Overview:
Taboo is a word-guessing party game. At the start of a turn, a player is given a stack of cards which each have a word to be guessed at the top and several taboo words beneath. When the timer starts, the player flips the top card over and tries to get his/her teammates to guess the word on the card without speaking any of the words on the card!
Recommendation:
Taboo is a fun party game. My friends and I often play it whenever there are eight or more players around. The game is definitely also fun for groups of six. Finally, while the game can be played with four people, there are many other fulfilling four-player games on the market.
Strategies:
One efficient strategy is just to come up with synonyms for the Taboo words. I should try to do this more.
Another is to use antonyms.
In contrast, my Taboo hints are usually too complicated and related to filling in the blanks.
Of course, it helps to interact with someone or know them well enough to give personal hints. This doesn't always work, but it's usually more of an advantage than a disadvantage.
When you're on a team with people you don't know well, then it may also be useful to resort to sayings or popular culture. For example, today, I said, "Ron is afraid of _" and Kevin correctly answered, "Spiders." I did not know whether Kevin or Josh would remember this plot point regarding the Harry Potter universe, but it was efficient and the first thing that popped into my mind. In hindsight, referring to Spider-Pig might have been more efficient.
The first time I played was in junior year of high school. I can't remember the reason, but a lot of people were gone. Fortunately, somebody brought Taboo, and so we played a round in Mr. Theriault's classroom.
Played several times before; I'm guessing less than ten times.
Played 20090629 [Stephanie Phuong Daniel Josh]! [Michael JonWest Steve Me].
Played 20091213 [RachelK Lauren Heather RachelT Issel]=Girls [Nick Sean Matt Carlos Me]=Boys. Girls won.
Played 20100522 A=[Steve Josh Me]=Hats B=[Tiffany Spencer Kimmy Stephanie]=Hair. 1 round. Hats won. 13-6 (omit Hats fourth play)
Played 20100522 A=[Steve Josh Me]=Hats B=[Tiffany Spencer Kimmy Stephanie]=Hair. 1 round. Hair won. 14-17 (extra play Kimmy, Me)
Played 20100522 A=[Steve Josh Me]=Hats B=[Tiffany Spencer Kimmy Stephanie]=Hair. 1 round. Hats won. 11-8 (omit Hats fourth play)
20100522:
Stephanie Steve Tiffany Josh Spencer Me Kimmy.
Kimmy Josh Stephanie Me Tiffany Steve Spencer Josh Kimmy Me.
Tiffany Me Spencer Steve Kimmy Josh Stephanie.
In the second game, we tied at 11-11 and so we went into a tie breaker. Kimmy got 5 and I only got 3, so the other team won 14-16. However, looking at the score sheet, it seems like the score ended at 14-17. Looking at the tallies, I could see how one of the tallies might have been overlooked and the game should have ended 11-12. In any case, Hair won.
In a sense, the third game we played was a tie-breaker for the first two games we played.
[20100523]
Played 20110708 A=[Me Phuong Crystal]=Rock B=[Stephanie Chris Josh]=Scissors. 2 rounds. Scissors won. [13+16=29]-[18+18=36]
Played 20110708 A=[Me Stephanie David Crystal]=STDS B=[Josh Phuong(Ethan) Chris]=JEC. 2 rounds. JEC won. 21-29
Played 20110708 A=[Josh Phuong Me]=Rad wagon B=[David Chris Crystal Stephanie]=Aieeee. 2 rounds. Rad wagon won. 23-19.
20110708:
One of the funny things that happened was during game 1. My sister says, "We had this for dinner yesterday!" The funny part is, both my friend Phuong and I answered, "Spaghetti!" How the heck, Phuong? Oh my goodness. We were all cracking up.
Then in game 2, I tried to get the word "Orthodontist" by pointing to Steph and saying "It's like what you're learning to do!" After the round was over, of which I recall gaining no points, Steph pointed out that an orthodontist isn't *like* a dentist, an orthodontist *is* a dentist. My bad. It was still funny. At one point I changed my tactic by trying to get the root "orth" by saying someone who studies birds.
Oh and after the second game, Chris and Josh switched spots to change up the teams. But they were on the same team already!
[20110730]
20111228:
?, Ryan, Kevin, Michael, Steve, ?, Josh, Phuong, Steph, and me.
[20150105]
20131220:
Photo records show that today we played and we had three rounds with "5 Guys" up against "The Bat Fleet". Tallies show three separate games ending in 16-7, 21-22, and 19-16. Photo records also suggest the players were (clockwise) Josh, Thomas, Chris, Michael, Spencer, Phuong, probably someone, probably someone, probably someone, and me. Without a doubt one of those someones is Steph, but I don't have any good guesses for the other two (unless I'm mistaken and we were only playing with eight players).
[20150105]
Played 20141219 A=[Michael Tiffany Me]=Underferrets B=[Stephanie Josh Thomas]=Mettyblend. 1 round. Underferrets won. 8-5 (See entry below)
Played 20141219 A=[Michael Tiffany Me]=Underferrets B=[Stephanie Josh Thomas]=Mettyblend. 1 round. Underferrets won. 12-7 (See entry below)
Played 20141219 A=[Michael Tiffany Me]=Underferrets B=[Stephanie Josh Thomas]=Mettyblend. 1 round. Underferrets won. 7-6 (See entry below)
20141219:
Today we played a couple rounds of Taboo and due to the composition of players, I persuaded the opposing team to give us a five point lead. Thankfully they complied and we won by three points.
Since without the extra points we would have loss by two points, we reduced our advantage by two going into the rematch. This time, however, Tiffany was on fire and got us a bunch of points. As such, we would have won even without the point advantage.
Regardless, we go into the final round with a one point advantage and while the score sheet suggests a tie, I recall that we won by one on account of our advantage and would have tied without it. I also vividly recall in conversation that the two teams would have tied overall (both having 1-1-1 had it not been for the point advantages).
In any case, Tiffany gets the MVP award.
[20150105]*
*Technically I had notes written out on 20141220 after we played, but I ran into the mistake of cutting (Ctrl+X) the text from one place and then accidentally applying a cut to a new piece of text. The mistake was unrecoverable, because I had already saved and closed the origin of the original text. I hate when I make this type of mistake.
Played 20150904 A=[Thomas Stephanie Michael]=TSM B=[Me Kevin Josh]=TJK. 1 round. TSM won. 9-7
Played 20150904 A=[Thomas Stephanie Michael]=TSM B=[Me Kevin Josh]=TJK. 1 round. TSM won. 12-11
20150904:
With only the picture of the Taboo scoresheet, I'm not absolutely sure who won. However, if memory serves correct, it was down to the last player and the player needed X number of points to win and got X+1. I assume the scorekeeper simply decide that it was unnecessary to continue scoring.
Played 20151225 [Thomas Rusty Me]='the guy team' [Steph Tiff Josh]='the girl team'. 1 round. 'the guy team' won. 9-2
Played 20151225 [Thomas Steph Me]='the guy team' [Rusty Tiff Josh]='the girl team'. 2 rounds. 'the guy team' won. 14-13
Played 20151225 [Thomas Steph Josh]='the guy team' [Rusty Tiff Me]='the girl team'. 2 rounds. tied. 18.5-18.5
20151225:
Thomas Steph Rusty Tiff Me Josh
Thomas Rusty Steph Tiff Me Josh
Thomas Rusty Steph Tiff Josh Me
The following was the quote of the night:
[20161014]
Taboo (1989)
Relevant Links:
Taboo (game) (Wikipedia.org)
Taboo (BoardGameGeek.com)
Taboo is a word-guessing party game. At the start of a turn, a player is given a stack of cards which each have a word to be guessed at the top and several taboo words beneath. When the timer starts, the player flips the top card over and tries to get his/her teammates to guess the word on the card without speaking any of the words on the card!
Recommendation:
Taboo is a fun party game. My friends and I often play it whenever there are eight or more players around. The game is definitely also fun for groups of six. Finally, while the game can be played with four people, there are many other fulfilling four-player games on the market.
Strategies:
One efficient strategy is just to come up with synonyms for the Taboo words. I should try to do this more.
Another is to use antonyms.
 |
| (20100522) |
Of course, it helps to interact with someone or know them well enough to give personal hints. This doesn't always work, but it's usually more of an advantage than a disadvantage.
When you're on a team with people you don't know well, then it may also be useful to resort to sayings or popular culture. For example, today, I said, "Ron is afraid of _" and Kevin correctly answered, "Spiders." I did not know whether Kevin or Josh would remember this plot point regarding the Harry Potter universe, but it was efficient and the first thing that popped into my mind. In hindsight, referring to Spider-Pig might have been more efficient.
The first time I played was in junior year of high school. I can't remember the reason, but a lot of people were gone. Fortunately, somebody brought Taboo, and so we played a round in Mr. Theriault's classroom.
Played several times before; I'm guessing less than ten times.
Played 20090629 [Stephanie Phuong Daniel Josh]! [Michael JonWest Steve Me].
Played 20091213 [RachelK Lauren Heather RachelT Issel]=Girls [Nick Sean Matt Carlos Me]=Boys. Girls won.
 |
| (20110708) |
Played 20100522 A=[Steve Josh Me]=Hats B=[Tiffany Spencer Kimmy Stephanie]=Hair. 1 round. Hats won. 13-6 (omit Hats fourth play)
Played 20100522 A=[Steve Josh Me]=Hats B=[Tiffany Spencer Kimmy Stephanie]=Hair. 1 round. Hair won. 14-17 (extra play Kimmy, Me)
Played 20100522 A=[Steve Josh Me]=Hats B=[Tiffany Spencer Kimmy Stephanie]=Hair. 1 round. Hats won. 11-8 (omit Hats fourth play)
20100522:
Stephanie Steve Tiffany Josh Spencer Me Kimmy.
Kimmy Josh Stephanie Me Tiffany Steve Spencer Josh Kimmy Me.
Tiffany Me Spencer Steve Kimmy Josh Stephanie.
In the second game, we tied at 11-11 and so we went into a tie breaker. Kimmy got 5 and I only got 3, so the other team won 14-16. However, looking at the score sheet, it seems like the score ended at 14-17. Looking at the tallies, I could see how one of the tallies might have been overlooked and the game should have ended 11-12. In any case, Hair won.
In a sense, the third game we played was a tie-breaker for the first two games we played.
 |
| (20110708) |
Played 20110708 A=[Me Phuong Crystal]=Rock B=[Stephanie Chris Josh]=Scissors. 2 rounds. Scissors won. [13+16=29]-[18+18=36]
Played 20110708 A=[Me Stephanie David Crystal]=STDS B=[Josh Phuong(Ethan) Chris]=JEC. 2 rounds. JEC won. 21-29
Played 20110708 A=[Josh Phuong Me]=Rad wagon B=[David Chris Crystal Stephanie]=Aieeee. 2 rounds. Rad wagon won. 23-19.
20110708:
One of the funny things that happened was during game 1. My sister says, "We had this for dinner yesterday!" The funny part is, both my friend Phuong and I answered, "Spaghetti!" How the heck, Phuong? Oh my goodness. We were all cracking up.
"Spaghetti!"
Then in game 2, I tried to get the word "Orthodontist" by pointing to Steph and saying "It's like what you're learning to do!" After the round was over, of which I recall gaining no points, Steph pointed out that an orthodontist isn't *like* a dentist, an orthodontist *is* a dentist. My bad. It was still funny. At one point I changed my tactic by trying to get the root "orth" by saying someone who studies birds.
Oh and after the second game, Chris and Josh switched spots to change up the teams. But they were on the same team already!
[20110730]
20111228:
?, Ryan, Kevin, Michael, Steve, ?, Josh, Phuong, Steph, and me.
 |
| (20131220) |
20131220:
Photo records show that today we played and we had three rounds with "5 Guys" up against "The Bat Fleet". Tallies show three separate games ending in 16-7, 21-22, and 19-16. Photo records also suggest the players were (clockwise) Josh, Thomas, Chris, Michael, Spencer, Phuong, probably someone, probably someone, probably someone, and me. Without a doubt one of those someones is Steph, but I don't have any good guesses for the other two (unless I'm mistaken and we were only playing with eight players).
[20150105]
Played 20141219 A=[Michael Tiffany Me]=Underferrets B=[Stephanie Josh Thomas]=Mettyblend. 1 round. Underferrets won. 8-5 (See entry below)
Played 20141219 A=[Michael Tiffany Me]=Underferrets B=[Stephanie Josh Thomas]=Mettyblend. 1 round. Underferrets won. 12-7 (See entry below)
Played 20141219 A=[Michael Tiffany Me]=Underferrets B=[Stephanie Josh Thomas]=Mettyblend. 1 round. Underferrets won. 7-6 (See entry below)
20141219:
Today we played a couple rounds of Taboo and due to the composition of players, I persuaded the opposing team to give us a five point lead. Thankfully they complied and we won by three points.
Since without the extra points we would have loss by two points, we reduced our advantage by two going into the rematch. This time, however, Tiffany was on fire and got us a bunch of points. As such, we would have won even without the point advantage.
 |
| (20141219) |
In any case, Tiffany gets the MVP award.
[20150105]*
*Technically I had notes written out on 20141220 after we played, but I ran into the mistake of cutting (Ctrl+X) the text from one place and then accidentally applying a cut to a new piece of text. The mistake was unrecoverable, because I had already saved and closed the origin of the original text. I hate when I make this type of mistake.
Played 20150904 A=[Thomas Stephanie Michael]=TSM B=[Me Kevin Josh]=TJK. 1 round. TSM won. 9-7
Played 20150904 A=[Thomas Stephanie Michael]=TSM B=[Me Kevin Josh]=TJK. 1 round. TSM won. 12-11
20150904:
With only the picture of the Taboo scoresheet, I'm not absolutely sure who won. However, if memory serves correct, it was down to the last player and the player needed X number of points to win and got X+1. I assume the scorekeeper simply decide that it was unnecessary to continue scoring.
 |
| (20150904) |
Played 20151225 [Thomas Rusty Me]='the guy team' [Steph Tiff Josh]='the girl team'. 1 round. 'the guy team' won. 9-2
Played 20151225 [Thomas Steph Me]='the guy team' [Rusty Tiff Josh]='the girl team'. 2 rounds. 'the guy team' won. 14-13
Played 20151225 [Thomas Steph Josh]='the guy team' [Rusty Tiff Me]='the girl team'. 2 rounds. tied. 18.5-18.5
20151225:
Thomas Steph Rusty Tiff Me Josh
Thomas Rusty Steph Tiff Me Josh
Thomas Rusty Steph Tiff Josh Me
The following was the quote of the night:
"My dick is so big it's going to _ you apart"
[20161014]
Taboo (1989)
Relevant Links:
Taboo (game) (Wikipedia.org)
Taboo (BoardGameGeek.com)
 |
| (20151225) |
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