Tic Talk
Tic Talk Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective
To earn points by not being outsmarted by the other team. The first team to cross the finish line on their scoring track wins the game!
Equipment
- 1 game board
- 2 game pawns
- 4 dry erase pens
- 1 buzzer
- 5 twelve-sided letter dice
- 2 sand timers
- 2 word slates
- 2 erasers
Setup
- Divide into two teams, Red and Yellow. (An extra person on one is OK.)
- Give each team one word slate, a pen, and an eraser.
- Place the game board between the two teams with the game pieces on the Start spaces.
- Give the Red team the sand timer with the red end, and the Yellow team the timer with the yellow end.
NOTE: Before any round begins each team must stand their timers upright, with the black end facing up and their team's color end down.
Gameplay
The game is played in rounds, and ends when one team crosses the finish line at the conclusion of a completed round.
Each round consists of writing words during the THINK FAST segment and then exchanging lists of words created; then giving clues during the TALK FASTER segment, so your teammates can guess the words your opponents created.
The time your team takes to create this list of words is the time your opponents have to guess the words you created!
How it works
THINK FAST: the "count-up"
- Pick any player to roll the 5 letter dice to then call out the letters that appear on each dice along with the corresponding color.
- Each team then picks their Writer, who will fill in the colored squares on their word slate, according to what letter goes with what color.
For example shown below: Blue is M, Green is O, Purple is U, etc.
At the count of "ONE, TWO, THREE!" both teams flip their timers over so the colored ends are up to start the "count-up." Now both teams must create their list of 5 words, around the letters that are already filled in. The sand timer will run for 60 seconds. The whole team may help the Writer if this is your strategy, but remember to talk softly so the other team cannot hear you.
As soon as each Writer has written the fifth and final word, a team member then quickly lays the sand timer on its side to stop the clock!
TALK FASTER: the "count-down"
When both teams are done writing and have stopped their timers, the Writers then exchange word slates with each other without looking at them, and they then become the Clue Givers. Decide which team will go first for the "count down." (We recommend after the first round the team that is ahead to go first.)
This Clue Giver then looks at their word slate to make sure all the words are legible; if needed they may ask the other team (in secret) for clarification.
When ready the Clue Giver says "Ready", and a member of the other team stands his/her team's sand timer up so the black end is on top, and presses the buzzer button, and the count-down begins! The Clue Giver starts to shout out clues to get his or her teammates to guess the five words on the list.
Example: "It is in the sky. It is white. Sometime it looks fluffy." Answer: Cloud.
Here is the catch: They must do it in the same amount of time or less than it took the opponents to create the list, as the timer is now counting down!
Play stops when the sand timer runs out, or when the team has guessed all the 5 words before the time ran out. The Clue Giving team then scores (see Scoring). If the timer runs out before all five words are guessed, the opposing team presses the buzzer button again to signal that they are out of time!
At the end of this team's Clue Giving and Scoring, the other team goes and repeats the same steps, then scores. This completes the first round of play.
What's Allowed? What's Not?
Writing
- Answers may be only 1 or 2 words long. (Hyphenated words are OK too, like "mother-in-law.")
- No proper nouns or foreign words.
- Note: If your team cannot come up with 5 words in 60 seconds, the other team is awarded an automatic point for each word missing.
Clue Giving
- Clue Givers may not use any form of the word.
- Clue Givers may not use "sounds like" clues.
- If the Clue Giver slips and gives an unacceptable clue, the other team is awarded an automatic point.
- Note: Answers do not need to be guessed in order they are written.
Editor's note: the printed rule reads "may not use any form of the word" with the word itself left unnamed; it is transcribed as printed.
Scoring
Keep score on your team's scoring track. At the end of your team's turn, move your game piece one space for each word your team guessed correctly.
Winning
In most cases, the first team to cross the finish line wins the game; however, in the event that both teams can pass the finish line after completing their count down round, whichever team is furthest into the spaces beyond the finish line is the winner!
In case of a tie: Play complete rounds until you break the tie!