30 Seconds
30 Seconds Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective
Be the first team to reach the FINISH space! You move your token by guessing enough terms from the current card. Within the 30 seconds, you must guess as many, or even all five, terms as possible.
Setup
Place the board in the middle of the table. Put the box with the cards, the sand timer, and the die next to the board.
Split into teams. Each team takes a token and places it on the START space.
Each team decides on an order in which team members will take turns describing and guessing. Keep this order for the whole game.
On each team there is one describing person. The other members of the team try to guess the terms on the drawn card. The role of the describing person passes to a different team member each round.
The team that rolls the highest number goes first.
The Die
The die has the numbers 0, 0, 1, 1, 2, 2.
It is rolled before the describing person takes a card from the box.
The goal of each round is to beat the rolled number with as many guessed terms as possible.
Examples:
- Rolled 1, guessed 5 terms = move 4 spaces
- Rolled 2, guessed 1 term = move 0 spaces
- Rolled 0, guessed 3 terms = move 3 spaces
How to Play
The first team rolls.
The describing person takes a card from the "OUT" side of the box. Each card has a blue side and a yellow side. The colour of the board space the team's token is on at the start of the turn determines which side of the card is used this round: if the team's token is on a yellow space, the describing person describes the terms on the yellow side of the card. At the start of the game, all teams start on the blue card side, since the START space is blue.
Each side of the card has 5 terms, which may be described in any order.
The describing person may only look at these once the sand timer has been turned over.
One person turns over the sand timer and says "Go!". Now the describing person looks at the card so that their team cannot see the terms, and begins describing the terms.
Meanwhile, the team members may call out their guesses and try to guess the correct terms.
The other teams must watch the sand timer and call out "STOP!" when the sand has run out.
Now you compare how your team did against the die, whose value you rolled at the start of the turn.
Did you guess more terms than the die showed? Then you may move your token forward as many spaces on the board as you guessed more than the die.
Put the card back into the box on the "IN" side. Pass the die to the next team on your left.
The Describing Person May:
- describe the 5 terms in any order;
- describe the terms in any way, including by singing, humming, or gesturing;
- use articles and other filler words in the description that appear in some of the terms.
The Describing Person May Not:
- say the actual terms on the card;
- look at the terms on the card before the sand timer has been turned over;
- say names or words that are derived from, or are part of, the terms being guessed;
- give "sounds like" or "rhymes with" hints;
- name or refer to letters;
- use translations;
- point at anything.
End of Game
The first team to move its token onto the FINISH space wins.
Penalties
If a person breaks one of the rules, the team's turn ends and the token is moved back one space.
Tips
Strict or Not So Strict?
Before you start playing, agree on how strictly you want to judge answers. For example, is "Mickey" acceptable as an answer if the card says "Mickey Mouse"?
Also decide whether the full term must be said before the sand timer runs out. For example, is it okay if team members say "Mickey" before the timer runs out and "Mouse" afterward?
Variations
- The game can also be played without the die, and so without subtracting the die value.
- To make the game easier, children may choose the card side to describe themselves, regardless of the colour of the board space.
The Game with Three Players
If three of you are playing, one person describes the terms throughout the whole game, alternating for the other two people, who each form a team on their own. Otherwise, the rules are identical.