Guesstures
Guesstures Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 4 or More Players
- 504 cards with card box
- Mimer-Timer™ game unit
- 2 label sheets
- Crayon
Object
Be the team to score the most points by guessing acted-out words.
Applying Labels
Apply labels to the Mimer-Timer game unit as shown in Figure 1.
The Cast
Divide the players evenly into 2 teams. It doesn't matter if one team has one more player than the other. In turn, each player on a team acts out 4 words while his or her teammates try to guess them.
Introducing... The Mimer-Timer!
It's a card holder. It holds your 4 Guesstures cards while you act out the words on them.
It's a timer, too, so act fast! When the word on each card is correctly guessed, grab the card before it gets swallowed by the Mimer-Timer. The cards drop into the timer one by one. You only get a few seconds to act out each word before its card gets swallowed. Your team gets points only for the cards they guess and you grab!
It's also a scorekeeper. Fill in team names on the side of the Mimer-Timer with the CAST and SCENE label. Use the crayon provided. See Figure 1.
Figure 1 — The Mimer-Timer
- Cast/Scene label
- Top label (both sides)
- Bottom label (both sides)
- Team names
- Arm
- Switch
- Knob
- Easy-Hard indicator
Action!
The Scenes: Each team will act in 2 rounds of play called Scenes. Play the blue card deck in Scene 1 and the red card deck in Scene 2.
Scene 1. Decide which team will take the first turn. The first team chooses an Actor to go first. After the Actor from the first team is finished Guessturing, an Actor from the second team takes a turn. Teams alternate turns. Each team member gets to be an Actor during each Scene.
On your turn as an Actor, do the following:
1. Set Up the Mimer-Timer
Set the Mimer-Timer on a flat surface in front of you, such as on a table. The guessing players must never be able to see the words on the cards while they are in the Mimer-Timer.
Open the Mimer-Timer's arm. Push the switch up on the unit. Wind the knob clockwise as far as it will go (see Figure 1 for location of switch and knob).
2. Draw and Place Your Cards
Draw the first 4 blue cards from the card box. Look at your cards and decide which words you want to act out (see Figure 2). You may select any combination of 1 and 3-point words (two 1-point words and two 3-point words, etc.). 3-point words are more difficult to act out and will consume more of those precious seconds!
Figure 2
- Airplane — 1 point
- Pig — 3 points
Decide to act out "airplane" for 1 point or "pig" for 3 points.
Now insert your 4 cards with the words you wish to perform up and facing you (see Figure 3).
IMPORTANT: Use the Easy-Hard indicator when placing your cards in the Mimer-Timer. The card closest to "Easy" will be swallowed up first! It's a good idea to place the cards you think you can get your teammates to guess faster closer to the "Easy" side.
Figure 3 — The Mimer-Timer with cards inserted (Easy → Hard): Kiss, Type, Airplane
3. Close the Mimer-Timer
Close the Mimer-Timer's arm, being careful to avoid pushing down on the cards. Now the seconds will start ticking away!
4. Start Acting!
Act out the words, starting from Easy to Hard. Do NOT skip over any words. Rules for Guessturing are found in the box at far right. Remember, the opposing team doesn't guess. They only guess when their Actors are Guessturing.
As soon as someone on your team shouts out the correct word, quickly grab its card from the Mimer-Timer. Then go on to Guessture the next card.
If the Mimer-Timer swallows your card before your teammates guess the word (or before you can grab it), hurry on to the next word!
Keep an eye on your cards so you won't be Guessturing a word after it's been eaten!
NOTE: In most cases, forms of each word are acceptable.
Example: Saying "explosion" for "explode" is O.K.
Saying "glasses" for "sunglasses" is not O.K.
5. Roll the Credits! — Scoring
When the Mimer-Timer stops ticking, your turn is over. Add up the point values of only the words your team guessed and you were able to grab before the Mimer-Timer swallowed them. See Figure 4.
Then use the crayon to enter your total score under your team's name next to "Scene 1" on the Mimer-Timer.
Figure 4
Your score is 3 for "airplane," "type" and "kiss." Write your score of 3 next to your teammate's score of 10. See Figure 1.
Retrieve any cards eaten by the Mimer-Timer. Just pick up the game unit—they'll be underneath! Then return all 4 cards to the back of that color card section in the card box.
Now it's time for an Actor from the other team to Guessture! The new Actor follows Steps 1 through 5.
Alternate turns until all players have gotten a chance to act in Scene 1. If one team has one less player than the other team, that team chooses an Actor to Guessture for 2 turns.
Scene 2. Play Scene 2 the same way you played Scene 1, using the red card deck (2 and 4-point words). Also, enter each team's score next to "Scene 2" on the Mimer-Timer.
How to Guessture
- No sounds allowed.
- Props or other "visual aids" are allowed. You may point to parts of the body, other people in the room, objects in the room, etc.
- Mouthing words is permissible ONLY if the word is not the word being acted out. Example: You may mouth "help" while acting out "drowning."
- Feel free to use classic charades techniques (such as pulling your ear to indicate "sounds like..."). But remember, these techniques are time-consuming and may work against you!
Winning the Game
After both teams have completed Scene 2, total the points for both Scenes on the Mimer-Timer. The team with the most points wins the game!
When you're through playing, clean the scoring surface by rubbing gently with a soft cloth.
For a Fun Alternative
Try a new way to play Guesstures! Instead of dividing into teams, take turns being Actors while the rest of the players all shout out their guesses.