Monday, August 15, 2011

Dating Games

Dating games as old as the hills. The traditional dating games revolve around socializing and matchmaking. With the advent of modern society and disappearance of pre-arranged marriages, dating games became even more popular. Among all the dating games played, two stand out as the most popular: speed dating and FMK (eff kill marry).

Speed dating is a formalized matchmaking game which purpose is to encourage people to meet a number of new singles. The game was originally played as a way to help Jewish singles meet and marry. Speeddating as a single word is a registered trademark. As two separate words, the term is often used as a generic term for similar events. There is even a web site named speeddate, which sole purpose is to enable people to have speed dates online.

The first speed-dating event took place in Beverly Hills in late 1998. Soon afterward, several commercial services began offering secular round-robin dating events. By 2000, speed dating had really taken off, perhaps boosted by its portrayal in shows such as Sex and the City as something that glamorous people did. Supporters argue that speed dating saves time, as most people decide if they are romantically compatible very quickly, and first impressions are often permanent.

The other popular dating game is €Eff, Marry, or Kill€ (often abbreviated FMK). This is a forced choice game in which the player(s) are asked to assign a given trio into which ones they would like to have sex with, date or dump respectively, and to explain why. The group most often consists of objects of the players' sexual interest.

A number of online versions of the game exist. The best known web site is MyTripleD (http://www.MyTripleD.com), which features two versions of the game: user and celebrity. Howard Stern has played the game many times on his popular radio show, sometimes with celebrity guests and sometimes with staff members on the show. This is also a popular game with college students, given its sexual nature and the wide selection of possible choices.
The €Eff, Marry, Kill€ is known around the world under many names, including: "Wed, Bed or Dead", "Wed, Bed or Cliff", "Snog, Marry or Avoid", "F***, Marry or Kill", "Do, Dump or Marry", €Do, Dump or Date€, €F***, Friend or Foe€, €Punch, Pash or Partner€, €Chuck, F*** or Marry€, as well as "the cliff game".

Regardless of the form, the cliff game is about the player making forced choices about a group of three people. The basic choice they have to make is who to have sex with (do), date or dump. The game can be played as a computer game, or with friends or co-workers in a bar.


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