Celebrities Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Setup
• Playing
  • Create the Deck
  • Select Teams
  • Play
    • Round I
    • Round II
    • Round III
  • Game End

Objective

Celebrities is a party game about guessing the names of famous people. It's played in teams of two players which, in turn, try to guess as many names as possible. The team with the most correct guesses after three rounds is declared winner.

Setup

You'll need to gather a few materials before playing Celebrities.

• An even number of players, 4 or more.
• A 30 second timer. This may be a kitchen timer, sand timer, or stopwatch.
• Blank cards. Standard 3" x 5" cards will work fine. You need about (forty, plus twice the number of players) total cards. So, for 10 players, you need (40 + 2 * 10) = 60 cards. You may use more cards for a longer game, or fewer for a shorter game.
• One writing pen or pencil per player.

Playing

The game is played in a few phases. In the first phases players will be creating the deck of name cards used in the game and dividing up into two-player teams. The main phase is all about clue-giving and name-guessing.

Create the Deck

1. Give everyone a pen or pencil.
2. Deal out all blank cards evenly. A few players will get an extra card - that's fine.
3. Instruct each player to secretly write the name of a famous person on each card.
   • (a) Names must be written as legibly as possible.
   • (b) Be creative. More unique names are better and will keep the game interesting, but they should be names of people that most other players have a reasonable chance of knowing.
   • (c) A few ideas to get you started include Moby Dick, Mr. Ed, Donald Trump, Desmond Tutu, John Glenn, Gumby, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Tchaikovsky, Tarzan, Clint Eastwood, and Emily Dickinson.
4. Although optional, you are encouraged to further instruct the players to categorize each of the names as one of the following: Artist, Contemporary, Entertainer, Fictional, Historical, Musician, Sports, or Writer. These should be written at the bottom of each card, under the name and may then be used as clues in Round I.
5. Collect all of the name cards, face down, shuffle, and deal them out to all players.
6. Each player should look at the cards they've been dealt, and may choose to discard one or two cards from the game.
7. Finally, collect and shuffle all of the cards again.

Select Teams

1. Randomly divide players into two-player teams. Players who know each other well, such as spouses, siblings, or best friends, should not be allowed to play on the same team.
2. Arrange the teams so that each player is sitting directly across from his teammate. Normally this forms a big circle.
3. Designate one player as the official judge. This player will make binding decisions on any questions that arise during the game.

Play

In turn, each person will be handed the deck of unguessed name cards. The team member holding the deck of cards acts as the "clue giver" and his teammate is the "name guesser". They have exactly 30 seconds to guess as many names as possible. When their 30 seconds are up, the deck is passed to the next team.

Round I

1. Give the starting player the shuffled deck of name cards you just created. This player is the "clue giver".
2. His teammate, sitting directly across from him, is the "name guesser".
3. The player to the left of the "clue giver" will be the "timer".
4. All other players may only observe, and must refrain from helping with clues or guesses!
5. The "clue giver" draws the first card and signals the "timer" when he's ready to begin giving clues.
6. Now, for 30 seconds, the "clue giver" gives clues to his "name guesser", trying to collect as many correct guesses as possible.
   • (a) Correct answers must include the full name. For example, "Stephen" instead of "Steve".
   • (b) No spelling, in any way, is allowed. Clues that give away letters are disallowed, except in the case that a certain name may include initials.
   • (c) No rhyming is allowed.
7. Name cards that are guessed correctly are set aside and kept by the "clue giver" until the end of the round.
8. The "clue giver" may pass once on his turn and proceed immediately to the next name in the deck. Passed cards are placed at the bottom of the deck and may not be reattempted in the same turn.
9. Once the timer expires, the "clue giver" must immediately stop, place the currently incorrectly guessed card on the bottom of the deck, and pass the deck to his left.
10. Nobody should discuss the names, clues, or guesses after the time expires!
11. Repeat this process until all names in the deck have been guessed.
12. Tally and record the total correctly guessed name cards for each team, then proceed to Round II.

Round II

In Round II, the players will be guessing the same names again. This round is played exactly like Round I except for the following:

1. The "clue giver" may only use one word in each clue. Non-verbal clues and sounds, such as humming, are allowed and encouraged.
2. The "name guesser" is only allowed one guess per each clue. Incorrectly guessed cards are immediately placed on the bottom of the deck.

Round III

In Round III, the players will be going through the exact same name deck for a third and final time. This round is played exactly like Round II except for the following:

1. The "clue giver" may only use pantomime and sounds in each clue. No words are allowed.
2. The "name guesser" is only allowed one guess per each clue.
3. The "clue giver" may now pass as many times as he likes, instead of just once. Remember, once a name is passed, it cannot be attempted again within the same round.

Game End

Total the scores for each team over all three rounds. The team that accumulated the most correct guesses after the third round wins.