How to explain the rules of a game to a group in two minutes

Start with how you win

The most common mistake is starting at the beginning: “Right, first you pick the category, then everyone looks at the phone, then…”. The people listening don’t yet know what all these steps are for, so none of it sticks. Turn the order round: your first sentence says what the goal is. Everything else becomes the way to get there, and people remember it because it makes sense.

Compare: “Everyone gets a role, then there are three rounds of words, then we vote” with “One of us doesn’t know the secret word and has to pretend they do: we have to work out who it is”. The second sentence is enough on its own to make people want to play. If you can state the goal in a single sentence, you are halfway there.

The two-minute outline

You don’t need a stopwatch, but it helps to have a fixed sequence in your head. Almost every party game fits into it:

1. The goal, in one sentence: who wins and why.
2. What the player whose turn it is does: the concrete action, with an example.
3. How you score and when it ends: a minute per turn, three rounds, a final vote.
4. The one rule that really matters: the thing that ruins the game if someone gets it wrong. Just one.
5. The practice round: everything else is learnt by playing.

Notice what is missing: the variants, the tie-breaks, the advanced rules. They can wait until they are needed, and in a first game they often aren’t.

Impostor, Trio Sync and Forbidden Word in thirty seconds

Here is how three explanations might sound if you follow the outline. They are meant to be spoken, not read out.

Impostor

“Everyone gets the same secret word, except the impostor, who sees a small hint at most. We play a few rounds: in turn, each of us says a word linked to it, clear enough for those in the know to recognise, but not so clear that it gives the word away to the impostor. At the end we vote for who we think the impostor is. Careful: if we catch them, they can still win by guessing the word.” The number of rounds is chosen by whoever sets up the game (three by default), and there is no need to mention it beforehand: the app shows it. The Jester and two impostors? Save them for the second game. How it differs from a similar game is explained in the guide Impostor or The Spy.

Trio Sync

“Teams of three. Two of you see a word, the third doesn’t. The two build a clue by taking turns, one word each: Priya says a word, Ollie says the next, then Priya again. The third player has to say the right word. Right is worth a point, wrong loses one, but you can’t go below zero. You can pass up to three times per turn.” The double, a word worth two points, is best introduced after the first turn, once everyone has caught the rhythm: it is the classic detail that confuses people if it comes too early.

Forbidden Word

“Two teams. Each turn, one player is the clue-giver: they see a word with a list of banned words underneath. They have to get their team to guess it without saying any of those. Someone from the other team watches the screen and keeps an eye on them. Every word guessed is a point; if a banned word slips out, the card is lost. You have a fixed time: the more words you get through, the better.” You choose the timer during setup, from 30 to 90 seconds; the default is one minute.

Examples instead of exceptions

Nobody understands an abstract rule (“the clue must be relevant but not too explicit”). Everybody understands an example. Before you start, make one up on the spot: “If the word were beach, saying towel is fine; saying sand and sea is too much, the impostor gets it straight away”. In three seconds the group has grasped the right level better than with any definition.

The same goes for the bans. In Forbidden Word, instead of listing what you can and can’t do, show an imaginary card: “If I have to get you to guess umbrella and the banned words are rain, open and wet, I could say: you always leave it on the train when the sky is grey”. Everyone instantly sees that the game is all about getting round the obvious.

As for exceptions, leave them alone until they actually come up. “What if two people get the same number of votes?” You will see when it happens, and the app often handles it by itself.

The practice round and the questions

The practice round is the secret weapon of anyone who explains games well. Announce out loud that it doesn’t count, then play it for real: one turn of Charades, one card of Forbidden Word, one round of clues in Impostor. After a minute of practice there are half as many questions, and the ones left are more precise.

• Answer questions by playing. “But can I use gestures?” “Let’s try it: you take the first turn and we’ll see.” A rule you have seen in action sticks; a rule you have only heard doesn’t.
• Don’t correct people during the first round, unless someone is showing their screen to everyone. A clue that was too easy or a mime who talks can be discussed at the end of the turn, with a smile.
• The person explaining goes first when the first turn is the hardest: they become a living example. In secret-role games, on the other hand, they play like everyone else.
• One voice only. Anyone who already knows the game resists the temptation to add details while someone else is explaining. Two explanations on top of each other are worth less than half of one.

Who should explain? Not necessarily whoever suggested the game: better someone who has played it before and can describe it simply. With children at the table, try handing the explanation to an older child, who will use words the younger ones understand: more ideas in the guide to family games for all ages.

House rules and the “How to play” rulebook

Every group has its habits: in Charades some people allow pointing at objects in the room, others don’t; in Impostor some want single words only, others accept short phrases. That is absolutely fine, as long as house rules are stated before you start, not at the moment they happen to prove somebody right. One sentence is enough: “No pointing at things tonight, agreed?”.

The app already does part of the work. Every game has a How to play rulebook, which opens from the book icon on the setup screen and, if you are playing with several phones, in the room too: it is the same text in both places, a few lines with the essential rules. Use it as a reminder for latecomers, or to settle an argument without raising your voice. In a room everyone can open it on their own phone, which is especially handy when you play at a distance, as we explain in the guide to playing together over a video call.

Settings are rules too: turn length, number of rounds, word category. Choose them to suit the group and announce them in a sentence before you begin. The app and the timer take care of the rest, while you get on with the laughing. If you are planning the whole evening, start with the guide on how to host a games night.