How to Play the Salad Bowl Game (Easy to Play & Super Fun for All Ages!)
Have you heard of The Salad Bowl Game? This FREE party game is perfect for your next gathering, and we’re sharing the instructions!
Looking for a fast, fun, and FREE party game? Try the Salad Bowl Game! It’s a simple mix of Taboo and Charades, easy to learn, and uses supplies you already have! It’s best with 6 or more players, but suitable for all ages.
Have we piqued your interest? Keep reading to learn how to play!
The object of the game: The team volunteer/player for each round has one objective, and that is to quickly get their teammates to guess what is written on the slip of paper. If the team guesses correctly, the volunteer will grab another slip of paper and keep giving clues. Each team has 1 minute for their volunteer to get the team to guess as many secret words as possible.
How to score the game: Each team scores 1 point for each word they guess correctly.
How to set up The Salad Bowl Game:
Setting up the Salad Bowl Game is easy-peasy. Here’s a list of what you need:
- A salad bowl or any large bowl
- Several small pieces of paper
- Extra paper for keeping score
- Writing utensils
- A timer
Give each player 4-6 slips of paper and a writing utensil. Have them secretly write down a person, place, or thing on each piece of paper. You can use movie titles, fictional characters, and celebrities, too!
Then, fold the slips of paper and toss them inside the salad bowl (if you don’t have a salad bowl, you can use a pot or any other large container). No peeking! 🙈
Now for the Salad Bowl Game Instructions…
Ready to play? The Salad Bowl game is easy to learn and can be played with just 4 simple steps! Just follow these Salad Bowl Game instructions!
1. Make teams.
Divide the group into 2 teams with an equal number of players (larger groups may need to make 3 or 4 teams). Designate one player to also be a scorekeeper.
2. Choose the first clue giver.
Have each team choose a volunteer for the first round, pick the team that will go first, and set the timer for 1 minute.
3. Start playing! There are three rounds with different guessing methods.
Round 1 – Verbal Clues
The first round is similar to the game Taboo. Start the timer, and the first volunteer will pluck a slip of paper from the salad bowl and look at the secret word or words written on it. For this round, the volunteer can only give clues using words. There are no props or gestures allowed!
The player may give clues using any number of words they would like. The catch? They cannot say any word (or part of any word) that appears on the slip of paper. For example, if the slip of paper says, “skateboard,” the player cannot say “skate,” “board,” or even “skater.” What they can say is, “Tony Hawk is famous for riding one of these.”
Once the time stops, the other team will have a chance to play the round. Once the round is finished, the scorekeeper will tally up the scores. Each team gets 1 point for each correct answer.
Round 2 – Charades
The second round is similar to the game charades, and that means no talking! Have each team pick a new volunteer. Set the timer for a minute and let the first team’s volunteer begin. This player can use hand gestures, but they cannot make words or say any sounds. 🤐 For example, if you get the word/movie title “Jaws,” you can’t hum the theme song, but you can pretend to have a dorsal fin.
Let each team take a turn and tally up the scores.
Round 3 – One-word only
Have each team nominate a new volunteer for the final round. This round is similar to the first except that players must keep their clues to a single word only, so make it good! The word they say aloud must not appear on the slip of paper.
For example, if the slip of paper says, “basketball net,” the player could give a clue like “Shaq,” “Jordan,” or “dunk.” They are not allowed to say, “net,” or “b-ball.” If the team is unable to figure out the word, it is up to you to set the rules on whether they can skip and try a new secret word instead.
Let each team take a turn and tally up the scores.
4. Score the game.
Add up the scores for each round. The team with the highest score wins the game!
Who knew such a simple and FREE game could be so much fun?! 🙌 If you need a game for your next party, this is one to try!
“This game is so fun for a really large group of people, which is awesome, as lots of board games are usually up to 6 or 8 players. With this game, if you have a very large group for a Christmas gathering or New Year’s, you can play with everyone! I think what makes it so much fun is that it really works for all ages. The little kids can still understand and get laughs out of it, as well as the teens and adults. It’s a really, really entertaining game that my entire family enjoyed – and that’s coming from teenagers who are usually hard to please!” – Collin, Hip2Save
Hosting a holiday party? Check out our list of fun and easy holiday games!
Is there a printable version of The Salad Bowl Game?
Hi Catchy! I created this printable PDF for you! Hope this works! 😊
wow 😮 thanks! I was just thinking that I should come up with a game to play with 10 grandchildren ages 7-19 and their parents. This is perfect
You’re so welcome! Have fun! 🥰
Won’t you know what a bunch of the words are, if you wrote them down?
Yes, however still a bit of mystery for any you may have written down yourself, as others need to play them out or share a clue etc.
I don’t get the scoring. You said 1 point for every correct answer but then show a 10 (in the pic) on the first round of play???
Sorry for any confusion. Here are more details on that – “Once the round is finished, the scorekeeper will tally up the scores. Each team gets 1 point for each correct answer.”
Do you put all the papers back in the bowl after each round? (I.e. you’re reacting the same things)
Or after each person has a turn? (I.e. team one goes, all papers go back in, team two goes, then next round)
Or not at all? (Each paper is only viewed once throughout the game)
Yes, in the classic Game the papers do go back in the bowl between rounds, not just once and then gone forever.
In Round 1 you hear full descriptions.
In Round 2 you act them out (charades).
In Round 3 you give one-word clues only.
By reusing the same clues, players can remember them and score more points in later rounds.
So the standard rule is after each entire round ends, put all the papers back in for the next round, not letting each paper be used just once total.
Thank you! Getting ready to play now and this was super helpful 💕
How easy and fun!
Please send a printable version
Hi Sheree! I shared a link to the printable version in the comments above, if you wanted to grab it there. Hope this helps! 🥰