Game of the Transmitter

A game for two or more players, similar in nature to the games of Illot-Mollo and Parallel Texts played by the Surrealists. One player takes on the role of "Transmitter" and all other players become "Receivers". The Transmitter begins the game by speaking aloud the first word of a single line of text (most likely something they themselves have written or alternatively borrowed from another source). Each Receiver then starts writing, using the Transmitter's first word as the first word of their own texts. As the Receivers continue writing (naturally, we suggest an "automatic" approach to this), the Transmitter speaks aloud the second word from his/her line of text. The Receivers must immediately incorporate this word into their own texts and allow it to influence the direction of their writing. This process continues until the Transmitter has "transmitted" all of the words from their original line of text and, with the final word, indicates to the Receivers that they should stop writing. The rate at which the Transmitter speaks aloud the individual words from his/her text can be an agreed-upon interval of time (such as one word per minute) or can be left to the discretion of the Transmitter. For the next round of the game, one of the Receiver's texts is chosen to be "transmitted" (either a single line from that text or the text in its entirety) and that Receiver takes on the role of Transmitter. It is suggested that the game end after each player has taken a turn as Transmitter. There are a great many variations possible in the way this game is played, as will become evident after having played it a few times.

Following is an example of Game of the Transmitter (two rounds) which was played at the I.B.R.I. Open Meeting, Anarchist Free Space, Toronto, Feb. 8, 2000. The players were Joda Clement, W.A.Davison, S.Higgins, and Ryan Worrall. Transmitted words are indicated in the Receiver's texts in italics.

Round 1

Transmitter -W.A.Davison:

The awful fluid fills bottles with gauze and acid shivers.

Receiver - Joda Clement:

The box of treated fowl awful found fluid to be not the best fills of my holy bottles to teach of with next to gauze from my and tomorrow not again. Acid is for my shivers this time.

Receiver - S.Higgins:

The obstacle awful sudden fluid popsicle went fills down the bottles of pee with another gauze pad. I saw and I didn't acid know what shivers were.

Receiver - Ryan Worrall:

The man was very awful at drinking fluid while fluid fills small bottles with giant hats and gauze and robots acid breath destroying field after field gives me shivers.

Round 2

Transmitter - S.Higgins:

The obstacle awful sudden fluid popsicle went fills down the bottles of pee with another gauze pad. I saw and I didn't acid know what shivers were.

Receiver - Joda Clement:

The Kudzu is growing to be an obstacle in my awful garden. Maybe the sudden appearance of fluid is responsible for popsicle. My house went away for fills and beans down in the marketplace of the bottles. Control of this place comes from pee. With a soda I flew to another house. Gauze is sweeping the pad of the eye nation. Saw through the table and forget about I. Didn't you see me there? Acid will not be, no. Award what we like, but not what shivers. Syndicated were happy to be.

Receiver - W.A.Davison:

The opening of several obstacles against awful collisions in the sudden orange fluid bangs gently popsicles cream went over the embankment filled with downy feathers. The construction of bottles lapsed into a cream of mushroom and feelings. Pee around the corner with a nightmare grotto. Another collision of gauze and pad. This is the eye of my orange vest which saw the opening and crashed against eye. Didn't you feel something like an acid caress? No, the antenna cracked and what you might call "shivers" ensued. They were awful.

Receiver - Ryan Worrall:

The fish lay obstacle eating awful sudden eateries fluid licking popsicle and went to the fills of down one to the pots of the cooking smiling with bottles enjoying of men and pee soured the captain with loose-knit stockings another band and another gauze sped up this tune only to pad angry mobs I know and saw and sat with I felt like I didn't eat much acid thumbs but I know the price of two cents what could high-priced shivers eat were.