Salad Bowl
This game is something like Charades with elements of Celebrity, Taboo, and Memory mixed in. Great for larger groups. The more inventive the written clues are, the more fun the game will be.
Number of Players: At least 6
Supplies Needed: Paper and pens and a large bowl
Object
The game proceeds in three rounds — speech prompts, pantomime prompts, and single word prompts. Be the team to win the most total points over the three rounds of the game.
Setup
Cut up a few sheets of paper into small slips, and distribute a few to each player. 2 or 3 per person for a larger group or a quicker game, 4 or 5 for a smaller group or a longer game. Write a clue to be guessed on each slip of paper, then fold in half and place in the big (salad) bowl. Clues can be a person, place, thing, or idea—imaginative and topical clues are especially fun. Consider the group, and avoid clues that are too obscure.
Game Play
- Split the players roughly in half to form two teams, and designate a timekeeper and a scorekeeper.
- A player from the first team is designated the first prompt-giver, and takes the salad bowl. A two-minute timer is started. Taking clues one at a time and randomly from the bowl, the prompt-giver tries to get their team to guess as many clues as possible by describing each clue in words before time runs out. Once their team correctly guesses a clue, the prompt-giver should place the clue in a pile designated for that team’s completed clues—not back in the bowl. Any clues in play when the time is up should go back in the bowl to be guessed again later (the clue should not be revealed by the prompt-giver).
- The bowl is then passed to the first prompt-giver on the second team, who is also given two minutes to get their team to guess as many clues as possible by describing the clue in words. The bowl is passed back and forth between the teams in this manner until there are no clues left.
- When the bowl is empty, the round is over, and each team should tally their clues, re-fold, and return them to the bowl. Since the clues are repeated each round, prompt-givers can use the group’s familiarity with the clues to their advantage.
- The second and third rounds proceed as the first round, but the prompts change. In the second round, prompt-givers must act out their clues and may not speak or make sounds. In the third and final round, prompt-givers may say one single word per clue, and absolutely no more. (This is a challenge, but not impossible if the prompt-giver chooses thoughtfully.)
Scoring
At the end of each round, each team should collect the clues their team guessed correctly and tally them. This is their score for that round. At the end of the game, scores for all three rounds are added up.
Variations & Clarifications
- The prompt-giver may not skip clues. If a player is unfamiliar with the person/place/thing/idea in the clue, they can try to get their team to guess it by separating it into syllables, using “sounds like” prompts, etc.
- Verbal prompts may not include the clue itself, or use approaches deemed boring and unsportsmanlike by the group (for example: spelling, obvious rhyming).
- Wise players will pay close attention even when the opposite team is guessing, since clues are re-used.