Pictionary: The game achieved the Nirvana of coolness when the cast of Friends played it. Remember the scene where Joey draws a bean on the board and Rachel correctly guesses the book’s name to be Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being (!!). Such challenges are welcome. These will bring the heads of the MIL and DIL together — working, for head-butting is a strict no-no. Long titles are particularly recommended so that the partners spend time together, such as I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Life and Times of Michael K, A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man and Amazons of the Avant Garde.

Dumb charades: No matter how dense one partner proves to be, this is a game that must require one partner to understand what the other is trying to say. This induces empathy for the other. But care should be taken to choose the right movie titles. Monster-in-law won’t do. Neither will Biwi Ho to Aisi. And whatever you do, stay away from Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Choose from My Fair Lady (point at yourself), Sholay (point at your partner), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (point at the framed picture of SRK) — and everything by Sooraj Barjatya, for which just point at your pet dog. Throttling the MIL or DIL is not permitted at any point.

Singing special duet songs: Barjatya knew what Tolstoy meant when he said all happy families are alike. So there are only a few songs that you can sing. Topping the list is the Lata-Kumar Sanu number Samdhi Samdhan from Hum Aapke Hai Koun..! Another song is Yeh Dosti from Sholay. You can do it with the biker action — it’s a good bonding exercise. Or the classic Uttam-Suchitra number Ei Path Jodi Na Shesh Hoy from Saptapadi. This requires much co-ordinated cooing and eye movements. If you like mush, DIL, go for Shankar Mahadevan’s plaintive Tumhein sab hai pata hai na maa from Taare Zameen Par, taking care that MIL doesn’t faint.

Three-legged race: The three-legged race should not be restricted to primary school sports. There will be strict vigilance to ensure that the MILs and DILs, tied to each other, are not staring in diametrically opposite directions. That will be dangerous for themselves and for others. If they are, their heads will be banged, by others. No member of the losing teams will be allowed say tu tu main main to each other.

What game would you recommend for saas-bahu bonding? Tell t2@abpmail.com