The Unofficial Catch Phrase Game Rules Bible
Do you like to play the game Catch Phrase (or is it Catchphrase?). We do!
After playing far too many games of Catch Phrase at Thanksgiving, we made the "Unofficial Catch Phrase Game Rules Bible" so that no one else has to argue about the rules. We hope you find it helpful.
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Remember, it is just a game. Don't let it ruin your night! (Unless you're a stickler. Then arguing is the point.)
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Have a rule to add? Submit it below!
Getting Started
These are the basics if you are a n00b.
It isn't hard. We promise!
Pick two teams. Try to make the teams balanced so no one gets mad.
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Sit in a circle with alternating team seating like this:
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Decide who will be the first clue-giver. Maybe let the youngest person go first? Don't stress over it. Everyone will get to be a clue giver.
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Press the "go / stop" button. This will show you which category that will be used for the round. We just use "variety" but I guess you could use another category.
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Press the "go / stop" button again to start the round. A word or phrase is displayed at the top and the timer then starts ticking.
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The clue-giver then gives clues to get their team to try to guess the displayed word or phrase. The clue-giver can give almost any verbal clue or gesture.
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The following clues are illegal. Don't use them:
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Saying a word that rhymes with the word or phrase.
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Say the first letter of the word or phrase.
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Saying a part of the word or phrase (e.g., "sun" for "sunrise").
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There are going to be arguments about this. See the Rules FAQs to clear this up.
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As soon as the clue-giver's team guesses the word, the clue-giver passes the game to a member of the other team (as long as an illegal word wasn't used). We usually pass to the left.​
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The person with the game is the new clue-giver. The new clue-giver presses "next" and a new word or phrase is displayed. The process above repeats.
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Surprisingly, there might be arguments about this. See the Rules FAQs. They may or may not clear this up.
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Play continues until the timer runs out. When the timer runs out, the team NOT holding the game gets a point.
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There are going to be arguments about this. See the hand-off rules in the Rules FAQs to try to resolve this.
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The team that gets the point can guess the word the losing team didn't finish. If the winning team guesses correctly, they get a bonus point.
Yes, there are probably going to be arguments about this. See the Rules FAQs for suggestions on how to argue about this.
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The team that gets the first point in each game gets the honor of being "Team 1" for that game (this resets for the next game). This is a significant honor that should be announced and cherished.
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"Team 1" may or may not be a good sport about this.
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"Team 2" may boo the announcement of "Team 1."
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Press "go / stop" to start a new round. The first team to seven points wins. The game will play a really cool song for the winners.
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The person to the right of the clue-giver (i.e., on the opposite team) polices the clue-giver to make sure no illegal words are said.
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If an illegal word is said, the round stops and the other team gets a point. The other team doesn't get to guess for the bonus point.
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The policer to the right knows the clue, so they cannot guess for the bonus point in any situation.
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No one really likes the policer, unless you're legally required to like that person. Sticklers love being policers.