Describe the secret word without using the five most useful words. Everyone thinks they will be good at this. Almost no one is.
Now playing
Taboo
Describe the word without saying the forbidden ones!
Your colleague has to describe "electricity" without saying power, lightning, current, shock, or volt. They open with "the thing that makes the kettle boil" and immediately know they have lost.
Their team is shouting at them. Someone yells "plug socket" and they have ten seconds to react. They pivot to "what is in the wire" and the room laughs at them. They tap the card to skip and the next word appears.
By the end of the round, you have learned more about how each of your colleagues thinks than from any workshop you have run.
One player sees a secret word and a list of 'taboo' words they cannot say
They must describe the word to their team without using any of the forbidden words
Teammates shout out their guesses — the first correct answer scores a point
The host watches for any taboo violations and can buzz to skip the word
Move through as many words as possible before time runs out
The team that correctly guesses the most words wins. Speed and creativity are key — if you hesitate, the clock keeps ticking!
Scenario 01
Workshop warmup
Communication workshop
A communications lead is running a half-day workshop on clear writing. She opens with two rounds of Taboo in Team Mode. The lesson is built in: when you cannot use the obvious words, you have to find new ones. The team leaves the warmup primed to think about jargon for the rest of the day, without anyone needing to lecture them on it.
Scenario 02
Friday office social
Office social
Friday afternoon, two hours before the office closes. The People Ops lead casts Neegma to the meeting room TV. Three teams of five. The compliance director who never speaks above a whisper is now shouting "It is the thing on the roof" at her teammates. Nobody is doing any work but everyone is loving it.
Scenario 03
Birthday party game
Birthday party
At a birthday in someone's flat, the host casts to the TV. Teams form themselves around the sofa. The competition is so close people are reading taboo cards on tiptoes to check the describer is not cheating. By round three, the room is one big argument.
Taboo can be played solo, but the magic is in a team huddle, half a dozen people shouting guesses at one frantic describer.
Each person scans the QR code or taps the link, sees the game on their phone, and submits answers. The live scoreboard runs in real time on the big screen.
Best for: virtual sessions, hybrid offsites, larger crowds where you want maximum individual participation.
Players are grouped into 2 to 6 colour-coded teams. Each team huddles around one device, debates the answer, and submits together. The energy in the room goes up immediately.
Best for: in-person offsites, weddings, family gatherings, anywhere you want people talking to each other instead of staring at their phones.
Taboo is built around the describer holding the host's phone. Their team shouts guesses out loud, the host adjudicates, the next describer takes the phone. Players never need to join from their own devices. A dedicated offline mode is coming soon to score teams formally against each other in a fastest-finger or one-team-at-a-time format.
