At a party that's running a little slow? With a group of people and can't bear the thought of unstructured social interaction? Need a game to play but only have some pens and paper? Then let me tell you about Monikers!
Monikers is a game for two teams, played over three rounds, where players take it in turns to pick names of (mostly) famous people and give clues in an attempt to allow their teammates to correctly identify the most names. In the first round, you can say whatever you like except the name on the paper. In the second round, you can only give a single word as a clue. In the third round, you can't say anything, only act and gesture.
The real enjoyment comes from the meta game that emerges. Everyone knows what names are in the pile after the first round and the clues that were given, so in the second round people build upon that information, and more so in the third, mistakes and all. You could think of it as a tool for generating inside jokes.
Take for example, the name “J. K. Rowling”.
First round: “She wrote the Harry Potter novels.”
Second round: “Potter!”
Third round: [Attempt to mimic the iconic pot making scene from Ghost as both Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze simultaneously]