Fishbowl

¶ Rules

• Divide into two teams.
• Everybody writes five or so words on scraps of paper or cards. Mix them up.
• Taking turns, each person draws cards and has 60 seconds to get their team to guess as many as possible.
  • When your team guesses correctly, claim that card. Your team gets a point.
• Once the whole deck has been claimed: Mix up the same set of cards for the next round, and repeat.
• Each round has a different restriction on clues:
  1. Describe the thing without using its name.
  2. Describe the thing using exactly one word.
  3. Describe the thing using no words at all, only gestures (charades).

¶ Variants

¶ Secret Optional Forbidden Bonus Rounds:

• Describe the thing only by point at objects in the room.
• Describe the thing using only sounds. No words or gestures. (Hide behind a sofa.)
• Describe the thing using only one sound. No words or gestures.
• Hide your head behind a sofa, and gesture only with your hands. (Alt: one hand; feet.)
• Hide your body behind a sofa, and use only facial expressions.
• Ghost charades. Throw a sheet over yourself.
• Freeze-frame charades. Team closes eyes, you strike a pose and say “open”. You can’t move until your team guesses correctly.
• Puppet charades. Move another player’s body into a pose to represent the word.

¶ Cooperative Variant

• Everyone is on the same team.
• Each person has two minutes and only gives clues once.
• If any cards remain un-guessed at the end of a round, you all lose.

See here for a digital implementation..

There is also a version sold with pre-made cards sold as Monikers