Taboo is a word guessing party game commercially available from Hasbro.

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

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 her team to say "baseball" without saying "sport," "game," "pastime," "hitter," "pitcher," nor "baseball." The giver may only use speech to prompt her teammates; gestures or drawings are not allowed (though modifications may be made for deaf or mute players).

While the giver is prompting the teammates, 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 (typically three minutes). 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.

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 "Arnold Schwarzenegger is the governor of the state; this is a place with lots of people in that state."

Free association by the giver's teammates may at times lead to a correct guess, though continual yelling of "bananas" or other irrelevant words may instead distract the giver. If a taboo word or part has been spoken by the teammates, the giver may then use that word, allowing further refining of teammates' guesses.

Finding associated words not in the taboo list (such as "bat" or "Yankees" in the "baseball" example above) is also helpful.

External link

• Taboo at Hasbro