Life hack: Upgrade your holiday with this game

Celebrity Star Spot - your ultimate travelling companion.

Mr.D and I have been playing ‘Celebrity Star Spot’ on holidays for as long as we can remember.

We’re not too sure how it started, presumably one of us shouting “Benedict Cumberbatch, 2 o’clock!” at an airport, followed by 10 minutes of intense review, is probably what kicked the whole thing off.

Not Benedict Cumberbatch.

The general idea of the game, as the name would suggest, is to spot people who look like famous people, when we’re out and about. They can also be people you both know, not necessarily famous. 

We love to reminisce about spotting ‘Cockney Richard’ on holiday, who not only looked exactly like our next door neighbour Richard, but as a bonus, his wife was the perfect spit of Majorie Dawes (the Matt Lucas character). 

Double whammy, two points!

Obviously proffering “my old English teacher!” is a complete waste of time, it will never fly, no matter how many Cuba Libres you throw at the problem. Nil points.

It is particularly pleasing when the lookalike is the wrong sex too, but still looks alarmingly like them. A female Tim Minchin in Pizza Express has always been one of our greatest spots ever.

The rules of engagement:

1. The Spotter calls out the celebrity’s name and indicates vaguely where they are.

2. Their opponent then becomes the Judge and the onus is on them to spot said Celeb in the crowd, which in itself is an admission of lookalikeness and worthy of at least half a point… 

3. Or the Judge may choose, if it’s a particularly bad spot (and senses the Spotter is literally clutching at straws), to deliberately not see them at all, whilst exclaiming “Francis Rossi? You mean the guy from Status Quo? There’s no one in here remotely resembling him, whilst waving a hand to indicate the other 5,000 people in the airport”… as a generic old guy in jeans walks slowly past, dashing the Spotter’s hopes of a late draw.

4. In the event the Judge agrees there is a likeness, the following scores can be awarded:

0.5 point is awarded if…

• the likeness isn’t great, but you did accidentally identify ‘Barry Gibb’ in the crowd. Doh!

• the likeness is terrible, but you’re pretty far ahead with the scores so you may as well be generous. 

• the likeness is terrible but the Spotter seems quite insistent and you’ve had far too many Aperols to care.

1 point is awarded if…

• it’s a great likeness and one who you’ll both be referring to for years to come. 

• the likeness is tenuous at best, but you’re really far ahead with the scores so you may as well be generous. 

• the likeness is only vague, and only in profile, but the Spotter seems very insistent and you’ve had far too many Piña Coladas to care.

2 points are awarded if…

• It is the actual Celebrity!  

The massive catch with this, is that either both parties must wholeheartedly agree it’s ‘actual’ them, thank you Noel Gallagher in Prague. 

Or it must be substantiated by one of you cringingly asking said ‘celebrity’ if it’s actually them. This method is usually employed in the case of a ‘sporting legend’ that I’ve never heard of and won’t be convinced of, despite being offered 100’s of Googled pictures… especially if I’m trailing in the points. 

Many thanks to ‘actual’ Ray Parlour for humouring Mr.D during your all-inclusive break in Barbados, just so he could gain an additional point.

0 points are awarded if…

• The other player doesn’t see them in time! Noooooooooo!
  It can be brutal to watch a near perfect, albeit female, Will Ferrell turn and descend into the subway before they can be substantiated, but thems are the rules. Nil points.  

We particularly enjoy it when there is something intrinsically different about the lookalike, but they still do look like the celebrity in question, for example a ‘Spanish Shirley’ from Wham! or a ‘Chinese Liza Minnelli’.

Also time-travelling is fun when you spot a young Helen Mirren or an elderly Miley Cyrus.

Not Miley Cyrus or Hilary Clinton.

Above all, the thing about this game that never ceases to amaze me, is how different we all are. I must know 100’s if not 1,000’s of famous faces, gathered subconsciously over the years, but when you want to match them up with a beachful of hopefuls, not a hope! It’s quite astonishing.

As we get older, and our power of recall fades, it often ends up as a guessing game, which is also fun:

Mr.D: “I’ve got one!!!! The guy seated right behind you… NOT NOW!… it will come to me… I think he was in a film.”

Me (swinging round exactly on the ‘Now!’ cue): “Oh yes, I know him! Played an odd guy?”

Mr.D: “Yes! Maybe a horror film?”

Me: “I think he was a really straight character and then transformed into something else?”

Mr.D: “Oh yes! Got it!”

Me (taking another sneaky look): “Who?”

Mr.D: “Deffo, it’s so obvious now!”

Me: “Who?”

Mr.D: “I can’t believe it took us this long to pin-point!”

Me: “For the love of God, whooooo???????”

Mr.D: “The Dad from the Lost Boys!!!”

Mr.D: “YESSSSSSS! I’m taking a full point for that one! Spot on!”

And so it goes on…

“Harry Styles, 10 O’Clock!!!!!”

Not Harry Styles.

I strongly urge you to give it a go on your next trip, it can really liven up a flight delay, or enhance a chilled afternoon’s people watching.

You’re welcome.

K8x

Join in the comments below:

Who would you most like to spot on holiday?

Who have you spotted on holiday?

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