Taboo is a wonderful family game to develop language and reasoning skills but adults may want to make adjustments to the rules depending on the players. Players begin by dividing into teams that take turns judging or playing. One person use words and phrases to have teammates guess the keyword on the card before the timer runs out. However, the person is restricted from using any of the five taboo words, hand gestures, or rhyming words. For example, if the keyword is popcorn, the taboo words include kernel, movies and butter. If the opposing team notices that any of the forbidden words were used in the clues, they can hit the buzzer and the guessing team must move on to the next card. Teammates can shout out as many guesses as they want and are not penalized for incorrect answers. The vocabulary is generally straight-forward enough for elementary school students yet can be a great way to increase knowledge of some new subjects along the way. Players may choose to use this game without the buzzer in order to make it suitable for students with anxiety or without the timer for younger students or those with slower speed. With an understanding group, this game can be an excellent way to develop language, listening and reasoning skills. However, with a competitive group this can be stressful for students with weaker skills and they could easily withdraw.

• Provides sufficient and varied types of practice problems to maximize understanding and generalization of the targeted skill/concept
• Manufacturer claims alignment with Common Core/Known Standards
• Presents educational concepts accurately
• Explains answers so students can learn from mistakes
• Better for teaching the skill to new or struggling learners
• Better for practicing or refreshing the skill
• Skills are practiced through authentic, meaningful problems (not just rote practice)

• Appropriate for a broad age range to use and enjoy
• Visually appealing to children in the target age range
• Adults would enjoy playing with a child
• For electronic games, gives positive or encouraging feedback
• Offers ongoing, progressive challenge
• Overall - Enjoyable. Given the option, students would choose this option

• Provides teaching guidance for adults to support the child and set appropriate goals
• Student should be able to use independently after first use
• Student graduates to the next level or topic only after meeting a benchmark
• Can effectively understand and monitor student's progress (email report or in product)
• Does not require excessive set-up time after first time use
• Can be fun as a single player game
• Multi-player game which fosters collaboration or cooperation
• Well-made for the cost
• For electronic games, can play without sound
• For electronic games, allows user to save work
• For electronic games, voice/sounds are appealing and pronounces words properly
• Provides options to play in languages other than English/Good for ELL
• Presents information in multiple formats (voice over, pictures and text, etc.)
• Overall - Easy to use

• Processing Speed
• Student cannot take as much time as needed to read text
• A player's success depends on speed
• Turn or quiz abruptly ends when timer runs out

The Taboo game is the game of unspeakable fun! Who can get their teammates to say Pinball without being able to say Arcade, Game, Flippers, Tilt, or Roll? Not so easy now, is it? When playing the Taboo game, the obvious clues are strictly forbidden. Players race against the timer as they try to give creative and carefully-worded clues to get team players to guess words fast. But don't mention unmentionables, or it's time for the squeaker which means losing the point. Players can also play using the Game-changer die to mix things up. If it lands on One Guesser, only one teammate can guess on their turn. With 4 other possibilities on the die, players better be shrewd, quick-thinking, and willing to take some risks -- but don't get shut down by the squeaker! Hasbro Gaming and all related terms are trademarks of Hasbro.