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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#246: All Fun and Games

We all know the saying “it’s all fun and games” — and the perhaps less-used ending, “...until someone loses an eye.” There are many variations of this saying, but they all boil down to a similar idea: play has its time and place, but things may take a turn for the worse if you’re not mindful.

This week’s prompts are inspired by games and play, and especially that strange territory when something lighthearted suddenly turns more serious than intended, asking you to find the golden balance between the pursuit of fun and its consequences.

This week's prompts

Write a story that includes the phrase “It’s all fun and games…”

Dialogue – 58 stories

Set your story in a playground: two characters are having a serious conversation while on the seesaw/in the jungle gym/on the swings.

Angst – 83 stories

Write a story about someone participating in a seemingly innocent game that suddenly takes a turn.

Dark – 62 stories

Write a story about someone who takes a joke way too far.

Character – 26 stories

Write about a character who treats everything like a game and struggles to be serious when they most need to, or vice versa.

Character – 17 stories

Stories

“Look Left” by Hazel Ide

Submitted to Contest #246

“You heard about the asteroid, right?”“Hmm…?” It takes a second for my wife's words to register, but when they sink in, I drag my attention up from my mindless scrolling on my phone. “What asteroid?”“It’s supposedly three times the size of Mount Everest.” She slumps onto the couch, her glass of wine filled to the brim, sloshing precariously.“And? Is it going to hit Earth and kill us all?” I muse.She rolls her eyes, pulling up her phone. "Most of the comments are people saying things like, 'Let it come.'”"That's stupid."She shrugs, and we go ...

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“Sammy Freeberg: His Mother Loves Him” by Michael Ginsberg

Submitted to Contest #246

Warning: This story contains some inappropriate humor, but it should not offend, in contect. "Ms. Lefkowitz, you know about the Jew who married a Catholic?" "No, Sam. What about the Jew who married a Catholic, and what does it have to do with our Torah lesson?”"They both go to Confession, but they bring a lawyer." Ms. Lefkowitz didn't laugh. No one in my religious school class laughed. Rabbi Stein didn't laugh, but I could tell he wanted to. "Sam, Sam Freeberg,” Rabbi said, sitting behind his desk and shaking his head. "Three times this...

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“Chances Are...” by Martha Kowalski

Submitted to Contest #246

It’s all fun and games until the odds aren’t in your favor. Until you lose track of the count. Until you lose track of your mind.They should ban mathematicians from casinos. Well, they do sometimes – you’ve been kicked out of three casinos in Vegas for counting cards. You didn’t mean it. But how can someone tell a mathematician to stop counting something? It’s like telling a fish not to swim. Especially with an eidetic memory – you, not the fish. Fish have like a three second attention span. And even if they had an eidetic memory, what would...

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“A Whipped Dwarf” by Daniel Rogers

Submitted to Contest #246

"Stop shaking and just throw," Flimlet said.Gormick, a nervous black-bearded dwarf, ignored his dwarf comrade and continued shaking his fist full of five coins, "Four dragons! Four dragons! By Xer-Bane! Give me four dragons!" He released the coins into a walled square wooden game board. The coins bounced, spun, and fell – two dragons and three kings."Yes! Ah ha! Got you!" Flimlet slid a large pile of coins towards him. "All mine!""You're a butt hole," Gormick shook his head and laughed. "But a richer butt hole than me.""Sorry, Gormick," Flim...

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“He's Right Behind You” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #246

We’d go out around one.Climbing through bedroom windows, we’d try to land softly on bushes and backyard lawns. Some of us went barefoot. Some hid a spare pair of sneakers under porches or tucked under tarps used for covering patio furniture. Some of us just liked being barefoot. It made us feel as though we’d have the strength that comes from mimicking the uncivilized. Some of us would play the whole game with no shoes. No shoes, no shirts. One of us liked to play the game in only his boxer shorts. He would dare anyone to mention his near na...

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“April Fool” by Jeff Macloud

Submitted to Contest #246

"It was supposed to be a stupid April Fools' Day joke. That's it," I told the two cops in the fortieth minute or so of what they called an 'interview'."Two people are dead," Detective Hughes said, scratching behind his ear. We'd just left the house and walked out onto the deck, and he seemed to be taking in the view of the Pacific behind me. The waves crashing on the rocks below the decking forced us to speak up. "Not my kind of joke," he said."Yeah, well, it didn't go as planned," I replied, and knocked back the rest of my whiskey, clacking...

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“Reckless” by Kristina Lushey

Submitted to Contest #246

“Nancy Docherty, there is no way on earth you are going to the fair in that ridiculous outfit.” I’d whipped my brother Sean’s flat cap and scarf from his wardrobe, and wore a plain black blouse and black pants, with a trench coat over the top to finish off the outfit.I spoke with unwavering confidence, my eyes gleaming with resolve. “Just because it is a man’s cap mammy, doesn’t mean I can’t wear it. It looks grand.”Aware that she was wasting her breath, she sighed and said no more. I was an active child, often playing football with the loca...

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“Save The Cat” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #246

Seventeen-year-old Nigerian-American Elijah was a chess prodigy–a new force to be reckoned with in East Bay's competitive chess circuit. For the past two years, he dissected famous chess matches like a surgeon. The infamous 2005 showdown between Carlsen and Nepomniachtch flickered on his screen when his little sister, Zuri, burst into his room.“Hammy is…gone!” Zuri wailed, tears streaming down her cheeks.“Zuri, don’t interrupt me while I’m studying!” Elijah snapped, his mind spinning with chess moves. But he immediately felt regret seeing ho...

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“Little Brown Wren” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #246

Trigger warning: Sexual violence, suicide/self harmA little brown wren is unremarkable, easily overlooked while it hides under bushes. It doesn't have a big voice, just a small chirp. It slips in and out, you never know it's there. Being a brown wren has served me well, I've never had to deal with admiration, attention, conflict or pressure.Nobody sees me so, I don't exist.I earn a scholarship to an expensive east coast school. My roommate belongs here. I don't. She is a force stronger than anything I've ever known.She looks me over and find...

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“Murder in Silence” by Paul Simpkin

Submitted to Contest #246

“Moby Dick?” suggested Mortimer Hopley. “Romeo and Juliet?” shouted Lady Hopley. “Hound of the Baskervilles?” said Mortimer Hopley. “Murder on the Links?” interjected Lady Hopley. “The Book of Isaiah?” guessed the Reverend Pocklington-Pugh. This energetic game of charades had been going on for almost an hour. Lord Hopley stood in the middle of the library with his hands round his throat staggering around the room with an expression of pain on his face. His performance was getting more and more passionate. The guesses continued. “Mysterious A...

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“Play Time” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #246

Perched atop the monkey bars, London and Amelia compared notes on their new teachers. Now in fourth grade, London had Amelia’s teacher last year.Amelia asked, “You like Mrs. Eval?”“She was so great. I learned a ton.”“Who knew there was so much to know?”“Yeah, this year feels kinda like reruns. Okay, I get vowels. We need them, I guess. But let’s move forward, okay?”Amelia saw their friend, Daisy, lock her bike and enter the park. As if sleepwalking, her languid pace contrasted with the screaming children running about. A kicked ball narrowly...

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“Delusion” by Carolyn O'B

Submitted to Contest #246

Clint was twelve years old when he was first punched in the face. The burning, throbbing sensations he felt in his cheek were definitely unexpected. The force caused him to stumble backward, and he fell on his bum. He has seen fist fights on television, the “punch-er” would take the initial shot and the “punch-ee” would appear to be infuriated, prompting him or her to retaliate. But the pain Clint felt was physical and he was reluctant to fight back and risk another blow. He also felt a b...

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“Reeling by the Wind” by Togo F

Submitted to Contest #246

“Pass me the line.” Shouted Josh, tinkering with the rod. I knew nothing about fishing. The term “line” held no significance to me, aside from it referring to a rope-thing. His backpack contained all sorts of trinkets, tiny toys, metal balls, worms, all neatly organized in separate canisters with transparent lids. Their purpose and use unclear to me, I brought him the entire bag. “Thanks man. Finally, I got you out of that hole.” &...

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“Agent 127” by Cedar Barkwood

Submitted to Contest #246

Trigger Warning: Death, violence, suicide, swearing, murder, abandonmentClide was sitting on the swing set, waiting for me. I could see in his eyes that he hadn't failed this time. Slowly, I walked out of the trees, my feet didn't make a sound on the summer evening grass. Yet he knew I was there before I had gotten as close as fifty yards."It's done." He said quietly. I walked quicker now, making no attempt to hide my footsteps."That's what you said last time, we had to go back and check. He wasn’t dead yet." I said."I did it this time, watc...

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“A Twisted Game” by Brian Haddad

Submitted to Contest #246

I watched in horror as Amy's bloody, lifeless body was covered by police investigators. The dark tarp did nothing to highlight her wonderful shapes, her pristine figure. But the blackness was better than seeing all that red. I shivered, looking around over my shoulders, trying to find the cop who had gone off to bring me a blanket. "Mr. Martin," the lead investigator said impatiently. He pulled out a small notebook and a pair of delicate reading glasses which he slipped on. "Please, just James." I continued glancing around while doing my bes...

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$250

Prize money

245

Contest entries

99

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 19, 2024 EST

Won by Sarah Coury 🏆

Title: Hearts Are Trump

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

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