Forbidden Word
Talk for two minutes without saying it.
- Players
- 2+ players
- Length
- 10–20 min
- Cost
- Free · no signup
- Long distance
- Works long distance
Ready?
Talk for two minutes without saying it.
- Players
- 2+ players
- Length
- 10–20 min
- Intensity
- Sweet
Free · No signup · Nothing you answer is saved
How do you play Forbidden Word?
Forbidden Word gives one partner a topic and a banned word, then two minutes to talk about the topic without saying it. Using the banned word ends the round immediately; surviving the full time scores. The listener referees. It works equally well in person or over a video call.
How to play
- One person reads the topic and the banned word to the other.
- Start the timer and talk. Keep talking — silence is not a strategy.
- Say the banned word and the round ends immediately.
- Survive the full time and you score. Swap.
- The listener is the referee and the referee is always right.
Why couples love this game
Banning a word makes it the only word your brain will offer, which is a well-known and extremely funny cognitive quirk. The relationship topics also produce accidental gems — being forced to describe why you like someone without the word "because" gets you sentences nobody would otherwise construct.
You get a topic and a banned word, and two minutes to talk about the topic without using it. The banned word is always the one you would reach for immediately.
It is much harder than it sounds, because the moment a word is forbidden your brain will not supply anything else. Most people last about forty seconds.
The topics are relationship-shaped, so as well as being funny it produces some genuinely creative descriptions of things you would normally describe in one word.
Example challenges
- Describe our first date. Banned word: "date" (120s)
- Describe me. Banned word: "nice" (120s)
- Describe your job. Banned word: "work" (120s)
- Describe your family. Banned word: "family" (120s)
- Describe our relationship. Banned word: "love" (120s)
- Describe your best friend. Banned word: "friend" (120s)
The full game has 20 of these, shuffled every time you play.
Who this game is best for
- Groups and double dates
- Couples who like a competitive edge
- Video calls — it works perfectly on a call
- Anyone who talks a lot
Tips to make it better
- Pausing to think is allowed but stalling in silence is not. The referee enforces this.
- The listener should not help. Watching someone struggle is the game.
- Derivatives count. "Loving" is still "love".
- In a group, the whole table referees, which makes it considerably stricter.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Forbidden Word?
One person reads a topic plus a banned word, the other talks about the topic for two minutes without using it. Say the word and the round is over. Then swap.
Do similar words count?
Derivatives do — "loving" counts as "love". Synonyms do not, and finding them is most of the skill.
Is it good over FaceTime?
It is one of the best games here for a call, because it is purely verbal and the referee only needs to listen.