This article was reviewed by Ashton Wu and by wikiHow staff writer, Sophie Burkholder, BA. Ashton Wu is a Board Game expert at Shelfside. After delving into the Yugioh tournament community while growing up, Ashton launched himself into the board gaming community in 2014 and went into reviewing board games as a career full-time in 2019. His YouTube channel Shelfside has over 50K subscribers and over 4 million views, assisted by written reviews on the Shelfside website and BoardGameGeek.com. He also consults with gaming companies to build high-quality gaming products. Ashton is a tournament commentator, board game playthrough director, and host of the Shelfside Podcast, where he talks about board games with his business partner, Daniel. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in addition to the Technology Management Certificate.
There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.
MASH is one of our favorite games for school, sleepovers, or any situation where you want to pass the time…and all you need is a paper, a pencil, and a vivid imagination! If you’re tired of your typical MASH categories, we’ve provided a list of classic and creative categories for your next round of seeing into the future. Plus, for every category we list, we’ll suggest fun options to include under that section. In short, use this gameplay guide to turn your MASH life into everything you’ve ever dreamed of!
MASH the Game: Categories You’ll Love
Traditional MASH categories include “Future Home” (e.g., “Mansion,” “Apartment,” “Shack,” “House”), “Vehicle,” “Spouse,” “Job,” “Kids,” “Location,” and “Pet.” However, you can make things more interesting with unique categories like “Superpower,” “Honeymoon Destination,” “Hobby,” “Secret Hideout,” and more.
Steps
How to Play MASH
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1Write MASH at the top of the piece of paper. To play MASH, all you need is a piece of paper and a writing utensil. Write “MASH” in capital letters at the top of the page. This is your first “category,” as “MASH” stands for “Mansion,” “Apartment,” “Shack,” and “House.” Each one of these items will be an option for what kind of future home you’ll have.[10]
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2Create at least 5 category columns with 4+ items in each category. Now, create vertical columns under your “MASH” heading. You can do as many columns as you want, but you should have at least five (and probably no more than ten). At the top of each column, write the name of a different category—e.g., “Future Job,” “Vehicle,” “Superpower,” etc. We recommend including a few classic categories and a couple of unique ones.[11]
- Under each category, write at least four items that fit into that section. You could write up to seven or eight items, if you’d like. Just try to include the same number of options in each category.
- Also, include a mix of desirable and undesirable options in each category. This could be subjective, but it’s important that MASH is a fun game of chance with positive and negative outcomes—that’s sort of the point of the game!
- For example, let’s say you love reading but hate math. In the “Job” category, you might include dream jobs like “Writer” and “Bookstore owner” alongside jobs you wouldn’t like, such as “Computer programmer” and “Financial analyst.”
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3Randomly choose a magic number between 3 and 10. To select the final options in each of your categories, you’ll need a number! You can find this number however you want, but it should be randomly selected. You can use a random number generator, roll a dice, or ask a friend to pick a number between 3 and 10. Another common option is to have a friend close their eyes and draw dots on a paper until you tell them to stop. Count the number of dots—there’s your magic number![12]
- Similarly, you can have your friends draw a spiral on the page until you say stop. Count the number of rings in the spiral to get your magic number.
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4Use your number to eliminate options in each category. Now that you have your magic number, start at the “M” in “MASH” and move clockwise through the categories. Each option counts as one number, so count from “M” in MASH until you reach your magic number. The option that your magic number lands on is then eliminated, so you can cross it out. Continue this pattern—start at the next item that hasn’t been eliminated, count up to your magic number, and cross out the item you land on. Keep crossing out items until each category has only one item left.[13]
- For example, if your magic number is 4, you’d start at “M” and then count “A” as 1, “S” as 2, and “H” as 3. Keep counting like this into the first category. When you get to the 4th item (which would be the first item in the first category), cross it out.
- As you go, be sure to skip over and not count any options that’ve already been crossed out.
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5Read out your results in a final summary. Once there’s only one item in each of your categories, you can verbally summarize all your results to determine your future life. Maybe you live in a mansion in Barcelona with your husband, Jack Sparrow, your pet piglet, and 5 kids. Maybe you’re a mechanic who drives a limousine to take you and your bestie (Gigi Hadid) to your secret hideout—which is inside a volcano, obviously. The possibilities are endless!
Expert Q&A
Video
Tips
References
- ↑ https://www.coffeeandcrumbs.net/blog/2023/5/27/mash-your-future-life-awaits
- ↑ https://www.coffeeandcrumbs.net/blog/2023/5/27/mash-your-future-life-awaits
- ↑ https://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/how-to-play-mash-a-free-printable-game-sheet.html
- ↑ https://www.coffeeandcrumbs.net/blog/2023/5/27/mash-your-future-life-awaits
- ↑ https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/century.html
- ↑ https://funpartytips.com/mash-paper-pencil-game/
- ↑ https://funpartytips.com/mash-paper-pencil-game/
- ↑ https://www.boredpanda.com/useless-talents-people-have-ask-reddit/
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/17/five-categories-of-fame
- ↑ https://girlslife.com/make-it-cute/272917/mash-is-the-throwback-party-game-you-need-to-relearn/
- ↑ https://girlslife.com/make-it-cute/272917/mash-is-the-throwback-party-game-you-need-to-relearn/
- ↑ https://girlslife.com/make-it-cute/272917/mash-is-the-throwback-party-game-you-need-to-relearn/
- ↑ https://girlslife.com/make-it-cute/272917/mash-is-the-throwback-party-game-you-need-to-relearn/
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