Oops!

Do you remember the $100,000 Pyramid? I recall watching it years ago and itching to be able to get into that seat and get the other person to guess my word without saying something I wasn't supposed to. I thought, "That looks so easy! How can they not figure out what to say for that?" Of course, it always looks easier when you're not the one playing.

Taboo follows along the same lines as that lightning round of the $100,000 Pyramid. Each card has a word at the top and four words which you're not allowed to use in your clues. If you say one of the words accidentally, you get buzzed by a delighted delegate from the other team and must forfeit that point to them. The idea is to go through as many words in one turn as possible. I think the hourglass is two minutes. Four or five cards in one turn in considered great, but I've seen someone go through nine cards in a single turn!

The trick is to look for connections that the game makers might not have seen. Depending on how well you know your teammates, you may be able to judge what kinds of connections they'll make. You can even relate to something only they would know about. You can make fill-in-the-blanks. You can take it in an entirely different direction. For instance, I once had the word "cruise" and the taboo words were "boat," "vacation," "water," amd "carnival," or something to that effect. I said "actor, Tom..." and received the right answer in two seconds flat.

This is a game for fast thinkers. If you drive everyone crazy by free associating to the point where you're compared with Robin Williams, you will excel at this game. As long as the other players have some idea what you're talking about. This is a great game for parties and get-togethers, and it's sure to produce some laughs. And if younger children want to participate but find it too complicated, bestow upon them the honor of blaring the buzzer. You may wish you hadn't, but they'll have a blast.