Is Your Person on Around the Horn?

Growing up, I was a big fan of Guess Who, a board game that combined the thrill of deductive reasoning with the even greater thrill of making a clacking sound as you flicked characters' photos down after ruling them out.  It should be noted, of course, that the game is best played against an intellectual equal, because there is really no fun in beating some dumb n00b in two seconds because he or she was stupid enough to pick a female or hat-wearing individual for you to guess.  However, once you figure out who the gifted players in your class are, it is possible to have Guess Who matches rivaling the intensity level of an international chess master showdown.

Every now and then, I will see someone in real life who closely resembles a Guess Who character, and I will get a slightly surreal feeling in response.  For example, this happens every time I see sports journalist Bob Ryan on TV.  The man looks like he jumped off a Guess Who card one day in the '80s and decided to start reporting on sports games.

Anyway, this past weekend I was hanging out with Emily and I saw a guy who looked exactly like a Guess Who character.  I pointed him out to Emily.  Below, the ensuing dialogue:

Emily: It's Alfred!  He looks like Alfred!

Me: Whoa.  That is pretty impressive that you remember the name.

Emily: Of course I do!  He was Anita's dad.

Me: What???  The game had a back story?  How did I miss that?

Emily: Oh no, not officially.  But I made up back stories for all of the characters.  Like, David and Phillip were in a gay relationship, because they had matching beards.

Yeah.  This also led to an IM conversation today in which Emily informed me that, among other things, Alfred and Maria were a husband-wife international spy duo.  (Exact quote from Emily: "but while Maria is very doting, Alfred is kind of distant.") 

Wow.  I challenge you to find me someone who has spent more time alone with a Guess Who board.

Comments

[Buddy Love]

Maybe THIS guy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAykJRn0IXE

[EmGusk]

That is NOT Alfred. I want to keep my Guess Who street cred. That is Max. (I think. Regardless, he was on the front row of my board.)

[Lauren]

Hahaha, way to publicly defend your Guess Who cred.

[Lisa McA]

I enjoy a good game of "Subjective Guess Who". This involves such questions as "Would you trust this person with your children?" and "Would this person make a good local news anchor?". But, be forewarned, after a few games you'll pretty much view them all as full-blown alcoholics or potential residents of vans down by the river...

Also, that guy is definitely Peter, who is an easy one-guess in SGW with "Does your person get no respect?"

[Lisa McA]

Also, who are these STRANGERS in that graphic?!? ANDY? ASHLEY? JOSHUA?

Did Alex, Anita and Joe get pink-slipped?

[harry]

ok, around new years, me and my friends were playing many versions of guess who,

first off, no boards - memory guess who.

4 player guess who...

and of course SGW, with alfred being the easiest described as "listening to judas priest" and "goes home from work to beat up his wife"

[mindy]

I just finished a marathon game of Guess Who with my 6yr old and came across this page while searching for it. And yes, he too had back stories which were really amusing. It's easy to get caught up in the scandalous romance between characters as created by a kindergartener. He also had some similarly nutty questions like "does this person own a nice house?" and "does she have more than one cat?". Anyhow, thanks for the giggle. I had no idea Guess Who? was taken so seriously and may take it up as a sport!

[Power Home Solar Review]

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[viagra online]

My top five is close to yours, just a little different order.

5. Breaking The La
4. Heading Out On To The Highway
3. Living After Midnight
2. You've Got Another Thing Coming
1. Turbo Lover