My GDS entry reminded me of a social game I came up with fifteen or twenty years ago. Thought I'd share it here, as I think it is a good humor sharpener of sorts, and many folks here may "get it."
It began when I read this:
A priest, a rabbi, and a minister walk into a bar.
The bartender says: "What is this a joke?"
It struck me that there are jokes that are best right at the setup, and taking them any further just kinda diminishes it. So, the thought was: what three things or people can walk into a bar such that they stand alone as a joke.
The first one I did was somewhat abstract:
"A philosopher, a mathematician, and The Head of Lettuce walk into a bar."
Then worked on various combinations of personalities (living dead or fictional) like:
Texas Pete, Mr. Pibb, and Dr. Phil walk into a bar.
or distinct to your audience:
Gary Gygax, Richard Garfield, and Samuel L Jackson walk into a bar
or general pop references:
Justin Bieber, John Wayne, and Fran Drescher
My wife and I gamified it; so that one starts with a person's name the other adds another person, and the first comes up with a good third person. If the setup makes sense, then you'll just know what works and what is a bad third choice or a forced choice or an overly on the nose/obvious one. Also, using some people are kinda cheats like Peewee Herman or Ronald McDonald.
We'll play until we figure out we can't do better than what we've already done in that run through with props to the best one.
How would the game play out though?
It's a subtle game as we've played it. Try it with someone who gets it, the good combos really stand out sometimes with authentic laughter ( or just Snickers) and you may play past the best one and you kinda realize you've begun forcing it. Then write down the best one and who had it.
If someone has a way to further gamify it, would love to hear. Maybe with four or more people, you could have three contributors and one scorer and cycle it around.