Three Acts
One deck. Three ways to make your team guess it.
Three Acts is a team party game played over one shared deck of famous names, places, characters and songs. One player at a time gets thirty to sixty seconds to make their team guess as many cards as possible. Then the very same deck comes back twice, each time under a stricter rule: first say anything, then one word only, then no words at all. By the last act everybody knows every card, and the miming gets gloriously ridiculous.
Objective
Two teams take turns. One player gives clues from a shared deck of famous names while their team guesses out loud before time runs out. Then the same deck comes back twice, each time with a stricter rule.
How to play
- Each turn, one player is the clue-giver. They see a card at a time and get one timer for as many cards as they can.
- Act I, Say anything: describe the card freely, but never say any part of its name.
- Act II, One word: the same cards again, but only one word per card (repeat it as much as you like).
- Act III, Act it out: the same cards one last time, with mime and sound effects only. No words!
- Tap Got it when your team nails it, or Skip to put the card back in the pile for later. Slipped by mistake? Undo takes back your last Got it.
- The other team sees every card too, so they can call out fouls.
Scoring
Each card your team guesses scores 1 point for your side, across all three acts. The team with the most cards at the end of Act III wins, and everyone on it scores.
Example round
- Act I: your card says 'Shakira'. You say 'Colombian singer, hips don't lie, she did the World Cup song' and your team shouts the answer. Tap Got it.
- Act II: the same card comes round again. You are only allowed one word, so you say 'Waka'. Your team remembers the deck and gets it.
- Act III: the card is back one more time and you cannot speak. You shake your hips and mime a song. Got it, in about two seconds.
- The other team sees each card too, so they can call out a foul if you slip a forbidden word in.
Strategy tips
- Remember the cards that were hard in Act I: in Acts II and III they are your best shortcuts, because your team has heard them before.
- Skip fast. A skipped card goes back into the pile, so burning five seconds on a stubborn one costs your team more than moving on.
- In Act II pick the single word that your own team would think of first, not the cleverest one.
- In Act III start with the most obvious gesture. Subtle miming is a luxury for when the clock is not running.
Best with
Best with 4 to 12 players split into two teams, with at least 2 on each side. Teams are switched on from the lobby and sides take turns, so everyone gets a go giving clues. Groups of friends, family gatherings and team events all work, especially when everybody knows the cards.
Variations
- Shorten the turn to 30 seconds for a frantic game, or stretch it to 60 for a relaxed one.
- Play a 20-card deck for a quick round, or the full 40 for an evening-long match.
- Make the referees stricter: any slip from the clue-giver hands the other team a point of pride.
FAQ
What happens when I skip a card?
It goes back into the pile at a random position, so your team still has to guess it later in the same act. Skipping only defers a card, it never removes it.
Why does the other team see the card?
They act as referees. In the board game version opponents would peek over the clue-giver's shoulder; here they see the card on their own phone and can call out any rule slip.
Does my team win by points or by cards?
By cards. Every card your team guesses scores one point for your side across all three acts, and the team with the most cards when Act III ends wins.