Celebrity Scorecard

Considering how awash Los Angeles is in celebrities, it’s surprising that no one, other than paparazzi , has turned spotting them into a competition--until now. Los Angeles graphic designers Peter Williamson and friends have devised a game called Celebrity Encounters that they run on an informal basis among two dozen players.

The game operates on a 15-point scale with five points possible in each of three categories: how hot the celebrity is, how intimate the contact was (talking, eye contact or touching) and location of encounter (the more unlikely a place, the better).

“When I try to explain it, I usually say, ‘If you have sex with Madonna in Kansas, you’ll get the maximum number of points,’ ” says Williamson.

Rules dictate that neither the celebrity nor the spotter can be working at the time of the encounter. “You can’t be their waiter or see them at a show,” Williamson explains.

Friends leave messages with their encounters on Williamson’s machine and he--as the sole judge and jury--doles out the points.

High scores went to spotting Julia Roberts in a Silver Lake grocery store, talking with Lauren Hutton in a Pasadena bank line and being behind David Lynch at the County Art Museum when he inquired about parking validation.

Essentials

What you need to maneuver the L. A. scene: Costume changes. L. A. loves a party, and it can’t resist a theme party. The summer doldrums are being livened up with a series of dress-up soirees as fashion victims and victimettes comply by rushing out to purchase appropriate clothes and accessories. At the “City Slickers” premiere, guests were duded up in sterling silver concho belts, handmade cowboy boots and enough turquoise jewelry to choke an entire herd of cows, and the Venice Art Walk’s closing night gala with its 1960s theme brought out tattered jeans and miniskirts. For the “spaghetti Western” party on opening night of Music Center Opera’s “The Girl of the Golden West,” usually staid socialites sported 10-gallon hats with their tuxedoes. Coming up: The July premiere of “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey,” which will undoubtedly inspire some to dress in most excellent surfer jams and high-tops. Party on, dudes.