Talkin' Tango Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Object
• Set Up
• Play
• The Tango Timer
• Scoring
• Particulars of the Tango
• Winning
• Game Variations
• Timer Battery Info

Contents

• Tango Timer with four rubber feet
• 1800 Target Words on 150 Cards
• 72 Chips
• 50 Character Cards (5 each of 10 different Characters)
• 8 Character Card stands
• 1 Word Die
• 1 12-sided Die

Object

Collect the most chips by being a tip-top Tangoer and a great guesser!

Set Up

• Remove the rubber feet from the runners and push them all the way into their sockets in the bottom of the Timer. Put the yellow "Talkin' Tango" sticker in its spot near the buttons, and place the Timer in the center of the table. To activate the battery, pull the small plastic tab which protrudes from the door on the back of the timer.
• Place the Chips in a pile near the Timer.
• Put the Target Word cards in a pile in the center of the table, face-down.
• Separate the 50 character cards from the deck. Everybody choose a Character to represent yourself during play, and place that Character Card in a stand in front of yourself so the other players can see it.
• Take the duplicates of all the chosen Character Cards, shuffle them, and place them in a pile near the other cards. Put the rest of the Character Cards back in the box, out of play.
• Decide how many rounds you will play. A good number to start with is three. This means each player will have three turns. If you only have four players, you may want to play more rounds.

Play

• Players will take turns. If it's your game, you go first.
• On your turn, draw a Character Card from the pile to determine your Tango partner, and then roll the die.
• If you draw your own Character, choose who you want to be your partner.
• Draw a Target Word card, and look at the numbered word designated by the roll of the die.
• Slide the card to your Tango partner without anybody else seeing it. Your partner should look at the word.
• Start the Timer and Tango!

Here's how it works: You and your partner must form a sentence describing the Target Word, but you must take turns saying words. Okay. The Target Word is "Banana." Let's say you're Fernando and your partner is Kiki. Here are two different examples of "Tangos." It's your turn Fernando, so you start the Tango:

Fernando: This... Kiki: fruit... Fernando: has... Kiki: a... Fernando: slippery... Kiki: yellow... Fernando: peel!

OR: Fernando: Monkeys... Kiki: like... Fernando: to... Kiki: eat... Fernando: this... Kiki: yellow... Fernando: fruit!

• All the other players try to be first to yell out "Banana!" See "Scoring" below. Shout out as many times as you like, there's no penalty for wrong answers.
• Play passes to the left, so if you drew the card on the last turn, the player to your left goes next.
• Play continues this way, taking turns, choosing partners, and scoring.
• If a form of the target word is given, the tangoers can decide if it's acceptable. For example, if the target word is "speeding" and somebody shouts out "speed," we think it's an acceptable answer. You make the decision when you need to.

The Tango Timer

The Timer has three different settings, 10, 20 and 30 seconds. On your turn, look at your Target Word. You and your partner must decide together how much time you think it'll take to Tango and get somebody to guess the Target Word.

To start the Timer, push the button that corresponds to the time limit you choose. It'll beep when time is up. If you need to reset the timer, just push the button again and it will stop and reset itself.

Scoring

If you beat the Timer, you, your Tango partner and the first player to say the Target Word all score.

If you don't beat the Timer, you and your Tango partner must pay Chips to the bank.

You score or pay depending on the time limit you choose. If you choose:

• 30 seconds – you score or pay 1 Chip
• 20 seconds – you score or pay 2 Chips
• 10 seconds – you score or pay 3 Chips

If you don't have enough chips to pay the required amount, pay everything you have. You can never have a negative score.

Particulars of the Tango

• You must form a sentence. If you and your partner just shout out word-associations, get off the dance floor, baby, 'cuz you lose your turn.
• Two left feet? If you're in the middle of a sentence description that is hopeless, either Tangoer can start over by saying "New sentence." The Timer, however, keeps tickin'.
• No talkin' before the Tango. The two Tangoers cannot discuss the Target Word or the sentence they're gonna make before starting.
• Who shouted the Target Word first? If you can't tell, the players in question roll the die. Highest roll scores.
• Oops! If either of the Tangoers say the Target Word, just the player who actually said it must pay one chip to the bank, the turn ends, and play passes to the left.

Winning

After the set number of rounds, the player with the most Chips wins the game! In the case of a tie, two non-tied Tangoers are chosen to describe a final Target Word. The first of the tied players to guess correctly wins the game.

Game Variations

The Word Die. If you're having trouble keeping your descriptions in sentence form, or if you want an extra challenge, roll the Word Die with the numbered die. If you're the first Tangoer, you must start your sentence with the designated word. From this point on you alternate one word at a time with your chosen partner.

Younger Players. To keep younger players in on the fun of Talkin' Tango, allow them to pick the Target Word they will describe, rather than requiring it to be the one that is designated by the die.

Timer Battery Info

If the Timer malfunctions, open the door on the bottom, remove the batteries and put them back in again. If the timer still malfunctions, replace the batteries. Do not mix old and new batteries. Do not mix Alkaline, Standard (Carbon Zinc), or Rechargeable (Nickel-Cadmium) batteries. Replace batteries with (2) 1.5 volt button batteries. We recommend Energizer No. 357 or Duracell No. MS76 batteries.