Book M*A*S*H

[✨faith✨trust✨pixiedust✨]

I originally posted this in the Coffee Break group.

Remember playing M*A*S*H in elementary school with your friends at recess? Well, now you can play it with books!

We'll be using Method 2: Advanced M.A.S.H. on wikiHow if you prefer a more visual instruction. My steps are copied from there too with a few embellishments.

1. Draw a # sign. It should take up most of your paper -- you'll be writing in it for the game. It's really just like a giant tic-tac-toe board.

2. Start writing your categories. You'll be using each area of the hashtag except for the middle. That means you'll need 8 categories. They can go in any order, but the standard ideas are (starting with the necessary ones):
M.A.S.H. (mansion, apartment, shack, house)
Who you'll marry
What your job is
Your means of transportation
Number of kids you'll have
Where you'll live
What your daily income is
The pet(s) you'll have

3. Choose your options using characters, places, or concepts from your favorite books. You don't have to say what books they are from, but it's more fun if you do! It's more fun if you choose two you love, one you'd be okay with, and one you would hate. There should be 4 options per category.

4. Start counting. Start writing dots, tallies, or a spiral in the center of your tic-tac-toe/hashtag/pound sign. After about 5 seconds (or you could have an irl friend say "stop" for you if you want), count how many marks you've made or times you've gone around. This is your number. Remember it.

5. Go around your paper, stopping on that number. Start at the top left, with the first category being 1, 2, 3, and 4. If your number is 7, you'd stop on the 3rd option of the 2nd category.

6. Cross off each option you land on. Resume again from where you left off, skipping over each already crossed-off option. As you go around and around, your options will start dwindling. When you cross off three in a category, circle the fourth -- you've determined the future!
Be sure to keep count accurately!

7. Stop when you have one of each category circled and share with the group!

[✨faith✨trust✨pixiedust✨]

My category options:
M.A.S.H.: mansion, apartment, shack, house
Who you'll marry: Kell Maresh from A Darker Shade of Magic, Simon Lewis/Lovelace from City of Bones, Jem Carstairs from Clockwork Angel, and Rowan Whitethorn from Heir of Fire
What your job is: princess, Traveller, smuggler, henchman
Your means of transportation: demon energy motorcycle from City of Bones, Antari magic from A Darker Shade of Magic, the subway, a taxi
Number of kids you'll have: 1, 2, 4, 8
Where you'll live: Idris from City of Glass, Camp Halfblood from The Lightning Thief, New York, Morath from Heir of Fire
What your income is: $1 billion, $300, $2, $0
The pet(s) you'll have: cat, lizard, dog, Wyrdhound from Queen of Shadows

I am going to marry Jem, be a henchman, ride a demon energy motorcycle, have 8 kids, live in Morath, earn $2 a day, have a cat, and live in a shack.