How to Play Fishbowl
Get your team to guess the same bowl of words three times over — first by describing, then with a single word, then by acting.
- 4–20 players
- 25–45 min
- Paper and pen
- High energy
Quick rules
- Everyone writes three words or names on slips; all the slips go into one bowl.
- Round one — describe the slip without saying it. One minute per turn, teams alternating.
- Round two — the same slips, but only one word as the clue.
- Round three — the same slips again, acted in silence.
- A point for every slip guessed; the highest total after three rounds wins.
How to play
- On a turn, one player draws slips one at a time and gives clues to their own team until the minute ends.
- Each slip guessed is kept by that team. A slip still in hand when time runs out goes back into the bowl.
- A clue-giver may pass on one slip per turn; it goes back into the bowl.
- Teams alternate, with a new clue-giver every turn, until the bowl is empty. Count the slips, note the score and return every slip to the bowl.
- Round one: say anything except the words on the slip, or parts of them.
- Round two: say exactly one word as the clue — no gestures and no second attempt.
- Round three: no sound at all — act it out.
Set up
What you need
- Paper and pen
Nice to have:
- A bowl or a hat
- A one-minute timer
- Starter words from the host view
- Split into two teams and seat them alternately if you can, so that turns pass naturally round the room.
- Hand out three slips per player. Everyone writes one thing on each — a person, place, object or phrase the whole room would know — and folds it into the bowl.
- Set a one-minute timer and choose which team starts.
Example round
Two teams of four. In round one Rosa draws "hot-air balloon" and says, "You float in a basket under it, and it needs a flame." Her team shouts the answer, and she gets through four slips in her minute. By round two everyone has heard every slip once, so when Karim says only "basket", his team answers "hot-air balloon" at once. In round three Lena puffs out her cheeks, spreads her arms and drifts slowly sideways, and the room has it in two seconds. After three rounds the teams count 19 and 17 slips.
How the game ends
The game ends when the bowl has been emptied three times. Add up each team's slips from the three rounds; the higher total wins. If time is short, stop after any complete round — the scores still stand.
At a glance
- Players
- 4–20 players
- Best with
- 6–12
- Play time
- 25–45 min
- Prep
- 5 min prep
- Materials
- Paper and pen
- Energy
- High energy
- Noise
- Loud
- Movement
- Standing optional
- Seated option
- Seated variation
- Where
- Living room, Large room, Outdoors
Times are editorial estimates, not test results.
Reading: Each clue-giver reads short words or phrases from slips. A non-reader can team up with a reader who whispers the slip.
Group size: minimum, maximum and how to split
Fishbowl needs at least 4 players and works for up to about 20. It is at its best with 6–12 players.
With more than twenty players, turns come round too rarely. Play in three or four teams instead of two, or cut the slips to two per person so that each round stays under ten minutes.
Playing seated. Fully playable seated: the clue-giver stays in their chair for all three rounds and, in the acting round, uses only hands, face and upper body. Agree this for everyone, not just for one player.
Tips for the host
- Read through the slips before starting and quietly replace anything only one person could know.
- Remind the room that round one is the memory round — listening while the other team plays pays off later.
- Keep the bowl moving. The clue-giver changes every turn, so nobody sits out for long.
- If the same confident player keeps guessing, ask clue-givers to look at a different teammate each time.
Variations
Four rounds
Add a final round in which the clue-giver hides behind a sheet or under a blanket and gives the clue with sounds only — no words. By then the room knows the slips so well that a single hum is often enough.
Short bowl
For a twenty-minute game, write two slips each and play rounds one and three only. It is the gentlest way to introduce the game to a family that has never played.
Prompts for this game
Slips to top up the bowl when a table runs out of ideas.
Things
- a hot-air balloon
- a sandcastle
- a wedding cake
- a treasure map
- a sleeping bag
- a washing machine
- a paper aeroplane
- a rubber duck
- a birthday candle
Moments
- a traffic jam
- a lost umbrella
- a roller coaster ride
- a snowball fight
- a marching band
- a picnic in the rain
- a suitcase that will not close
- the last slice of cake
Printable host sheet
Fishbowl — Printable host sheet
One page with the quick rules, set-up, and starter prompts — the same content as this page, laid out for print.
Where this game fits
We recommend Fishbowl in these collections:
About this game
Traditional party game, also known as "salad bowl" or "the hat game"; this explanation, the example and the starter words are original to Gather & Play.
Editorially checked for clarity and consistency. We do not claim group playtesting for this page. Editorial policy.
Related games
Act out a word or phrase without speaking so your team can guess it before the timer runs out.
- 4–20 players
- 20–45 min
- No materials
- Seated variation
The whole team acts out a prompt together while a single teammate tries to guess it.
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Help your team guess a secret word by giving clues that are exactly two words long — no more, no fewer.
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