How to : M.A.S.H: A Silly Prediction Game for All Ages

Things You Should Know

Title your page with “MASH” to get started, as this will predict whether you live in a mansion, apartment, shack, or house.
Pick your categories based on what you want in your future or story: a spouse, kids, car, pets, etc.
Then, discover your full fake future by crossing off or circling options under each category using your magic number.

1

M.A.S.H stands for mansion, apartment, shack, and house. Not only is this the name of the game, but it’s also super important in predicting your future. Put “MASH” in the top-center of the page like you would a title.^{[1]

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Try organizing your game with a tic-tac-toe grid. Draw a large “#” symbol across your sheet of paper, and write “MASH” in the top-center section.}

2

Decide what you want the game to predict (like your future spouse or job). The objective of M.A.S.H is to discover your “future,” and the categories you choose will be the parts of your life the game will cover. Underneath the word “MASH,” list what details you want in your story or prediction. You can have as many categories as you’d like, but we’d suggest having a minimum of 4.^{[2]

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Here are some common M.A.S.H categories to choose from:

Partner or who you’ll marry
Job
Salary
Number of kids
Car
Where you’ll live
Pet
If you’re playing with a # grid, label each section with a category, leaving the middle space blank.
The more categories you have, the longer and more detailed your story or future will be.}

3

Your “options” are all of your potential results for each category. List at least 4 options or scenarios for each category. These can be silly, practical, or downright horrendous! One of these options will end up as a part of your future, but you won’t have any power over which one. What you write down is up to you (or a friend), but it’s definitely more exciting and unpredictable if you have a variety of good and bad options in each category.^{[3]

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For example, under “People to Marry,” you may have “Harry, Niall, Zayn, and Liam.” For “Job,” you might say “Teacher, Astronaut, Pop Star, and Zookeeper.”
If you’re playing with a friend, they can pick your options for you—or, they pick 2, you pick 2. This can create more suspense, especially if your friend chooses funny, bad options, but you choose ideal ones. For example, you might select “dog and bunny” for your pet options, but they may go with “donkey and worm” for your remaining 2.}

4

Your magic number is used to randomly select your final results. How you get this number is entirely up to you. But just make sure you choose a number between 3-10 (because this’ll make for a more efficient selection process). Here are some popular ways to choose your magic number:
- Draw a spiral on the page or in the center of the # grid until a friend says stop. Your magic number is how many rings your spiral has.^{[4]
  
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- Close your eyes and dot the page until a friend tells you to stop. The number of dots is your magic number.
- Make your magic number your favorite or lucky number.
- Ask a friend to pick a number between 3 and 10.
- Roll a die or dice.

5

Count through options using your magic number to discover your future. Start at the “M” in “MASH” and move around the categories clockwise. Each option is 1 number. The option you land on when you reach your magic number is then eliminated, so cross it out. Keep counting and crossing out options until each category only has 1 option left.^{[5]

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For example, say your magic number is 8. You’d start at “M” and then count “A” as 1, “S” as 2, “H” as 3, keep counting into the next categories, and cross out the option that’s in the 8th slot.
Be sure to skip over the crossed-out options when you count.}

6

Circle the final options and there you have it—you’ve found your future! You’ve done all the hard work, and now it’s time to uncover what your future has in store. Will you live in a mansion on the moon with a pet pig? Will you be married to Harry Styles and live in a shack as a lawyer making $80k a year? Write out your results or simply tell them to your friends.