Taboo
 |
| Publisher |
Hasbro |
| Publication date |
1989 |
| Genre(s) |
party game |
| Players |
4 or more |
| Age range |
12 and up |
| Setup time |
< 5 minutes |
| Playing time |
10 to 15 minutes |
| Skills required |
Team play |
| Website |
Taboo product page at Hasbro |
Taboo is a word guessing party game published by Hasbro in 1989.[1] The object of the game is for a player to have his/her partner(s) guess the word on his/her card without using the word itself or five additional words listed on the card.
The game is similar to Catch Phrase, also from Hasbro, in which a player tries to get his or her teammates to guess words using gestures and verbal cues.
Taboo was later the basis for a 2002 game show of the same name on The New TNN, hosted by comedian Chris Wylde.[2]
Equipment
- A few hundred cards with words on both sides (how many cards there are depends on the game version)
- Tray for holding cards
- Timer (in the form of a one-minute hourglass)
- Buzzer
- Pencil and paper for score
Some early editions include a board to track progress (as shown in the photo on this page), but current editions do not. [3]
The second edition of the game, produced in 1994, has a round, pink squeaker, or hooter instead of a buzzer, as do the 1993 and 1990 editions. Taboo Junior, the game for younger players, includes a purple squeaker, as do a few of the other editions from 1996 and 2002.
In 1990, Hasbro sold packs of additional words, but they are no longer in production.
Rules
An even number of players from four to ten sit alternating around in a circle. Players take turns as the "giver," who attempts to prompt his or her teammates to guess as many keywords as possible in the allotted time. However, each card also has "taboo" (forbidden) words listed which may not be spoken. Should the giver say one, a "censor" on the opposing team hits the buzzer and the giver must move on to the next word. For example, the giver might have to get his or her team to say "baseball" without saying "sport," "game," "pastime," "hitter," "pitcher," or "baseball" itself. The giver may not say a part of a "taboo" word;[4] for example, using "base" in "baseball" is taboo. The giver may only use speech to prompt his or her teammates; gestures, sounds (e.g. barking), or drawings are not normally allowed. Singing is permitted, provided the singer is singing words rather than humming or whistling a tune. The giver's hints may not rhyme with a taboo word, or be an abbreviation of a taboo word.
While the giver is prompting the teammates they may make as many guesses as they want with no penalties for wrong guesses. Once the team correctly guesses the word exactly as written on the card, the giver moves on to the next word, trying to get as many words as possible in the allotted time. When time runs out, play passes to the next adjacent player of the other team. The playing team receives one point for correct guesses and one penalty point if "taboo" words are spoken, and the opposing team receives one point each time the giver passes.
In popular culture
- There was a game show based on TABOO in 2002, hosted by Chris Wylde.
- TABOO has been the subject of a film series in which the face on the box comes to life and terrorizes a city. There are many of these films.
- In the 2002 film "TABOO", starring Nick Stahl, a group of young adults play this game at a party.
- In the 2008 film Four Christmases, Kate (Reese Witherspoon) and Brad (Vince Vaughn) played Taboo with Brad's mother(Sissy Spacek) and her boyfriend.
- On January 29th, 2010, Cassandra Dominguez of Madrid, Spain scored what is believed to be a record 38 in a 4-round game of Taboo at the 2010 World Board Gamers Convention.
Variations
- 1989 edition
- 1990 edition with pink hooter
- 1993 edition with pink hooter
- 1994 edition with pink hooter
- 1996 edition with pink hooter
- 1999 10th anniversary edition
- Celebrity Taboo
- Platinum edition electronic Taboo
- Taboo Junior
- Taboo for Kids
- The Big Taboo
- Taboo Body Language
- Taboo Quick Draw
- 2002 edition with purple squeaker
- 2003 edition with red squeaker
- 2009 20th anniversary edition
See also
References
External links