Word Ball: A Game of Random Prompts
Hold the Word Ball in your hands and rotate it, toss it gently, or close your eyes and place a finger on it. The word you land on becomes your prompt. Write, draw, speak, or create something inspired by that word. Let random lead. Each turn can be an action on its own, or can be a chain leading to… again, your rules, your choices. The point is to loosen control, trust your instincts, and let something unexpected emerge throughout the game.
What you need: A ball. Words written all over it (random, mixed, uneven).
How to play: Take the ball. Look at the word your finger lands on.
Then respond: Write something. Say something. Draw something. Or continue a story. Pass the ball and repeat, or keep going on your own.
If you pick 3 words: Create something that connects all of them - a sentence, a short story, a drawing, a scene.
If your finger lands on a blank spot: Treat it as a wildcard - choose any word, invent one, do anything freely.
Rules: No rules, ideas above are just examples. Make up your own game.
Let’s make the ball!
1. You’ll need a styrofoam ball (any size — bigger gives more possibilities), an old book, scissors, PVA glue, and transparent tape.
2-3. Glue strips of book pages onto the ball to cover the styrofoam. Use index or blank pages first. This creates a neutral base, so gaps won’t show later.
4. Next, cut the page edges so there is as little white space as possible.
5-6. Cut or tear the strips into different sizes. Mix them randomly.
7-8. Glue the pieces one by one, placing them side by side. Make sure each piece is fully glued down — no edges lifting. Cover the entire surface.
9-10. Cover the ball with transparent tape; it will protect the surface and hold everything in place.
11. You can see in this sample that if pieces aren’t glued properly first, they will lift, and tape won’t fix it. Glue and press everything down carefully.
12. Your word ball is ready to use.
I used cut-up book pages, but you can go further by covering the ball with symbols, colors, numbers, doodles, etc. Let your imagination fly high.
A few more ideas to start with:
Land on one word and draw the first image that comes to mind.
Pick three words and write a tiny story using them.
Use one word as a journaling prompt for 5 minutes.
Pick two words and combine them into a strange invention.
Use the word as inspiration for a poem title.
Create a character based on the chosen word.
Land on a blank space and invent your own challenge.
Let’s play!
If you make one—or a whole bunch—I’d love to see. Tag me on Instagram @maiiou.creates so I can admire what you create.
Keep exploring! 🖤
©Maiiou. Maja Piskorska. All rights reserved.
“In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind, there are few.”
