Taboo (game)

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Taboo (game)

Players	4 or more
Age range	12 and up
Setup time	< 5 minutes
Playing time	10 to 15 minutes
Random chance	Medium
Skills required	Team play

Taboo is a word guessing party game commercially available from Hasbro. The objective of the game is for a player to have their partner guess the word on their card without using the word itself or five additional words listed on the card.

1 Equipment
2 Rules
3 Strategy
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Equipment

A few hundred cards with words on both sides (how many cards there are depends on the game version)
Tray for holding cards
Timer
Buzzer

[edit] Rules

An even number of players from four to ten sit alternating around in a circle. Players take turns as the "giver," who attempts to prompt his or her teammates to guess as many keywords as possible in the allotted time. However, each card also has "taboo" (forbidden) words listed which may not be spoken. Should the giver say one, a "censor" on the opposing team hits the buzzer and the giver must move on to the next word. For example, the giver might have to get his or her team to say "baseball" without saying "sport," "game," "pastime," "hitter," "pitcher," nor "baseball." The giver may NOT say a part of a "taboo" word.^[1] Ex. using "base" in "baseball" is taboo. The giver may only use speech to prompt her teammates; gestures, sounds (e.g. barking), or drawings are not allowed (though modifications may be made for deaf or mute players). The giver's hints may NOT rhyme with a taboo word, or be an abbreviation of a taboo word.

While the giver is prompting the teammates (without hand motions), they may yell out as many guesses as possible, rational or not, with no penalties. Once the team correctly guesses the word, the giver moves on to the next word, trying to get as many words as possible in the allotted time. When time runs out, play turns over to the next adjacent player of the other team. The playing team receives one point for correct guesses, one penalty point if "taboo" words are spoken, one penalty point if the giver passes on more than one card.

The team with the most points at the end of a predetermined set of rounds, wins.

[edit] Strategy

Leading teammates along a certain train of thought is the most common strategy. For example, if the key word is "San Francisco," the banned words might include "California" and "city." The giver could say, "The Golden Gate Bridge, Transamerica Pyramid, and Coit Tower are located here."

Free association by the giver's teammates may at times lead to a correct guess, though continual yelling of irrelevant words may instead distract the giver.

Often, groups of friends who play this game will have shared expertise or experiences that may lie outside of mainstream popular culture. This can be used to one's advantage, because these realms of expertise often have their own esoteric vocabularies that can easily be used to describe the given word without triggering a buzz response. Technical jargon (from any shared discipline) is often a highly effective way to sidestep the five Taboo words on the card.

For example,

Teens to young adults often use pornographic or sexual innuendo to describe a word, for example: if the word is crab, and the ensuing taboo words all pertain to the aquatic animal, it is perfectly legal to describe the STD.
A video gamer describing "Party" may say in a deep voice, "You must gather your BLANK before venturing forth" as a reference to computer roleplaying games in the Bioware tradition.
Fans of musical theater can sing the first two words to a given showtune and often, given correct pitches, the rest of the team will know the answer immediately. Other musical or poetic genres may work, though the lyrics are often not as prominent as in musical theater. Singing is a perfectly legal tactic in Taboo.
Those with scientific backgrounds have a vast technical vocabulary that will often totally circumvent the Taboo words on the cards.

'* It is also perfectly legal to go for a homophone. For example, if the word to be guessed is "Inn," and the taboo words are along the lines of "hotel," "bed," "breakfast," "Holiday," and "Newhart," there is nothing wrong with the giver saying "not out," as a means of inducing teammates to guess the homophone "in."'

Description or definition of the given word is often a foolproof strategy, but advanced players aiming for speed also make judicious use of the BLANK strategy. If a common phrase, quote, lyric, or title of an artistic work contains the given word, introducing it with the substitution of the word "BLANK" is far faster (and more fun) compared to description or definition.