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Learn how to play Taboo, a fun and challenging speaking activity for English learners. Download free printable cards for different levels and variations of the game.
Play the classic taboo game online with your friends or against the computer. Choose from 60 cards with different words and try to explain them without using the taboo words.
- Overview
- Starting the Game
- Playing Each Round
- Gaining an Edge on Your Opponents
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, a...
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.
Load cards into the card holder.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jan 9, 2023 · This classic Taboo board game features 212 cards with 848 relatable guess words from pop culture, trends, and more. Players try to give creative and carefully worded clues to help team members guess words fast as they race against the timer.
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Aug 10, 2023 · Download and print 100 taboo cards for a fun word association game. Choose from different themes like Christmas, Thanksgiving, or ESL, or create your own cards.
When a describer uses any Taboo words, use the squeaker to squeak them! Game includes 162 cards, squeaker, sand timer, score pad, game-changer die and game guide. Ages 13 and up.
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Learn how to play Taboo, a fun and hilarious game where you have to guess words without saying the taboo words on the card. Find out the objective, materials, setup, gameplay, and end of game rules for this popular party game.
