Rules of Play
Box of Taboo

Board game · 1989

Taboo

In the party game Taboo, you're trying to give clues to your teammates so that they'll guess a particular word, but you can't say just anything you like. Some clues are off limits! When you're the active player, hold the deck o…

Players
4 to 10
Duration
20 min
Age
12 and up
Complexity
Beginner

Brian Hersch · Editions ATLAS

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In brief

In the party game Taboo, you're trying to give clues to your teammates so that they'll guess a particular word, but you can't say just anything you like. Some clues are off limits!

When you're the active player, hold the deck of cards so that you and the opposing team can see the top card. At the top of the card is the word your teammate must say to score the card, and you can anything you want to help them figure out what to guess other than the word itself (duh!) or the five words/phrases listed on the bottom of the card.

For example, can you get your teammates to say "bacon" without saying "pig", "eggs", "breakfast", "sausage", or "eat"? If you do, you score the card, then move on to the next card, trying to guess as many cards as possible before time runs out. However, if you say a taboo word (or make gestures), the opposing team will buzz a buzzer and score the card themselves.

How well can you describe things without breaking the taboo?

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