Taboo Review Game Card Instructions

Each student will be creating Taboo game cards for use in our next class period as a review game. Make sure you do all of the following:

  1. Each person must create 30 Taboo cards.
  2. CREATING THE CARDS IS AN INDIVIDUAL TASK ONLY - no partnerships in this class period or any other period, past or present!
  3. Get your choices of words, events, people, developments and dates from the appropriate list on the website under the Review Materials link.
  4. Use 3x5 index cards only. It does not matter if the cards have lines, are blank, or are colored - only the size matters!
  5. The media center sells a pack of index cards for $1 per pack. If you are desperate for cards, see me.
  6. To create a Taboo Card, list the term on the first line. Below it must be 5 words or short phrases (like names) that are taboo and cannot be said in any form during the game.
  7. All writing must be on one side of the card only. No writing or designs on the back of the cards.
  8. Put your initials in the upper right corner of each and every card. This is so your cards can be returned to you after the game ends for you to use while studying.
  9. Your cards are due at the start of class on Review Game Day. If you don’t have them finished, didn’t bring them, or never did them, you will be disqualified from playing the game and will have to complete a review on paper instead.

Here is an example card (which you will never be allowed to use for this game!):

Adolf Hitler ECR
Nazi Germany
World War II
Holocaust
swastika
concentration camps

Be strategic with the taboo terms! You want to make it as hard as possible for your opponents to guess correctly! However, do NOT do the following:

-Put words like “um,” “like” or “you know” as taboo words

-Choose taboo words that don’t have anything to do with history

-Write sentences or long phrases as taboo words – you’ll be disqualified

-Put 6 or more taboo words on a card – pick your top 5 and leave out anything else

Rules for playing the game:

  1. If you don’t have 30 completed cards at the start of class, you are disqualified. You’ll have to do the paper-based review by yourself instead.
  2. A roll of the dice will determine whether you get to choose a partner or whether I assign partners.
  3. The cards you and your partner have constructed will become the cards your opponents have to use during the game, and you will play using their cards.
  4. Each group playing the game should have at least 1 timer; each partnership can have their own timer, if they choose. I will give each group a buzzer to push for anyone saying part or all of a taboo word.
  5. PHONES ARE ONLY TO BE USED AS TIMERS - No cheating!!
  6. The person whose birthday is closest to today’s date goes first. They must draw a card and thus become the first clue-giver. They must sit opposite their teammate and never show any part of their card to their teammate.
  7. One member of opposing team gets to sit or stand behind the clue-giver and verify that no taboo words are used. If they hear a taboo word, they should immediately press the buzzer to end the clue-giver’s turn with that card.
  8. The clue-giver CANNOT use any of the following as clues:

a. Another version of the taboo word (ex. adjective instead of noun, plurals, abbreviations)

b. Words that rhyme with the correct answers

c. Clues like “the first letter is H, the second letter is I…”

d. Gestures or sound effects

  1. If the clue-giver passes on a card, it immediately goes into the discard pile.
  2. If the guesser says one of the taboo words while guessing, that word is no longer taboo and the clue-giver can now say it.
  3. If the clue-giver’s teammate guesses correctly within the time limit, the team gets to keep that Taboo Card for scorekeeping purposes.
  4. If they do not guess it within the time limit, or the clue-giver gets buzzed for using a taboo word, the Taboo Card goes in a discard pile.
  5. As soon as a team has finished one card, the clue-giver should move on to the next card, until time runs out.
  6. There is a limit of 60 seconds for the team to guess clues.
  7. There are no points lost for being buzzed or running out of time. Any card in that situation goes into the discard pile.
  8. Once 60 seconds are up, the next team should choose a clue-giver and trade places with the first team. Play should continue using the rules above.
  9. Teams take turns choosing clue-givers and guessers until all players have gone once, then start the cycle over again. No person can be clue-giver twice in a row.
  10. Play continues until all cards are used or the time limit for the game is reached. Both teams should have had the opportunity to play an equal number of rounds.
  11. All cards should be returned to their original creators.