Taboo (game)
From Free net encyclopedia
| Taboo | |
|---|---|
| Players | 4 or more |
| Age range | 12 and up |
| Setup time | < 5 minutes |
| Playing time | 10 min to 15 min |
| Rules complexity | Medium |
| Strategy depth | Medium |
| Random chance | Medium |
| Skills required | Team play |
| {{{footnotes|}}} | |
Taboo is a word guessing party game commercially available from Hasbro.
Contents |
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 his or 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, "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,
- 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," 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.
External link
- Taboo at Hasbrode:Tabu (Spiel)