25 Words or Less Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Contents
• Setup
• How to Play
  • Phase 1: Bidding
    • Example of Bidding for a Card:
  • Phase 2: Guessing
    • Important!
  • Clue-Giving Dos and Don'ts:
    • Example of Clue-Giving with Only 13 Words:
• The Guessing Continues Until:
• Winning
• Friendly Play
• Helpful Hints

Objective

You've got one minute and twenty-five words or less of clues to get your teammates to say the five answers on your card. If you get your teammates to guess all five answers, your team wins the card. If not, your opponents steal the card. The first team to collect ten cards wins the game!

Contents

300 Cards, One Minute Sand Timer, Countdown Board, Rules

Setup

1. Place box in center of table and unroll the countdown board. Shuffle the cards and put them back in the card compartment. Keep the sand timer ready nearby.
2. Divide into two teams of at least two players each. The teams do not need to be equal.
3. Decide if you will use the yellow or blue answers on each card. Both sets of answers are of equal difficulty. Be consistent throughout the game with which color words you use.

How to Play

Phase 1: Bidding

Each team picks one player to be the "clue giver" for the round.

Select the top card from the deck. The two opposing clue givers jointly study the five answers on the card for a brief moment (about 15 seconds) without showing the card to the rest of the players. They now bid for control of the card*. The team who set up the game bids first. After that, teams alternate as to who starts the bidding.

Opening bids can range from twenty to twenty-five words. Teams take turns decreasing the bid until one team passes. The player who bid the lowest wins control of the card. The other player serves as "judge".

*If both clue givers agree, they may pass on the card and choose the next card to bid on. This is helpful if an answer or answers are unfamiliar. For the most laughter and fun, do not do this just because the answers are hard.

Example of Bidding for a Card:

Team A clue giver says: "I can get my team to guess in 22 words."

Team B clue giver says: "Well, I can do this card in 19 words."

Team A clue giver says: "Oh yeah? I only need 13 words!"

Team B clue giver says: "Okay, go ahead – you've got 13 words to do it in!"

Team B clue giver (who didn't win control of the card) is now the judge.

The judge places the sand timer on the corresponding number space on the countdown board as the winning bid, in this case "13."

Phase 2: Guessing

As soon as the judge turns over the sand timer, the clue giver has one minute to get their team to guess all five answers on the card.

For each word the clue giver says the judge moves the sand timer one space. This keeps track of your remaining clue words. Try to give concise clues to get your teammates to guess each answer.

Important!

The judge counts every clue word you say, even if you repeat words already spoken. Only the words "Pass", "Correct", and "Yes" are not counted by the judge.

For every clue word spoken, the judge moves the sand timer one step closer to zero.

Clue-Giving Dos and Don'ts:

Do:

• Do give clues for the answers on the card in any order.
• Do use the word "blank". As in "New York blank."
• Do use voice inflection and leading phrases. As in "bread and… ."
• Do say "Pass" if you get stuck and need to move to another answer.
• Do listen to your guessers! It is okay to point or say "Correct" when they guess correctly.

Don't:

• Don't use the phrases "rhymes with" or "sounds like".
• Don't use gestures.
• Don't use part of the answer in your clue. You cannot say, "fights fires" for "fireman".

Example of Clue-Giving with Only 13 Words:

• PARASOL - sun umbrella (2)
• ROOT BEER - A and W (3)
• ABRAHAM LINCOLN - assassinated president (2)
• ICELAND - country, not green "blank" (4)
• JACK-O'-LANTERN - carved pumpkin (2)

The Guessing Continues Until:

• The team guesses all five answers on the card.
  • They keep the card!

OR

• The clue giver says more clue words than allowed.
  • The other team steals the card!
• The clue giver runs out of time.
  • The other team steals the card!
• The clue giver breaks the rules (by doing a don't).
  • The other team steals the card!

For the next round, choose two different team members to be the clue givers and let the bidding begin.

Winning

The first team to collect ten cards wins the game!

Friendly Play

The group takes turns being the "clue giver." Start the sand timer at the 25 countdown location. Play a card and have as many words as possible left upon getting all 5 correct answers from the group.

Helpful Hints

1. Bid aggressively to win control of the card. If you want a chance to show your stuff and your team wants to guess the answers on the card - Go for it!
2. The clue givers can only briefly look at the five answers they are bidding on. Do not study the card and try to think of clues for each answer – this slows down the game. Take a risk and bid quickly!
3. If you feel the bid is getting too low, pass and force your opponent to take the card. You may still win if they get stuck!