Fishbowl

Set up

Give everyone three slips of paper. Each person writes one thing on each slip: a famous person, a character, a place, an object, a relative. Fold the slips and put them in a bowl. Split into two teams and sit so that teams alternate around the circle.

Set a timer for one minute a turn.

How to play

1. Round one, describe it. A player draws a slip and describes it to their team without saying any word written on it. When the team guesses it, the player keeps the slip and draws another. They keep going until the minute is up.
2. The bowl passes to the other team. Alternate until the bowl is empty.
3. Count each team’s slips, write down the score, and put every slip back in the bowl.
4. Round two, one word. Same slips, but the clue-giver may say only one word per slip. No gestures.
5. Count, record and refill the bowl again.
6. Round three, silence. Same slips, acted out as in charades. No words or sounds.
7. Add up all three rounds. The highest total wins.

A player who is stuck may pass once per turn and return the slip to the bowl.

Why it works

By the second round everybody has heard every slip. The game stops being about knowledge and becomes about memory and shared jokes: one word, or one gesture, is enough to bring back the description from round one. That is why the third round is always the loudest.

Ways to change it

• Fourth round: the clue-giver hides under a blanket and acts with only their hands showing, or uses a single sound.
• Shorter game: play two rounds, describing then acting.
• Themed bowl: everything must fit the occasion, such as things from this year for New Year’s Eve.

Who it suits, and who it doesn’t

Fishbowl is one of the best games for a group of friends or a family where the youngest is around ten. It needs at least six people to have real teams. It does not suit a group who have just met, because the slips depend on shared knowledge, and it runs long for young children.