Heads Up

Overview

Hold a card on your forehead without looking, while everyone else describes what is on it. Popularised as a phone app, but it works perfectly with paper.

We haven't found official rules published by the app's makers. This page describes how the game is commonly played, so agree the details first.

1. Setup

Two or more players, ideally four or more. You need a deck of word cards — a phone app, purpose-made cards, or slips of paper in a bowl.

Agree a category and a time limit, usually 60 seconds.

2. Play

1. One player holds a card against their forehead, facing outward, without looking at it.
2. Everyone else describes it, without saying the word itself.
3. The guesser calls out answers until they get it right.
4. On a correct guess, the card is set aside and the next is drawn.
5. Passing is allowed and costs nothing but time.

Score one point per correct guess before time runs out.

3. Rules for the describers

Groups commonly agree that describers may not:

• Say the word, or any part of it
• Spell it, or give the first letter
• Say a word that rhymes with it
• Use a direct translation into another language

You may use anything else: synonyms, context, impressions, gestures, sound effects, acting.

Unlike Taboo, there is no list of forbidden words — only the answer itself.

4. Categories

Standard sets include celebrities, animals, films, accents, and "act it out", where describers may not speak at all and must mime.

5. Winning

Most correct guesses across an equal number of turns.

Commonly argued

• Agree the describing rules first. Most groups ban rhymes and first letters.
• Passing is free but burns clock.
• A guess only counts if the guesser says it — describers cannot confirm a near-miss into a point.