Party Games2 September 20265 min read

Taboo Words: 60 Ready-Made Cards From Easy to Hard

Sixty ready-made Taboo cards across three difficulty levels, each with its forbidden words: easy warm-up rounds, mid-level cards, and abstract ones.

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Short answer

A Taboo card is one target word plus four or five forbidden words you cannot say while describing it. Difficulty comes from the forbidden list, not the target: well-chosen bans close off the obvious route and force the describer into indirect explanation. This piece gives 60 ready-made cards across three levels, each with its ban list. A round runs 60 to 90 seconds and passes are capped at three per turn. Short answer: pick a target word, ban the four words anyone would reach for first, and keep the timer at 60 seconds.

What makes a Taboo card

A Taboo card has two parts: the target word to describe, and the words you are banned from using while describing it. Standard cards carry four or five bans.

The difficulty lives in the bans, not the target. "Breakfast" looks easy until "morning", "egg", "coffee" and "toast" are off the table and the describer has to take the long way round.

A good ban list follows one rule: block the four words anyone would reach for first. The fifth and sixth options are already awkward, and banning those makes the card unplayable rather than hard.

01One target word, four or five bans.
02Bans should be the target's most obvious companions.
03The root counts as banned too: "bookshop" can't use "book".
04Gestures and sound effects are out at most tables.
05Switching languages burns the card.

How to play Taboo: the short rules

Two teams sit facing each other. One person from the team in play describes, their own team guesses, and someone from the opposing team listens for banned words.

Every card guessed before the timer runs out is a point. Say a banned word and the card burns, giving a point to the other team — which is why the opposing listener is part of the game, not an observer.

0160 to 90 seconds per team.
02One point per card guessed.
03A banned word burns the card and scores for the other side.
04Passes capped at three per turn.
05First team to the agreed score wins.

Easy Taboo words

For opening rounds and mixed-age tables. Everything in this group turns up in ordinary life.

01Breakfast — morning, egg, toast, coffee
02School — student, lesson, teacher, class
03Beach — sand, sea, sun, swim
04Phone — call, message, screen, mobile
05Cat — meow, pet, animal, dog
06Rain — water, umbrella, cloud, wet
07Birthday — cake, candle, present, party
08Football — ball, match, goal, team
09Library — book, quiet, read, shelf
10Snow — white, winter, cold, snowman
11Hospital — doctor, patient, nurse, injection
12Coffee — drink, morning, hot, cup
13Aeroplane — fly, airport, pilot, wing
14Shoes — feet, wear, laces, socks
15Cinema — film, ticket, screen, popcorn
16Supermarket — shopping, till, trolley, food
17Bicycle — pedal, wheel, ride, chain
18Wedding — bride, groom, marry, ceremony
19Umbrella — rain, open, hold, wet
20Keys — door, lock, open, pocket

Mid-level Taboo words

After the warm-up. These are still concrete, but they have no single definition, so the describer has to choose an angle.

01Nostalgia — old, miss, past, memory
02Traffic — car, road, jam, horn
03Retirement — age, work, pension, job
04Appointment — meet, time, doctor, date
05Habit — every day, repeat, routine, quit
06Neighbour — next door, house, flat, live
07Surprise — unexpected, gift, shock, party
08Patience — wait, calm, time, temper
09Dream — sleep, night, wake, bed
10Bill — pay, electricity, money, month
11Promise — swear, keep, trust, word
12Gossip — talk, behind, secret, hear
13Holiday — travel, beach, time off, rest
14Loneliness — alone, nobody, quiet, single
15Rent — flat, pay, month, landlord
16Regret — wish, past, mistake, sorry
17Queue — wait, line, stand, turn
18Curiosity — ask, learn, interest, know
19Oversleeping — alarm, late, bed, wake
20Procrastination — later, tomorrow, delay, plan

Hard Taboo words

For experienced tables. Abstract ideas, and words whose meaning shifts from person to person.

01Empathy — understand, feel, emotion, other
02Justice — right, law, fair, court
03Irony — opposite, joke, sarcasm, mean
04Prejudice — judge, wrong, before, people
05Privacy — private, secret, personal, alone
06Pride — boast, achievement, ego, proud
07Sacrifice — give up, another, for, yourself
08Uncertainty — unknown, sure, decide, future
09Belonging — belong, group, feel, place
10Expectation — hope, want, future, imagine
11Jealousy — envy, want, another, have
12Conscience — guilt, right, inner voice, feel
13Addiction — quit, habit, substance, phone
14Politeness — kind, respect, manners, thank
15Courage — brave, fear, hero, dare
16Doubt — believe, sure, trust, question
17Buyer's remorse — buy, after, money, wish
18Loyalty — faithful, trust, relationship, cheat
19Maturity — age, behaviour, childish, grow
20Indifference — care, ignore, matter, bothered

How to describe a hard word

The usual mistake with abstract words is trying to define them. A dictionary definition eats the clock and walks straight into the banned list.

What works is going through an example. Instead of defining "empathy", say "what happens in you when your friend has had an awful day" — the table gets there in one sentence.

The second method is describing the opposite. Explain the antonym and then ask for its reverse; it's the shortest path that never touches the ban list.

01Don't define, give an example.
02Describe the opposite and ask for its reverse.
03Tell a personal story — the group knows you, so they connect fast.
04Build a sentence and leave the word blank.
05Pass if you stall; ten seconds on one card ends the round.

When the box isn't with you

What makes Taboo work is the clock and the fact that everyone is in the game at once. That rhythm doesn't require a box: a question deck on a phone also moves round the table and needs no card prep.

They aren't the same game — one runs on describing under pressure, the other on conversation. But after two rounds of Taboo the table wants to slow down, and questions land well there. The The Gossip Pot deck is built for rounds where a group talks about each other; Best Liar Wins suits people who like bluffing.

Frequently asked questions

How many people do you need for Taboo?

Four at minimum: two teams of two. Six to ten is where it works best; with a bigger crowd, split into three teams and rotate rather than stacking one team with six guessers.

How many forbidden words go on a Taboo card?

Four or five on standard cards. If you're writing your own, four is enough — more makes the card impossible, fewer lets someone land the target in a single sentence.

How long should a Taboo round be?

Sixty seconds is standard. Ninety works better for beginners and mixed-age groups. Below forty-five seconds the pass rule stops meaning anything, because there is no time to read a new card.

Are gestures allowed in Taboo?

Not under the classic rules — you describe with words only. Some tables allow gestures, but that pulls the game towards charades and makes the banned-word rule largely irrelevant.

How do I write my own Taboo cards?

Pick the target word, then ban the first four words that come to mind when you try to describe it. The root of the word is automatically banned. Choosing targets the whole table knows keeps cards from sitting dead in the pile.

Card sets mentioned in this post

The Gossip Pot

Starts with light banter, ends in heavy confessions. 100 gossip cards for close friend groups.

Best Liar Wins

The card gives the topic, you tell the story, the group guesses true or false. A 100-card party game.

Ready to play?

Download Beni Tanı, pick a deck and put the phone on the table.

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