A Membership Game
Magic Umbrella is an example of a secret rule game.
A secret rule game is a playful, often puzzling group activity where one or a few players know a secret rule that determines what fits or happens in the game, while the rest of the players must figure it out through observation and deduction. The fun lies in the mix of confusion, clever hints, and the "aha!" moment when players crack the code, making these games perfect for sparking laughter and creative thinking in social settings.
Like all secret rule games, Magic Umbrella is played in a group where some, but not all, players know the secret rule.
Magic Umbrella is also an example of a Membership game.
In a Membership game, gameplay revolves around organizing things into groups based on a specific quality. Anything that can be discussed — a person, place, thing, or otherwise — may or may not have that quality. Players who know the secret rule understand the criteria that determine whether something belongs under the magic umbrella.
Gameplay in Magic Umbrella revolves around players gathering examples of something that either belongs under the magic umbrella, or not.
There are two ways examples can be provided. First, a player who knows the secret rule can volunteer an example, identifying whether it belongs under the magic umbrella. When providing examples, it is often helpful to offer two things that are similar in some respects, but only one of which belongs under the magic umbrella — the contrast gives the other players something to reason about.
Second, players who don't yet know the rule can suggest something new and ask the knowers whether it belongs under the magic umbrella. Knowers respond at the same time, building up a body of examples for the unknowers to deduce from. While questions will almost always be answered with "yes" or "no", there are some cases where the answer may be less concrete, which can give players further clues about the secret rule.
The game ends when all players have figured out the rule and can agree on whether something belongs under the magic umbrella reliably. Those players will no longer be able to play that particular game, but there are plenty of other secret rule games to try next.
Reveal the secret to Magic Umbrella
A thing belongs under the magic umbrella if and only if it is preceded by the word "Um" when the player asks about it.
One thing to consider when playing Magic Umbrella is what form the "Um" can take. It's important to reach agreement as early as possible on the following details:
Do all filler words, such as "Uh," and "Hmm," count as "Um" for the purposes of the game?
Not everyone uses "Um" as their filler word, and unless you are playing in a large group, you may find yourself in a situation where only players who know the rule consistently make that noise. This can make it difficult for new players to find anything that belongs under the magic umbrella, which can be discouraging.
My recommendation is to allow anything close to "Um," to help avoid discouraging players who don't naturally say "Um."
Does the "Um" have to come right before the thing that's supposed to go under the magic umbrella?
For example, "Can... um... magnetoresistive non-volatile storage media go under the magic umbrella?" vs. "Um... I think that a priceless collection of etruscan snoods can go under the magic umbrella!"
I think it's easier to play the game, and no less fun, if the "Um" is allowed anywhere in the sentence. Let people be creative! However, there is one exception:
Can the "Um" be contained in the thing that's supposed to go under the magic umbrella?
This is the most controversial rule consideration for Magic Umbrella. Do umpires, tumbleweeds, forums, or indeed umbrellas, belong under the magic umbrella, simply due to their spelling?
On one hand, it's nice to allow the "Um" to fall literally anywhere in the sentence, including within the word or phrase being tested. Additionally, there is a nice property many secret rule games share, that the game's title usually fits the rule. Green glass doors are allowed through the Green Glass Doors, after all.
But on the other hand, players who stumble across one of these special words will tend to be mislead by it, taking longer to understand why things that were allowed under the magic umbrella seconds ago might no longer belong there.
My recommendation is not to allow something under the magic umbrella simply because it happens to have an "um" sound embedded within it. Although I think in an ideal world the game is more beautiful if played that way, the reality is that you will have more fun playing the game if players can focus just on the filler words being added to questions and statements, and not have to worry about the things under the umbrella themselves.