Classic
Forbidden Words
One player describes a word to their team without ever saying that word or the three forbidden words listed under it. The app counts found cards and skipped cards separately, and shows the tally when the timer runs out.
Taboo, on the phone in your pocket. The rule fits in one sentence, and sixty seconds is all it takes to find out who in the room thinks fast and who thinks well.
How to play, step by step
- Split into two teams. The starting team picks a first describer.
- The describer holds the phone facing them, hidden from everyone else. The card shows the target word and three forbidden words.
- When the timer starts, they describe the word to their team. Anything goes except saying the word itself, one of the three forbidden words, or any word from the same family.
- On a correct guess, tap Found and a new card appears. Stuck? Tap Skip.
- The other team watches for slips: any violation cancels the point and burns the card.
- The timer runs sixty seconds by default and can be set anywhere from five seconds to five minutes in the settings. At the end the recap lists cards found, cards skipped and the percentages. Swap roles, and keep a team score by hand if you want one.
Variants
- Free for all. No teams. One player describes to everyone and the point goes to whoever guesses first. Best with five players or fewer.
- One word only. The describer gets a single word per card. Brutal, very funny, and it wakes up a game that has gone flat.
- No safety net. Forbidden words are hidden from the describer. The opposing team reads them and buzzes. Friendships have ended this way.
Playing tips
- Sixty-second rounds are the right starting point. Anything shorter and nobody finds a rhythm.
- Ban gestures, or the game drifts into charades within three rounds.
- Agreeing on a theme before you start beats a random one: everyone plays on level ground.
Frequently asked questions
Two is enough: one describing, one guessing. The app never asks how many of you there are and sets no maximum. From four players up you can split into two teams, and it really opens up between six and ten.
No. If the target is "swimming", then "swim" and "swimmer" are out, even if they are not in the list of three forbidden words.
It counts cards found and cards skipped, and gives the percentages at the end of the round. A team score is a house rule you keep yourselves, not a feature of the app.
Yes. Forbidden Words runs entirely offline on a single phone.
Other games
13 party games. One app.
Forbidden Words, Guess in X Words, Charades, Puppet Charades, Directed Charades, Headbands, Hum the Song, Sing the Song, Spicy Questions, Debates, Drawing Game, Imposter and Whose Photo Is This?