How to play Forbidden Words

Forbidden Words is the word game where the obvious words are off limits. One player sees a card with a secret word and four more words below it. Their job is to get the others to say the secret word without saying it, any part of it, or any of those four words. Try getting someone to say "kite" when you cannot say wind, fly, string or tail. Here you can play it three ways.

Against the computer

• The computer gives the clues, one at a time. The first ones fit lots of things, and each new clue narrows it down.
• The blanks at the top show how many letters the word has. Type your guess and tap Guess, or press Enter.
• The first to get it scores 3 points, the second 2, everyone after that 1. A wrong guess costs nothing, and you have up to 10 guesses a card.
• "So close!" means you were one letter off, or named only part of it. That guess does not use one up.
• Stuck? Letter shows the next letter of the word, and that card then scores one point less for you.
• After each card you see the whole card, with the four words the computer was not allowed to say.
• A game is eight cards (five or twelve in Settings), with 45 seconds each (30 seconds to 90 in Settings). The most points wins.

Today's cards

Daily Clues is five cards, the same for everyone today. The fewer clues you need, the more points: 5 if you get it from the first clue, down to 1 after the last. You have six guesses for each card. See how you compare with everyone else, and share your score without giving the words away.

Pass the tablet: two teams

This is the classic party game for four to ten people around one phone or tablet. Players split into two teams, and the teams take turns. The one giving clues holds the tablet, taps Start the clock, and talks: no gestures, no rhymes, no "sounds like", no spelling. Their team shouts out guesses. Tap Got it! for a point and the next card comes up, or Skip to trade a hard card for a new one. The other team watches the card, and if a forbidden word slips out they tap Buzz: that card goes and their team gets the point. When the clock runs out, pass the tablet to the other team. Both teams always get the same number of turns, and the team with more points wins.

Game night with friends

Choose Play with friends and send the link, or read out the four-letter table code. Everyone takes a turn to give clues on their own phone or tablet, by typing them. The game checks every clue, and if it uses the word, part of it, or a word from the card, it buzzes and the clue never goes out. Before your first clue you can trade the card for a new one twice. Everyone else types guesses on their phone. Guessers score 3, 2 and then 1 point in the order they get it, and the one giving clues scores 1 point for each player who gets it. Open the TV link from the table on the TV's web browser to show the clues to the whole room. The computer cannot read your clues, so in this game it does not play: give every person a seat, and any empty seat just sits out.

Tips

• Guess early and often. A wrong guess costs nothing, and the first one in scores the most.
• Count the blanks. A word of nine letters is not "cat".
• Giving clues? Go around the obvious: where you find it, who uses it, what it feels like, what you do with it.
• "It goes with..." and "the opposite of..." are quick ways around a forbidden word.
• On a team, skip fast. A card nobody is getting costs your team more time than it is worth.

Questions

Who wrote the cards? Every card was written for Parlor Table, with its four forbidden words and five clues that start vague and end almost giving it away. The words are everyday things that grandparents and grandkids both know.

How strong are the computers? The computer does not read the clues the way you do. Each card knows after how many clues most people get it, and the computers guess around then: Easy ones late, and sometimes not at all; Sharp ones type fastest and almost never miss.

Can the computer guess my clues? No. That is why giving clues is for friends, on their phones or in two teams around one tablet.

What counts as part of the word? For "toothbrush", both "tooth" and "brush". Other forms count too: if "bark" is on the card, so are "barks" and "barking".

Do I need an account? No. Your game is saved in this browser, so you can close the page and come back.