How to Play the Game of Taboo

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Taboo is a classic card game, released by Hasbro in 1989. The goal is to get your teammates to guess the word you are describing, but there's a list of words you can't say. You'll want to divide teams evenly, get the cards ready, and have a timer. As you play you should try to give creative clues, listen for your opponents to say the taboo words, and pass sometimes when a card stumps you. Each card you get right is a point for your team, and all of the cards your skip, or cards on which you said words that were taboo are a point for the other team.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Starting the Game

1
Divide your group into teams. Do your best to have an even number of people on each team. You also want to try to make the teams even in regards to skill level. Match new players up with more skilled players, and young players with older players.
- You might do guys versus girls or some other simple way to split up the teams. One team could be all of the people with birthdays that fall during January-June, and the other team could be those with birthdays in July-December.
- If you have an odd number, it might be good to work out a system where one person on the bigger team sits out each round, or that person has to give clues an extra time.
- When you have couples or family members playing together, it can be a good idea to put them on separate teams so that they do not have any kind of advantage over the other players.
2
Load cards into the card holder. Before each turn starts, you'll want to fill the card holder with cards so that the clue-giving player can flip through them faster. You don't want to have to draw from a pile unless you run out.^{[1]
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- This is more of a suggestion than a rule, because it makes the game run smoother but is not mandatory. If you want to draw each card from the pile, that is fine, too.
- You can play the game if you only have the Taboo cards and none of the other equipment. Gameplay can progress in the same way. You could even write up your own cards with a guess-word and Taboo words that you decide yourself.
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3
Draw one card at a time. You can not look ahead at any of the other cards in the deck. You can only look at each card as you draw it to begin giving clues for it. If you catch someone looking ahead, you need to call them out on it as this is cheating.

Note: Make sure that each time you draw no one on your team can see the card you have drawn. If one of your teammates does see it, you must take it out of play, but your opponent does not get the point for it.
4
Start the timer. Each player has a certain amount of time to get their teammates to guess as many words as they can. It might be good to designate someone on each turn who is going to pay attention to the timer. You can also switch to a timer that makes noise when it runs out.
- You could use a timer on someone's phone so that it will make noise when it goes off. Each round should be 1-2 minutes. You can decide on a longer or shorter time limit to change up the game.
- The card you are looking at when the timer runs out is not scored for anyone and should be discarded, rather than passed on to the next player.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Playing Each Round

1
Give your teammates clues about the guess-word. If the guess-word is “book,” you might give clues like “something you use to study in school,” and “a large collection of words that has a main plot.” You score points when your teammates guess the word. You can't use any part of the word or any of the taboo words that are listed.^{[2]
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- If you get to a word that you don't know, or your teammates are having a hard time guessing it, you can skip the card. However, if you do skip a card, that point goes to the other team.
- If the guess-word is cookbook, then you can't use “cook” or “book” within any of your clues.
- Your teammates must guess the exact word, so if they get it close, or get part of the word, you need to keep giving them clues until they get it exactly right.
2
Avoid the taboo words. Each card includes some of the most obvious related words and designates those as taboo words, meaning that you are not allowed to say them. For “book,” the taboo words might be “pages,” “read,” “story,” “paperback,”and “text.” You'll lose a point if you say a taboo word, so it's important to be careful.^{[3]
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Note: You can't even say part of the taboo word. So if the word is “automobile,” you can't say "auto."
3
Have an opponent watch and listen for the taboo words. Each round, one player on the non-guessing team is a watchdog making sure you don't use any of the taboo words. Take turns having each player on each team be the one to hold the buzzer and keep track of taboo word use.
- When you hear the clue giver say one of the taboo words, you buzz them. Put the card into a discard pile for that round. Put skipped cards into the same discard pile.
4
Separate the cards into two piles during each round. One pile is for cards that the guessing team got correct. The second pile is for cards that the clue-giver skipped and cards on which the clue-giver accidentally said the guess-word or any of the taboo words.
- Make sure that everyone is clear on which pile is which as they set cards down. It is important to keep the piles separated for accurate scoring.
5
Score the round. The clue-giving team gets one point for all of the cards that were guessed correctly. The opponents get one point for each card in the discard pile. The discard pile includes skipped cards and any cards the clue-giver got buzzed on.
- You can decide to play to a certain score, or for a certain number of rounds, whichever you prefer.
- Make sure not to score the card that the timer ran out on for anyone. It gets put out of the deck until the end of the game.
- Take all of the cards used during that round and set them aside. Don't use them again until the entire deck has been used. At that point, if you are still playing, you can shuffle the deck and start using the cards again.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Gaining an Edge on Your Opponents

1
Give clues quickly but carefully. Part of what makes Taboo enjoyable is the manic quality of clue giving, so don't be afraid to say as much information as quickly as you can. The one point of being careful is to still avoid saying any of the taboo words.
- Read the guess-word and all of the taboo words before you begin to give any clues. You want to remember what words you can't say.
- If you realize partway into giving your clues that you said something early on that was a bad clue and that actually confused your teammates, you can tell them to disregard that clue.
2
Use synonyms and antonyms. If you can get people thinking about words that are similar to the word you're describing, you can get them on the right track. Remember, you can't say “sounds like” or “rhymes with,” so don't try to use these in your clues.
- For example, if the guess-word is poster, you might be able to described it as a wall hanging, or a picture.
- If the guess-word was angry, you could say, “It is not happy or pleased.”
3
Describe multiple meanings that a word could have. Many words that you'll get could have more than one meaning, and it doesn't matter which meaning you describe. So using the various meanings of words will help people make the connection about what those meanings have in common.^{[4]
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- If you have a word like bank, you can get people there by describing the place you deposit money or the edge of a river.
- If the word is chicken, you could describe it as a farm animal and also what you call someone who is acting afraid. You could describe when two cars are racing toward each other until one of them veers out of the way.
4
Pass on words that take too long. Sometimes you'll get a word that your team gets stumped on. Even though you lose a point for passing, if you move on to other words that are easier, then you can get more points for your team. Losing one point is worth gaining three if you can.^{[5]
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- It's quite common for someone to win 6 points in a 1-minute round, so don't spend more than about 15 seconds on a given word. It's likely that the point you'll earn won't be worth it
- You still want to do this with discretion because if you pass on too many, then you'll just end up with less points than your opponent. Only pass when it is absolutely necessary to help your team come out on top.

Community Q&A

Question

Can you use gestures when playing Taboo?

Community Answer

No. Taboo isn't like charades. You can only give word clues.
Question

How do we play with 3 people?

Community Answer

You could play a sort of round robin where each player gives hints to one other player. The third player would be the buzzer each time. So when Sheila, Ted, and John are playing, Sheila gives clues to Ted; Ted gives clues to John; John gives clues to Shelia. Then keep track of each individual person's points after each round.
Question

If driver is the word, and someone says school bus driver, does it count?

Community Answer

It could count if you want it to. Often in cases like that is based on a vote by the players. You could also tell your teammate, "Get rid of 'school bus'," as long as neither of those were taboo words.