How it works
These forbidden word game cards put one target word on screen with five words the describer may not say: get your team to shout Pancake without breakfast, syrup, flip, batter or stack. The deck holds 455 original cards in 14 topics and three levels, with a round timer and team scores, for Taboo-style rounds from one phone. The whole list is printed below.
Read the full guide
Run a round from one phone
Split into two teams and choose the first describer. Before anyone looks, press Topic to pick a topic and a level. The describer holds the phone so that one player from the other team, the watcher, can read the card too. Press Play a 1-minute round. Describe the word at the top of the card without using any of the five under "Do not say". When a teammate shouts the word, press Next card. When time is up, press +1 under your team on the end card once for each word guessed, not for skipped cards.
The rules, and the ones to agree first
In the boxed game a turn lasts one minute, each guessed word scores a point, and saying a forbidden word costs a point and the card. The describer may only talk: no gestures, no sound effects, no drawing. Parts and forms of a blocked word count, so "camp" and "camper" are out when the Tent card lists camping. Rhymes and initials are out too. The box has a buzzer. Here the watcher says "buzz", taps the table or squeaks a dog toy, and keeps count. At time up, leave out one press of +1 for each buzz. Skips are a house rule: free, or one point each.
Read the deck before the party
All 455 cards are printed under the tool in their 14 groups, target word first. Hard cards are mostly ideas and sayings, such as Silver lining or Rule of thumb, where the blocked words close every obvious route. Scores and the cards already played stay on this phone. Start over clears them, and after twelve quiet hours the deck is full again.
- Describe a moment, not a definition. "Saturday morning, round, straight off the griddle" beats explaining what a pancake is made of.
- When every obvious clue is blocked, leave a gap for the team to fill. For Pet peeve: "People who chew loudly, that is my biggest..."
- Seat the watcher beside the describer, not across the table. Both read the same screen and nobody on the guessing team can.
- For Halloween cards, tap the Halloween topic: 34 cards from Pumpkin to Superstition. Keep it on Easy while kids in costume play.
Questions and answers
How many players do you need?
Four, for two teams of two. The boxed game is sold for four to ten players in even numbers, with the teams seated alternately. With an odd number, one player can be the watcher all night. The end card scores two teams.
Is this the official Taboo game?
No. This is an independent forbidden word generator with its own 455 cards, written for this site. It is not the official game or app and it is not affiliated with the makers. It follows the same idea as the boxed game: a target word, five words you cannot say, a one-minute turn and an opponent who watches the card.
Which cards are the hard ones?
The deck has 161 Easy, 177 Medium and 117 Hard cards. A difficult card is rarely a rare word. It is a familiar one whose five best clues are gone: Patience without wait, virtue, calm, time or line. For a round of hard forbidden words, tap Hard and the Ideas and sayings topic. Easy cards, such as Giraffe or Pillow, suit readers from about seven.
Can I print the cards?
Yes. For printable cards at a table with no phone, press Print when a round ends. You get slips to cut apart, up to 120 at a time, each with the target word, "Do not say" and the five blocked words. Pick a topic or a level first to print only those cards. Print more than you need: skipped and buzzed cards use up the pile too.
Does a longer word that contains a forbidden word count?
Agree this before the first turn. The boxed rules bar any part or form of a listed word, which covers plurals, "camp" for camping and "baking" for bake. They do not settle a longer word that happens to contain one, such as "carpet" when car is listed. Most groups allow it if the meaning is unrelated. The watcher's call stands.