The game leader or host may begin by telling the others: “I’m Silly Milly. I’m odd and silly, but not peculiar.” The players try to guess why those particular words were used to describe Silly Milly. The leader provides additional clues such as, “I like trees, but not mice” or “I like walls, but not windows.”
The secret, in this case, is that Silly Milly likes any word that contains a double letter. A player who detects this may ask a question such as, “Do you eat herring, but not sardines?” to confirm his or her judgment. The game leader does not reveal the secret, even as the other players keep trying to unravel it. There is no winner or loser, and the players take turns being Silly Milly and concocting new secrets such as a preference for words that begin with the letter “A” or dislike for words with the letter “R.” The enormous range of possibilities can make this game quite simple or enormously complex depending on the players.
