at a line count agreed at the start.
The story turns rude or unkind. The host removes that line from the story and reminds everyone that the tale must be fit to read to a child.

More WhatsApp group games

Need fair teams or someone to go first? Use the team maker. See all 45 games.