Everyone sits in a circle and the first player takes the dictionary and is allowed to look at it for about five minutes. The player chooses an interesting word and writes it on a slip of paper along with its definition. Then the player also writes down at least one false definition, on the same piece of paper making sure that the true definition is not always the first one. The player should also remember which definition is the true one. The player then passes the very large dictionary to the next person, who does the same thing. Everyone in the circle must have a chance to look at the dictionary and write a word and its definition and false definition. Once everyone has done that, all of the slips of paper are collected and placed in the hat or basket.

The hat is then passed around the circle again. This time, everyone takes a slip of paper out. The first player reads the word and its definitions. Everyone votes on which definition they think is the true one. Players get one point for guessing the correct definition. If the person who wrote the false definition stumps everyone, that player gets five points. If everyone guesses the correct definition, the person who wrote it has five points deducted.

Like every good game, however, there have been alternate rules developed over the years. In one version of the game, the person who writes the most creative or funniest false definition gets five points. In another version, no points are issued at all. The players just write funny or creative definitions to amuse each other.