Talk:Zoom Schwartz Profigliano

message: This posting offers a correction to the "History" section.  Zoom Schwartz Profigliano was very popular among City of Syracuse lifeguards dating at least as far back as the early 1970s.  The guards from whom I learned the game (in 1975) had been playing it for several years.  Most of them (and all the best players) were Syracuse University swimmers and alums (men and women), and it was obvious to me that the game had been passed down from earlier SU swimming graduates.  The game quickly spread in popularity among the 150 or so City guards (and their friends and relations) during the mid-to-late 1970s and early 1980s.  Rousing games of Zoom Schwartz were a staple of guard parties (and there were lots of them) for many summers.  Although I have no evidence that the game was invented at Syracuse (and I'm not suggesting that it was), it certainly was played here -- often, and well.  I can say for certain that the game did not originate at MIT, at least not in the mid- to late 1970s. 
The game we played involved a 3-word vocabulary – "Zoom" to initiate or redirect the "conversation," and "Schwartz" or "Profigliano" to reply.  "Schwartz" required the speaker to look  at the person to whom the reply is directed when speaking; "Profigliano" required the speaker NOT to look at the person to whom the reply is directed.  Failure to respond immediately (no 5 second rule here), or incorrect pronunciation (a "splivage") was a foul.  The simplicity of the rules made head fakes and other deceptive moves critical to success in the game, and led to  long and entertaining rallies.  I suspect, though, that the addition of 4th or 5th commands (as in the Southern California or Wisconsin rules) would have been all kinds of fun also! 
Incidentally, while ski-bumming in Aspen in 1980-81, I met a guy from Connecticut who knew the game as "Zoom Schwartz BONfigliano."  Same rules as noted above.
Flip5 19:43, 5 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: History

message: Two anonymous editors have claimed the game was invented by "Steve Carr".  One says it was "invented in the early 70s by Steve Carr of Oakleigh." If that's true, great!  But we really, really need some sort of citation before we start attributing the game to a specific person.  Absent that citation, I'm going to keep deleting it.  — Alan De Smet | Talk 04:18, 13 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Who is Steve Carr? 

message: My favorite variant replaces the words... but not the rules.
Zoom == F&^k
Schwartz == S&^t
Profigliano == "Eat me"
Usually, this version is done as loudly as possible.  Great fun.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.115.113.144 (talk) 01:30, 2 March 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  The profane 

message: 1. No pointing. Digits are for eating. I mean, not eating. There is NO cannabalism at Oberlin College. Point = Drink.
2. A round only begins after a successful preamble: "The name of this game is Zoom, Schwartz, Profigliano (and all words currently in use in order). Zoom (or Zoom-equivalent word if in use)." Any stumbling, mumbling, uhs, ums, mispronounciations, etc, are considered an foul = Drink.
3. Any word said by any player during an active round (after successful preamble) is considered play and is judged accordingly. 
4. No cannabalism.
5. The words, their movements and their meanings are as follow and introduced to play in this order after the initial three:
Zoom - look at recipient - introduction
Schwartz - look at recipient - reply
Profigliano - look NOT at recipient - reply
Boink - look at "lap" - reply
Belvedere - look up - introduction to player on left
Meep Meep - n/a - end
Quaffle - n/a - repeat
Hedge - n/a - introduction to player on right
Wembley - look at recipient - forced introduction to previous player, await instructions
Xavier - look at recipient - forced introduction to previous player, speak now
Flesh - n/a - reply, next statement is in metalanguage where any reply = a legal schwartz
F***ologist - n/a - all players say "when you said f-ologist, my woman heard you! (various additions permissible)" 
Volvo - look at recipient - forced introduction to three-way conversation with speaker and previous speaker, await 
instructions
Adolph - look at recipient - forced introduction to three-way conversation with speaker and previous speaker, speak now
Counter - look at recipient - reply with next number, begins with 1
Chan - n/a - may be said after the 3rd consecutive repetition of any word by the same player, ends play because a Chan is a foul = Drink. (Example: Zoom. Quaffle. Zoom. Quaffle. Zoom. Quaffle. Chan.)
Alexander - n/a - introduction to second player to the left
Bobby - n/a - introduction to second player to the right
This variation was developed at T-House, an off-campus residence. Many people played and contributed to the game's development, but four habitual players known as The Council acted as a rules-setting body, determining through vigorous research the appropriate interpretation of the language above.
Speck22 (talk) 20:49, 16 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Oberlin Rules Circa 1984 

message: I recall playing a version of this game with folks from the Opera department around 1990.
I learned it from a Bass named Dan Judge, who came to us from Oberlin, and what I remember coincides with the rules given above.
I don't know the proper forum to do it, but it might prove useful to try and backtrack the game via the various individuals who we first learned it from, and so on and so on, documenting the process along the way.
Suggestions?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.65.33.143 (talk) 20:13, 24 August 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Indiana University School of Music  

message: Um, citations for a drinking game? 
Speck22 (talk)  —Preceding undated comment was added at 23:48, 20 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Wikification 

message: Kind of funny to see that some penalize mispronunciation.  From my experience with how poeple butcher Italian names, especially those with -GLI-, I guarantee you that more than 95% of Americans will pronounce "Profigliano" incorrectly. 174.21.3.114 (talk) 04:45, 14 March 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Mispronunciation rule 

message: I well recall this game being frequently (and loudly) played in the Junior Common Room of Wills Hall at the University of Bristol between 1984 and 1986.
It was then known as Zoom schwartz figliano and had a dozen or more additional commands and rules, which had been added by the participants over time to commemorate various events, infamous previous game participants and even politicians of the day.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Whodoyouthinkiam (talk • contribs) 23:28, 21 April 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Wills Hall, University of Bristol 

message: I learned this in off-campus housing at UofM about 1985. It was simply called Zoom.  Zoom, schwartz and profigliano used the way described in the main page, but turbo and boink were used.  Turbo a head fake sending it to the person on your left, boink to the right.  We got so good, we'd play a game called Thumper Zoom Viking which was a mix of all three games at the same time.  The person active could switch games at will. Ohleary (talk) 19:50, 10 February 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  University of Maryland circa 1985 

message: If we are going to start deleting edits because they are unsourced, we may as well delete the entire article. How do you provide a reference for personal experiences? 108.20.74.240 (talk) 17:02, 29 December 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Difficulty of referencing sources 

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thread_title:  External links modified