How to Play Taboo on a Video Call

You need two things running at once: a voice or video call, and the game itself. Taboo Party runs in the browser and has no built-in voice chat, so the call carries the talking and the game handles the words, timer and score.

• One call that everyone joins, on Zoom, Google Meet, Discord or any app your group already uses.
• The game open in a browser tab, on a laptop, tablet or phone. Nobody needs to download anything to join.
• Headphones for anyone in a noisy room, so the call does not echo.
• A free Taboo Party account for the host. Players who only join need no account.

A laptop makes life easiest, because the call and the game can sit side by side. Players on one phone can switch between the call app and the browser, but keep the call audio running in the background.

Two teams need at least four players, and three teams need at least six. Smaller teams mean more turns describing for each person, while bigger teams mean more guessers typing at once.

• Four to eight players: two teams is the natural choice.
• Nine or more players: three teams keep each team small enough that everyone gets to describe.
• Two or three players: use one team and play together for a high score.

To estimate game length, multiply rounds by teams to get the number of turns. Two teams playing 6 rounds is 12 turns. At 60 seconds each, that is 12 minutes of describing, plus the short summaries and any votes between turns.

The default is 12 rounds of 60 seconds, which suits a long game night. For a first game or a short call, pick 3 or 6 rounds. Use 90-second turns if your group is new to Taboo or the call has a delay.

Any call app works, because Taboo Party does not need to connect to it. Pick the one your group already knows, so nobody spends the first ten minutes installing something.

• Zoom and Google Meet: good when people want to see faces. Screen sharing is not needed, since every player has the game on their own screen.
• Discord: good for groups that already hang out in a server. Taboo Party also runs as a Discord Activity, so you can launch it inside a voice channel without opening a separate browser tab.
• A phone group call: works fine for audio-only groups, as long as everyone can also open the game.

Ask everyone to check their microphone before the first turn. A muted describer is the most common reason a turn gets wasted on a call.

Calls struggle when several people talk at once. Many call apps favour the loudest voice, so a team shouting guesses can drown out the describer completely.

• Guessers type instead of shouting. On Taboo Party every guess goes through the guess box, so the call stays clear for the describer.
• Players on the watching team mute their microphones during the other team's turn, but keep listening so they can catch slips.
• The describer waits until they hear the call settle, then presses Start turn. The clock does not run before that.
• If the call lags, use longer turns. A delay of a second or two hurts much less in a 90-second turn than in a 30-second one.
• Ask people with unstable connections to turn their camera off. Audio needs much less bandwidth than video.

If someone drops out of the call or the game, they can rejoin the same room with the same room code. On Taboo Party a player whose connection drops is put back into their room when they reconnect.

1. Start the call first, so everyone can hear the setup.
2. Open tabooparty.online, sign in, and press Create a room.
3. Choose Casual, type your name and press Create. You land in the lobby.
4. Press the yellow room code button in the lobby header. It copies a link and the six-character code together.
5. Paste that into your call chat. Friends open the link, or type the code on the home page and choose a name.
6. Set Teams, Rounds, Turn time and Word pack in the game setup.
7. Press Randomize to deal everyone into teams, or Draft to have captains pick.
8. Check the gameplay rules switches, then press Start game.

Hosting uses a free account with a monthly allowance of games. Everyone who joins plays free, and Party Pass or Plus removes the limit for the host.

In the card game, a player from the other team watches the card for slips. On a call nobody can lean over and check, so the gameplay rules switches do that job.

• Taboo reporting: lets the watching team tap a word tile when the describer says a board word. It is off by default in casual rooms, so turn it on.
• Taboo voting: sends reported words to a quick vote after the turn. It suits groups that argue about close calls.
• Describer voice check: listens through the describer's browser and flags English board words said aloud. Test it once, because call audio and accents can affect it.
• Lock room: stops new players joining once your group is in. Unlock it if someone arrives late.

On a call it is easy for quiet players to drift. The game rotates the describer within each team after every turn, so everyone gets a go without anyone having to organise it.

If someone steps away from their desk, their teammate can press Skip my turn on the turn card before it starts. The turn passes to the next player with no points lost.

Players who arrive after the game has started can ask to join a casual game, and the host approves them from the lobby. Signed-in friends can also watch as spectators if they would rather not play.

Between games, take a minute on the call to share the best clue of the round. It keeps the energy up while the host sets up the next game.