Time’s Up! rules: how to play and how to score

Time’s Up! quick rules

The goal

Teams get the same 40 cards guessed in each of the three rounds, in harder and harder ways. Each card guessed scores one point; the team that guessed the most cards over the three rounds wins.

A team’s turn

Teams take turns, each for the length of the sand timer. One player gives clues to their teammates, and only their team answers. Within each team, players take turns giving clues.

First round: speak freely

You can say anything you like, and your team can guess as often as it likes. But you can’t skip a card: it must be guessed before the next one. If the timer runs out, the next team continues with the current card.

What’s forbidden

No words from the same family as a word on the card, no sound-alikes, no translating, no spelling. Gestures and sound effects are for the third round. A foul sends the card to the bottom of the deck, and the round continues.

Second round: one word

Take the 40 cards back. One word per card, and one guess per card: only the first answer counts. You may skip a card; skipped or missed cards go back into the deck at the end of the turn.

Third round: mime

Take the 40 cards back again. No more speaking: you mime, and you may hum and make sound effects. One guess per card, and you may skip.

The variant for five or seven

With 5 or 7 players, you can play without teams: each player gives clues to the player on their left, and cards guessed go between the two of them. Your score is the total of the cards on your left and on your right.

How to score Time’s Up!

Cards guessed, each round

Each card found is worth one point for the team that got it guessed. At the end of each round, each team counts its cards.

Total of the three rounds

Add up the three rounds: the team that guessed the most cards wins. The rules have no tiebreaker.

Expert Variant for 5 or 7

Each player scores the total of the cards on their left and on their right, guessed with each of their two neighbors.

Worked example

Two teams. Emma and Jake’s team finds 18 cards in round one, 22 in round two and 25 in round three: 18 + 22 + 25 = 65 points. Alex and Mia’s team finds the rest: 22 + 18 + 15 = 55 points. Emma and Jake’s team wins.

Common mistakes

• Skipping a card in the first round: it’s not allowed, you have to get it guessed.
• Counting a teammate’s second answer in rounds 2 and 3: only the first counts.
• Changing cards between rounds: the same 40 cards are used in all three rounds.
• Playing an old box by its old rules: the current rulebook trades unwanted cards and allows humming in the mime round.

How to set up Time’s Up!

Setup takes about 5 minutes: form the teams, then everyone reads their cards before you build the deck.