How to Play Taboo: Rules, Scoring and Ways to Play Without the Box

The rules

1. 1Look at the card

   The describer sees the word and the words they’re not allowed to say.

2. 2Describe it

   Describe the word to your team without saying it or any forbidden word. Say one and the card is skipped.

3. 3Guess and score

   Your team shouts guesses. Every correct guess before the timer runs out is a point.

Players: 2 or more, best with 4 to 10 in two teams. Time: 20 to 40 minutes. Needs: cards or slips with a target word and forbidden words, a one-minute timer.

1. Two teams. Teams sit mixed or opposite. One team goes first.
2. Pick a clue giver. They draw a card. The top word is the target. The words below are forbidden.
3. Start the timer. 60 seconds is standard.
4. Give clues. Say anything except the target word, any of the forbidden words, parts or forms of them (“cooking” for “cook”), or gestures, spelling and rhymes.
5. A watcher. Someone on the other team holds the cards and buzzes or shouts if you slip. In a two-person game, you police yourself and the guesser can call you out.
6. Scoring. +1 for each correct guess. -1 if you break a rule. Skipping a card is usually free, or costs a point in strict versions.
7. Win. After an equal number of turns each, highest score wins. Many people play to 20.

A sample card

Target: Campfire. Forbidden: marshmallow, wood, burn, camping, smoke.

Fair clues: “What you sit around in the woods at night.” “You tell ghost stories next to it.” Mistake: “It’s what you roast a marshmallow over” breaks the rule on the first clue.

Strong clue givers lead with a category and a feeling, then narrow it. Weak ones panic and say a banned word in the first five seconds.

3 ways to play

1. Buy the official game

Taboo is a trademark of Hasbro, and the original board game is sold in most toy and game shops and online. The box comes with a deck of cards, a plastic buzzer and a sand timer. It is good value if you play regularly. Duoo is not affiliated with Hasbro.

2. Make it yourself

1. Cut 30 paper slips.
2. Write a target word at the top and five forbidden words below.
3. Use a phone timer and a spoon on a mug as a buzzer.

Not sure what words to use? Our Taboo words list has ready-made cards. If you want to cut up random words for the target, use the pictionary word generator and write the forbidden words yourself. Use team generator to split teams quickly.

3. Play on Duoo

The Duoo app has a Taboo-style game, Taboo, with 9 categories and 406 cards. It shows the target and forbidden words on one phone, times each round, and counts points. You can try it free in a browser first. Nothing to print or cut.

Variations

With 2 players. One clue giver, one guesser, 60 seconds each. Swap after every card, or after every minute. Keep a running score and play 10 cards each.

With 3 people. Two on a team, one as the judge who holds the cards and buzzes. Rotate the judge each round.

In teams. The classic setup. Give the opposing team the buzzer so they have a reason to listen carefully.

Adults and party. Use edgier cards and have the losing team take a shot or a forfeit. Cut the timer to 45 seconds for a faster pace.

Video call. The clue giver is sent the card privately. Everyone else is on mute except the guessing team and one judge who has the list of banned words.

One-word clues. A hard mode where each clue can only be a single word.

Tips

• Start with a category: “It’s a place…” or “It’s a food…”
• Use opposites and fill-in-the-blank: “The opposite of cold” or “Salt and ___”.
• Skip fast. A dead card eats a third of your minute.

More to read

See the Taboo words list for cards, how to play Charades and how to play Pictionary for other guessing games.