Fill the Gap

Overview

Fill the Gap is a tabletop comedy game. A sentence with one or two blanks appears; everyone picks from their own hand the words to complete it. Then the completed sentences are shown anonymously and the group votes for the one that makes them laugh most.

You need at least three players. The game works best when you can comment aloud, but even in chat alone it is a good icebreaker.

How a round goes

1. A sentence appears with one or two blanks.
2. From your hand, choose the word (or the two words) to complete it; if time runs out, one is picked at random.
3. The host shows the completed sentences one at a time, in random order and without an author.
4. Each player has a single like, not for their own sentence, and can change it while voting is open.
5. End of the round: the authors are revealed. The sentence with the most likes gives 1 point to its author (to each one in case of a tie; if nobody votes, 1 point to everyone). The first to reach the set score wins.

Tips to win

• Think about who will read it: the sentence that makes people laugh is the one the group expects least, not the crudest one.
• Once each, you can swap your whole hand before submitting: use it when the words say nothing to you.
• If you have two blanks, look for a contrast between the two words: the pair often works better than either alone.
• Vote honestly: the like is the only thing that decides the round.

For the host: settings and tips

• Points to win go from 3 to 10 (5 by default): with 3 the match is short, with 10 it becomes a whole evening.
• Words in hand go from 4 to 8 (6 by default); more words means more choice but also more time to decide.
• Choosing time from 20 to 90 seconds and voting time from 15 to 60: give new groups more time, shorten it for practiced ones.
• You can pick sentences with 1 blank, 2 blanks or mixed, the content language, and whether to turn on the voice reading of sentences (off by default).