HINT
HINT Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Get Ready
Take a card pile and put the game board back in the box. Place three cards in the wheel as shown and place the rest of the pile in the hole. Split into two teams and place your playing pieces on the Start space located on the edge of the game box. The team with the youngest player hints first.
How to Play
Follow the seven steps below on your turn. Flip these instructions over if you need more information along the way.
- CHOOSE A CARD FROM THE WHEEL. Each card shows its challenge and whether you have to talk, draw, mime or hum. Don't turn the card over yet.
- CHOOSE WHO WILL GIVE THE HINTS. That player turns the card over and looks at the five objects that the rest of the team will have to guess.
- FLIP THE SAND TIMER AND IT'S TIME TO HINT AND GUESS! Draw, talk, mime or hum hints to get your team to guess as many of the five objects as possible in 90 seconds. Remember, you DO NOT want them to guess the forbidden object. The team gets 1 point for EACH correctly guessed object and loses 2 points if the teammates say the forbidden object.
- WHEN TIME IS UP, the opposition can try to guess an unnamed object. They get one guess. They score 1 point if they guess right and lose 1 point if they get it wrong. If they guess the forbidden object, they score 2 points.
- ADVANCE YOUR PLAYING PIECES according to the points awarded.
- TURN THE WHEEL one notch clockwise. Some cards might move into the bonus zone.
- PUT A NEW CARD in the slot where the arrow is pointing. That's the end of your turn, and it's now your opponent's turn to hint. If they choose a card from the blue bonus slot, they can advance one extra space immediately. If there is a card on the black bonus slot, they MUST take this card and can advance one extra space immediately.
Card Anatomy
Each card names the forbidden object at the top, followed by the five objects the hinting player's team must guess. In the example card: forbidden object Dalmatian; objects to guess are Ladybird, Dice, Teenager, Cow and Domino. The card also shows the challenge type (talk, draw, mime or hum) for that turn.
The Wheel
At any time, the wheel holds three cards arranged around its bonus slots:
- Bonus slots — a blue slot marked +1.
- Mandatory card — a black slot marked +1.
- New cards — the arrow slot where the next drawn card is placed.
How to Hint and Guess
On your turn, choose which teammate will give the hints. Draw, talk, mime or hum hints to get your team to guess as many of the five objects as possible in 90 seconds. Remember, you DO NOT want them to guess the forbidden object. Objects can be hinted at and guessed in any order.
The team gets 1 point for each correctly guessed object. If the team says the forbidden object, it loses 2 points.
IN GENERAL: You can communicate with your team to confirm and refute guesses. You can communicate numbers and symbols, but you cannot communicate any letters. If the rules are violated, the playing team doesn't get a point for that guessed object. However, the opposing team can get a point if they guess the object when time is up.
DRAW: You can only draw on the whiteboard. You cannot make sounds or gesticulate at all.
TALK: You cannot gesticulate in any way or say the objects. No translations and no rhymes either.
MIME: You cannot make any sounds, but you can use your entire body to mime.
HUM: You can hum, whistle and sing nonsense sounds like 'la-di-da'. You can hum to the words or the instruments, and even hum songs that aren't on the card, if that helps. You cannot talk or gesticulate at all.
How the Opposing Team Guesses
When time is up, the opposing team can try to guess an unnamed object. They get one guess. They get 1 point if they guess right, and they lose 1 point if they guess wrong. If they guess the forbidden object, they get 2 points.
Example card scoring: Dalmatian (forbidden object) is worth 2 points; Ladybird and Dice are each worth 1 point.
How the Wheel Works
At the start of each turn, the wheel must have three cards in it. The new card is always placed in the slot where the arrow is pointing.
If you choose a card from the blue +1 bonus slot, your playing piece will advance one extra space immediately.
The black +1 bonus slot means you MUST take this card if it's your team's turn AND your playing piece will advance one extra space immediately.
EXAMPLE
- The playing team chooses card C.
- Turn the wheel one notch clockwise and put a new card, D, into the slot. The next team chooses card A.
- Turn the wheel one notch clockwise and put a new card, E, into the slot. The next team chooses card D.
- Turn the wheel one notch clockwise and put a new card, F, into the slot. The next team MUST take card B because it's in the black +1 bonus slot.
Home Stretch and Finale
The winning team is the team that reaches the Finish space first.
When your playing piece is on the home stretch of the track, your opponents choose your card, UNLESS there's a card in the black bonus slot, in which case you must take that card.
Both teams get the same number of rounds. If both teams reach the Finish space after the same number of rounds, both draw a card from the deck to hint and guess. When time is up, the opposing team can make one guess. The team that gets the most points wins the game. If necessary, the process is repeated until a winning team is declared.
How to Move
PLAYING TEAM
- +1 point for each correctly guessed object.
- +1 extra point for taking a card from a bonus slot.
- -2 points for saying the forbidden object.
OPPOSING TEAM
- +1 point for correctly guessing an object.
- +2 points for correctly guessing the forbidden object.
- -1 point for incorrectly guessing an object.
EXAMPLE
The playing team takes a card from a bonus slot (+1) and correctly guesses four objects (+4), but they also say the forbidden object (-2). Therefore, they get 3 points and advance their playing piece three spaces (+1 +4 -2 = 3). The opposing team guesses the object that the playing team didn't guess. They get 1 point and advance their playing piece one space.
Components
1 HINT wheel, 2 playing pieces, 360 cards, 1 whiteboard, 1 pen, 1 90-second sand timer, 1 game guide.