How to Play Paper Folding Fortunes
Paper Folding Fortunes is a pen-and-paper party game for 2 to 8 players in which each participant secretly writes a fragment of a prediction or story, folds the paper to hide their words, and passes it on. When every player has contributed, the sheets are unfolded and read aloud to reveal wildly mismatched fortunes built from everyone's blind additions.
It costs nothing beyond a few sheets of paper and a pen each, which makes it a favourite at kitchen tables, school lunches, long car journeys, and anywhere a printed board game would be impractical. The appeal is simple: the hidden contributions almost always collide in unexpected and funny ways, and no two games ever produce the same result.
A little history
Paper Folding Fortunes belongs to a broad family of collaborative writing games whose best-documented relative is the Surrealist parlour game Exquisite Corpse, developed in Paris in the 1920s by artists including Andre Breton and Yves Tanguy, who used the concealment-and-pass mechanic to generate automatic, unplanned text and images. The fortune-telling framing found in Paper Folding Fortunes is a popular folk adaptation of that core mechanic; its precise origins as a named game are unclear, though versions of it have circulated in schools and family settings across Britain and North America for several decades.
Setting up
- Seat all players around a table or in a circle so passing is easy.
- Give every player one sheet of paper and something to write with.
- Agree before you start on the fortune structure you will use: the standard format is Who / Does What / To Whom / When / With What Result, giving five lines per fortune.
- Decide how many rounds you want to play, typically one round per player so everyone gets a fortune read out.
How to play
- Each player writes a name or description for WHO the fortune concerns at the top of their sheet. This can be a real person in the room, a fictional character, or an invented name.
- Players fold the paper forward so the writing is hidden, leaving only a small blank strip visible at the top for the next writer.
- Everyone passes their folded sheet one place to the left.
- Each player writes the DOES WHAT section on the blank strip now in front of them, describing an action without looking at what is above the fold.
- Fold again to conceal the new line and pass one place to the left again.
- Repeat the fold-and-pass process for TO WHOM (the recipient of the action), WHEN (the time or place), and WITH WHAT RESULT (the outcome or consequence).
- After the fifth and final section is written, each sheet is passed one last time to the left so no player holds their own sheet.
- The player holding each sheet unfolds it fully and reads the complete fortune aloud to the group, pausing for comic effect between each section.
- Continue until all sheets have been read. That completes one round.
Winning and scoring
Paper Folding Fortunes is traditionally played without strict scoring, but for a competitive version the group votes after all fortunes are read: each player points to the sheet they found funniest or most creative. The player who contributed the most to the winning sheet (tracked by who wrote which section) scores a point, though in practice this is difficult to verify and the group may simply award a point to whoever held and read the winning sheet. First player to three points across multiple rounds wins. For a purely social game, scoring is dropped entirely and the winner is simply whoever laughs loudest.
The fine points
The most common dispute arises when a player peeks above the fold before writing. The standard ruling is to treat this as a forfeit: the offending player must write their section, but their sheet is set aside and not read at the end of that round. Peeking undermines the entire mechanic, so the group should enforce this firmly from the start.
A second common issue is illegible handwriting. If a section cannot be read aloud sensibly, the reader is permitted to improvise a plausible substitute phrase of similar length rather than skip the section entirely, keeping the reading flowing. Players who write in deliberately tiny or obscured script to confuse readers should be asked to rewrite clearly before the pass begins.
How to win more often
- Write your section quickly and without overthinking. The funniest contributions are usually instinctive rather than laboured.
- Use very specific details rather than vague ones. 'At three in the morning in a supermarket car park' lands harder than 'late at night somewhere'.
- Vary your register deliberately. Mixing formal language with absurd content creates the sharpest contrast when the sheet is read aloud.
- For the WITH WHAT RESULT section, an unexpected consequence beats an obvious one every time. Resist the first ending that comes to mind.
- When reading aloud, slow down between sections and let the room absorb each line before you continue. Rushing a reading loses half the comedy.
Variations
Question and Answer
Instead of a fortune structure, the first player writes a question on their sheet, folds it, and passes it on. The next player writes an answer without reading the question, folds, and passes again. Sheets alternate between questions and answers. When unfolded, the mismatched Q-and-A pairs are read as dialogue. This works well with younger players who find the five-part fortune structure tricky to follow.
Story Chain
Each player begins a short story with an opening sentence. After folding and passing, the next player writes the following sentence based only on the last two or three visible words left poking above the fold, then folds and passes again. The resulting stories are read aloud when complete. This variation rewards slightly more careful reading of the visible clue words and produces longer, more narrative results.
Drawing Round
One round in every three replaces written text with a small drawing. The first player sketches a character or creature in the top third of the sheet, folds it down so only the very bottom of the drawing (feet, wheels, tentacles) is visible, and passes it on. The next player continues the drawing downward without seeing the top. The full figure is revealed at the end. This variant is particularly popular with younger players and mixed age groups.
Timed Pressure
A nominated timekeeper sets a countdown of thirty seconds per section. When time is called, everyone must fold and pass immediately whether or not they have finished writing. Incomplete sentences are read as-is when the sheet is unfolded. The time pressure removes hesitation and produces rawer, often funnier contributions, but it can frustrate slower writers so it is best reserved for groups who already know the base game well.
Paper Folding Fortunes: frequently asked questions
How many players do you need to play Paper Folding Fortunes?
You need at least two players, though the game is noticeably funnier with four or more because the contributions become more varied and unpredictable. Eight players is a comfortable maximum before the reading rounds start to drag.
What do you do if you run out of lines before everyone has contributed?
If the number of players is greater than the number of sections in your chosen format, simply add extra sections before you start. Common additions include WHERE it happens inserted after WHEN, or a second RESULT line. Agree the structure with the whole group before round one begins.
Can a younger child play even if they cannot write well?
Yes. Children who are not yet confident writers can draw their section instead of writing it, or whisper their contribution to an adult who writes it for them. The fold-and-pass mechanic works identically either way.
Do you need special paper or pens?
No. Any plain paper that folds cleanly works fine. Avoid very thin paper such as airmail or tissue paper because the writing shows through the fold, which defeats the concealment mechanic. A standard A4 or letter-size sheet is ideal.
What happens if someone reads their own sheet?
If a player ends up holding their own sheet after the final pass, simply pass it one more place to the left so someone else reads it aloud. There is no rule against your own sheet being the funniest.
Is it against the rules to write something offensive?
There is no formal rule, but the group should agree a content standard before starting, particularly with mixed ages present. A simple house rule of 'nothing you would not say aloud in this room' is usually sufficient and keeps the game enjoyable for everyone.
Can you play with only two players?
Yes, though the dynamic is different. With two players, each sheet passes back and forth repeatedly until all sections are filled, meaning each player writes alternate sections on every sheet. The results are less surprising than with a larger group but the game still works.
Does everyone have to write the same type of section at the same time?
Yes. All players should be writing the same section simultaneously so that no one is waiting and watching while others write. If a player finishes early, they fold their sheet and hold it face down until everyone else is ready to pass at the same time.