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Catch Phrase game rules (2026) — get your team to say the word on the screen without saying it yourself, then pass the unit before the buzzer goes off. It’s like charades with words, and it’s fast.
Related: Monikers · Wavelength · game night hub.
Catch Phrase and party games like it
The electronic Catch Phrase unit, plus party games with the same clue-giving energy.
- The original: Hasbro Catch Phrase Electronic Game — built-in timer, buzzer, and scorekeeper
- Charades rounds: Monikers — three-round acting and talking
- Team dial: Wavelength — spectrum teamwork
- Slap warm-up: Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza — impulse opener
- Kitten encore: Exploding Kittens Original — sit-down reset
What is Catch Phrase?
Catch Phrase is Hasbro’s grab-it, guess-it, pass-it party game. The electronic Catch Phrase unit shows a word or phrase, runs a hidden timer, and keeps score. It needs four or more players in two teams and is rated ages 12 and up. It takes 3 AAA batteries, so pack spares.
Setup
- Split into two teams and sit in a circle so teammates alternate: team A, team B, team A, team B.
- Pick a category on the unit, or play mixed.
- Hand the unit to whoever starts and press start. The timer runs at a random length, so nobody knows when it will buzz.
How to play
- The clue-giver describes the word on the screen so their own team says it. You can say almost anything and use gestures.
- You can’t say the word itself or any part of it (no “foot” for “football”), say a word that rhymes with it, or give its first letter.
- When your team gets it, pass the unit to the next player. That person is on the other team and starts on a new word.
- If you get stuck, press Next to skip, but the clock keeps ticking.
- Break a clue rule and you stop the timer. The other team gets the point.
Scoring and winning
When the buzzer goes off, the team not holding the unit scores 1 point. That team then gets one shot to guess the word on the screen, after talking it over, for a bonus point. The first team to 7 points wins.
House-rule variations
- Speed round: no skips allowed. Every word must be guessed before you pass.
- Custom categories: no unit? Write words on slips of paper, use a phone timer someone else controls, and pass a bowl.
- Team rotation: shuffle teams every few rounds so the same two fast talkers don’t carry every game.
Tips
- Keep clues simple. “Opposite of cold” beats a long story.
- Use synonyms and fill-in-the-blank lines: “Peanut butter and ___.”
- Don’t panic when the beeping speeds up. Panicked clue-givers break rules.
- Sit in a real circle so passes are fair, and keep the volume reasonable in apartments.
FAQ
Electronic vs cards?
Electronic units buzz on their own and track the score, so nobody argues about the timer. Card or homemade versions work too. Just have someone outside the action run a random timer.
What if we don’t own Catch Phrase?
Monikers scratches a similar itch with rounds that escalate from talking to one word to acting. See how to play Monikers.
How long is a game?
A race to 7 usually takes 20–30 minutes.
