The Anatomists of Babel

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

10 to 20 objects of different shapes, functions, sizes and colors. Handle them with care! These are the Unearthed Remains of a Creature Unknown by Science!

        Fetching objects from all rooms of the house could work. Or maybe resorting to the myriad junk of basement or attic. The players could also be asked beforehand to bring objects of their choosing.

HOW YOU WILL PLAY

The players, as Doctor-Anatomists of Bold Stature, gather around the pile of objects, as displayed on University of Babel’s Grand Surgical Amphitheater. Players should be able to see the pile at all times from all angles. Together, they should analyse it in silence for a few minutes (ten should be enough). Only interjections such as Ah! and Oh... are allowed.

        The Doctors then take turns, reassembling the Remains according to their own Theories. Every Anatomist must present a Theory: a new organical understanding of the objects, which reorganizes them and anatomically justifies their place and function in the body of the Monster Forsaken by God. A pair of scissors could be described as a beak or talon, for instance; a shoe could be described as a petrified internal organ, its shoelaces connecting it to other lasting parts.

        It should be noted that a player can renounce using certain objects in his or her Doctor’s Theory. The renounced portion could have belonged to another creature and brought in by mistake. It should also be noted that the Scientific Community of Babel encourages bodily demonstrations of the processes through which the Thing moved, ate, mated, et cetera.

        Every Theory must end with an explanation of the Creature’s Last Stance, which is the stance the Doctor has arranged it at the table. From its position, what was its cause of death? Where was the creature when it succumbed? What was it last doing?  Has it died naturally, or was it tragically killed?

AND WHEN IT ENDS

        After all Doctors have presented their Theories, they must Vote on the best one. Babel’s University only criteria is Imagination: the funnier, most interesting and creative Theory wins. Everyone is entitled to one and only one Vote, which should be said aloud and should always target someone else. It’s not necessary to explain your Vote, but that is not frowned upon.

The Doctor with the highest number of Votes is considered the winner and his or her Theory deemed Official Throughout Posterity and Beyond. In case of a tie, this means no consensus has been reached in the Scientific Community and there’s no winner. Just sad!