Monday, August 31, 2009

So Taboo

Being home is always fun for me. I love this city, and the great time my family has together. Wonder where I get the sass from? Its in the DNA.

Case in point:

Our family loves playing Taboo. We wish it was an Olympic sport. Do you know Taboo? Basically, a word guessing game. You have a word on top of the card, and five words below it that you can not say any part of in your attempt to get your team to guess. You have one minute to get your team through as many cards as possible.



In the pic above, yearbook is the word you want your team to guess. The other team gets the buzzer, off you go. And of course, we also have the electronic version. Game-playing-nerdios.

My older brother and I think we are unbeatable with our spectacular vernacular. But everyone in our family loves to play and it is no holds barred.

Example A: On a previous visit home, after dinner and vino, we are playing Taboo with about eight people. My older brother, TumbleWeed (named so for his constant and nonstop traveling for work) is giving clues to my Mom, my little brother (HiPie), and a friend of ours. He is yelling out clues and finally says, "This is what JennyMac is!!!! This is what JennyMac is!!!"

My mom then shouts out with glee like one of Rudolph's reindeer mates: FLAT.

Wait a minute. Did my Mom just say I am flat? I mean, I am but is that how this family is giving clues?

My brother cracks up. He is laughing SO hard he can not finish his round. OOOOPS Mr. LaughyTaffy, times up. The word he wanted her to guess? ATTORNEY.

The word not to be guessed: flat

Example B: My Mom and my Father have been divorced for a long time. His house in WA is a mile away from hers so we see him often when we are home. He is a fierce game player. I believe I was taught cribbage at age six. He stopped over one night and we invited him to play. He declined but said he would listen in.

I am giving clues to my Mom and various others. I am describing a word like this:

thin, small, most people have them, very handy, in your wallet.

My Father who is NOT playing says: CONDOMS!

The word I wanted my team to guess: Credit cards.

The word I did not want them to guess: Condoms.

Guess who I did not want to hear shouting condoms about what my Mom has in her wallet? My Father. Her ex-husband for decades so ditto for her.

See what I mean? It is genetic coding.

89 comments:

Anonymous said...

We play a TON of games too! And those are the same kinds of answers that come tumbling out of our family member's mouths! I love it!!

Kat said...

I'm really going to have to make sure I don't have coffee in my mouth when I read your morning post - yes folks, yet another spit the coffee out the nose moment brought to you by our own JennyMac. Thanks for the laugh. Kathy

J said...

You blog is lovely to read
xox

Anonymous said...

I challenge you to a Taboo olympics sister! Hahah. I love that game too, it makes the crowd so involved and people laugh the whole time.

Mandy said...

Wow, maybe we're distant relatives because I LOVE Taboo! Always have. I haven't played it in years though, not since we've moved away from family. I am VERY competitive and very good at this game. Like your family, I can find some word or way to describe the item of the card.

Example: Years ago, my cousin Rachel and I were playing girls against guys with our boyfriends. I say, "What did grandma get for Christmas last year?" She screams, "Television!" And that was of course the correct word. It's so fun to play with relatives who you share a history with.

My husband, sadly, HATES this game and refuses to play with me (b/c I am so good at it). He would rather play Trivial Pursuit which I hate. So we settle for "Scene It" where we can at least watch movie clips. And I just kick his butt at that one too. ;-)

I hope you're having a blast with family and old H.S. friends. And why the hell are you up so early in Seattle??

Hit 40 said...

Love your dad!! My dad still gets mad if we call the cat ...

pussy cat. REALLY!!! I love to say crude things. I'll bring a six pack for your pop. Let me know when the next game is.

Hit 40 said...

We are doing comment approval now?? WTF??? Who is the evil spawn that has ruined our fun??? We must have names.

sas said...

the day after christmas is Game Day in our house. And now the much extended family get involved. 2 christmases ago we played Trivial Pursuit: the Australian Version (much brother married an aussie). They don't have literature or geography. Or even History. These have been replaced with gossip, sport and television.

I won and I am actually quite stupid.

Amanda (Small Acorns) said...

I've not heard of this game, but I feel the need to track it down. Hilarious fun!

La Belle Mere said...

Yet another thing I'm pretty sure I miss out on by living in the UK. I've never seen this game before. But I want it.

I'm getting my bad self on Ebay right now to find it!!

LBM xxx

People Who Know Me Would Say: said...

That's what I call 'kick ass' DNA! I put my money on it every time!

You know, my mother lives with us, while my father and step-mother live 11 houses away. My parents 17 year marriage ended 39 years ago...and those three see each other 6 mornings a week. We've got a senior sitcom going here. I pray that's not in my DNA....

Unknown said...

Laugh out loud funny as always.....am still giggling at "CONDOMS"!!!

Metropolitan Mum said...

I almost forgot about Taboo. Must get one to play here, too. Your folks are hilarious.

Anonymous said...

Very good. Reminds me of christmas games at home, playing charades and my father goosestepping around the lounge sieg-heiling as he tried to do 'Adolf The Red Nosed Reindeer' by mistake.

The man designed bombs for a living. Quite worrying.

Lee said...

I feel your flat pain, but that is so funny! That is a totally fun game! Maybe when brattitude boy can read I'll get it!!

mommakin said...

I love word games, too, and it seems my girls will as well (yay!)

Flat! Hah! And it was your MOM, dude! Oh, man, that's funny...

lsnellings said...

That is so funny! My family's game is mexican dominoes. It is definitely not tfor the faint of heart! We usually make new players team up with somebody for the first round, but my fam is dangerously competitive!

And you are the first person outside of my own fam (and under 70) that I have ever heard of playing cribbage! My grandpa taught me when I was about 7!

Laura Trevey said...

hilarious!!
that is a great game ...

ladytruth said...

Your family sounds like THE people to hang out with :) I was thinking coins on the last one, but I guess Dad's thoughts were more, eh, creative. Can I send my family over to get some tips on how to be cool? ;)

rubbish said...

Sounds like you have a blast.

AmyK said...

I love family game nights. Our family has nearly every edition of Trival Pursuit. We started with Picitonary when the daughters were young and then moved on. The best part of the evening is laughing until you cry at some of the answers. What great fun. Thanks for sharing yours.

Ruby Red Slippers said...

We LOVE Taboo over here!!! We played it for New Years one night...Try that with a coctail!

Rita Templeton said...

I'm a huge fan of dorky board games - my family sounds just like yours.

Ever tried Cranium? OMG. SO Fun.

Southern Champagne Wishes said...

So funny! My friend had a singles party a few months ago and got us all to play Taboo (big mistake - the guy she had tried to fix me up with kept yelling out the craziest and most inappropriate words like "sperm", "g-string", and I can't even remember what else)!

The problem? None of those words had anything to do with any of the clues - he was just a pervert. Glad I found out early!

Christie - Childhood 101 said...

This is my favourite game as well. I bet my husband and I could take you on!

Christie
http://childhood101.blogspot.com/

Alyson said...

My family can't play games like that. It ends in bloodshed, name calling, and vows of disownment.

A French Cloud said...

"this is what JennyMac is"--atleast your mother didn't shout "my beaver!" Thanks for the laughs--great way to start the week.

Mommy Mac said...

You flat too.

Sucks when your chest actually looks better in a sports bra than a real one.

Cheers to being concave together.

.mac :)

Unknown said...

Have you ever played "Balderdash?" Thats my favorite. We used to play that often with my sons and their wives. But now they have little ones, so we don't play because too often the answers were R-17. Your family sounds like fun!

dee said...

Ha! That is hysterical! My family and I LOVE playing board games, too. Scrabble, Taboo, Cranium... probably my favorite way to spend a cold winter evening, in front of the fireplace and drinking hot cocoa!

Brutally Honest said...

LOL...y'all need to get your head out of the gutters....boobs and sex accessories at a family game night!? ;P

Jenni said...

I can't even imagine what might get yelled out in my whacky family...

La La La Leah said...

That's probably why my husband doesn't want to play board games with me... I always wondered why. He really hates them. My family LOVES the games and my grandma even cheats at Balderdash.... SHAME grandma SHAME ON YOU!!

Char said...

hahahahaha, man - that's just wrong. we like catch phrase around here.

Meg said...

My best friend and I have a psychic ability with this game. We're even weirded out by it. I can utter a first syllable of a clue and she'll blurt out the word. It's crazy. Love love love that game!

mo.stoneskin said...

So the moral of the story - if there is one - is that we shouldn't accept an invite to play TABOO with your family? Right?

Elyse said...

LOL that is too funny. i love taboo!!

confused homemaker said...

OMG I swear that's how my family would play that game, which is why we have banned all board games.

Kristina P. said...

So funny! The last time I played this game was with my coworkers, on a slow night. It was so fun!

Rebecca Knight said...

AHAHAHAHAHA! My family and I used to play that, too. It's like a horrible, horrible rorschach test :D.

Debbie said...

God heavens. I would kill to have an evening of games with your family. Sounds like my kind of people.

Passion Fruit said...

We don't have Taboo but we have a very similar game called Alias as in finding other words to describe the word that needs to be guessed. I'm a TOTAL ace at it. Me and my younger brother can beat ANYONE. Even when they are cheating and we are not (has happened).

The Peach Tart said...

Oh your family is so like my family. Real.

Lawyer Mom said...

I'm so glad to hear about this game. It's name was throwing me off. We tried Password but it just wasn't fun. This one sounds great . . . as long as one of the words isn't condom!

EmFabulousFunshine said...

we break out Taboo every Thanksgiving. Guaranteed good times every year!!!

Cathi said...

My friends and I have played alot...always a hilarious game to play...!

Your family sounds fun! :)

brokenteepee said...

Sounds like you are having a great time on vacation with your family.
Anatomy allusions aside...

lislynn said...

Taboo is the BEST game Ever.

Anonymous said...

Flat and condoms with your family...classic! Taboo is so much fun, and like you've shown here, you never know where it will take you!! I personally like to play it with friends and a whole lotta cocktails!

Tamara Hart Heiner said...

Flat??? As in chest size? that's hilarious. I'm sure I've got you beat, though (at least if we really are talking cups!). The only bra that fits me (since I quit nursing and lost my boobs) is in the wash. So I'm not wearing one. Can't tell. I'm as flat as a board.

Stephanie Faris said...

I love Taboo! I've found the more you have playing, the more fun you have. But condoms? Not one you want to hear a parent shout. Parents aren't even supposed to know what those are!

Jen said...

thats awesome. Taboo is a fabulous game.

Grand Pooba said...

Oh my god I want to join your family! Flat? Hahaha! And seriously, condoms? That was hilarious!

Yankee Girl said...

We are a charade family. I think because everyone knows the rules so there can be no fighting over interpretation, which is an issue in my family.

But we love our charades :)

strokeofliving said...

OMG, Taboo and Pictionary are still the highlights of my family Thanksgiving dinners. I love Taboo. Your story is mortifying but funny as hell. Thanks for sharing!

lisa and laura said...

It's official. I need to play Taboo with the Mac family. Like right now.

Sassy Chica said...

That is hilarious! My hubby and I have hosted cocktail parties slash game nights with some neighbors and friends...I have laughed so hard, my side and face hurts.

I love game nights!!

Smooches,
Sassy Chica

ThatsBaloney said...

Oh how I wish my family would play games. I LOVE THEM!
Have you played Apples to Apples? It's a good family one.

Lana said...

i love taboo!! but i agree, best to be played with family and close friends, too many subliminal thoughts coming out in the open :)

Liz Mays said...

I just love that game and your family rocks!!

J.J. in L.A. said...

We must be related through some great, great, great, great relative because my family is very similar.

I'm Jamie said...

Sounds like if your family and my family got together we would have a ball!!!

Vodka Logic said...

My youngest loves games. We have pictionary and have a ball with it. She has been asking for Taboo. I will get it for Christmas.
Thanks xx

Claudya Martinez said...

I love Taboo! Playing with your family sounds like my kind of fun. That needs to be a scene in a movie.

BTW, word verification is asking me to type in "chips".

Cocaine Princess said...

I still love, love playing Monopoly.

Seriously what a cute family you have.

Intense Guy said...

I bet you are anything but "flat".

My family used to enjoy games like "balderdash" and "pictionary".

My family, like yours, is separated by lots of miles. Enjoy the fun to the maximum!

Elizabeth Marie said...

"so ditto for her" hahaha your poor Mom!

I'm actually kinda terrified to play these types of games with my family...enough crazy stuff comes out of their mouths on it's own. But it's memories, right? :)

Brittany Ann said...

My family plays this game, too! I have a love/hate relationship wit it when it gets inappropriate:)

Sultan said...

I am so suggestible. Now I desperately want to buy the Taboo game.

Leah Rubin said...

and as always, 'hilarity ensued'. You have too much fun, and yes, I am jealous because my husband isn't into games, even though he IS into fun! Taboo is a blast!

Great post-- you crack me up!

Little Ms J said...

Try Balderdash. That will totally eff up your family dynamic.

The Savage said...

I have yet to play Taboo but I have watched the films... wait those are XXX....

Helene said...

I love Taboo....we usually play it with my IL's every Christmas. Although our games are nowhere as fun as yours!!!

- said...

i want to be part of your family.

my family enjoys taboo, but our true game is Trivial Pursuit. we are the random knowledge champions of the world. and if we DON'T know an answer, we just say Buffy Saint Marie and move on to the next question LOL

debra@dustjacket said...

Your family sounds so funny, kinda like an olympic sport with games huh!

Thanks for your comment, it was so funny you put 'is all well', I thought how do you know ... cause it kinda isn't. Thanks for asking though, your a doll.
xoxo

Sharon Rose said...

This game brings out the laughter and wit in my family everytime we play it.
Have you tried Madgab?

sheila said...

That's a great game! We also play pictionary which is very hard when everyone is artistically challenged, lol.

LOVE LOVE LOVE the condoms blurt out! That's great!

Theta Mom said...

Taboo is the BEST game ever!!! Always a good time!

the walking man said...

What would the main word be if the words not to be used were flat and condoms?

ThatsBaloney said...

I forgot to mention - try charades when you make up each others' lists. It is really fun to watch the guys act out the word "tampon."

Mira said...

I want my family to be like this. I plan on instituting a game night for sure. I just hope I can make it through CandyLand and Old Maid until they are old enough to play fun games...

Angie said...

Ooohhhh I LOVE games, and TABOO tops the list!

Unknown said...

Taboo is the BEST! I love that game. We always play charades. We keep a charades jar in the house and take it out at dinner parties. So much fun.

Shop Girl* said...

I LOVE Taboo!! We don't play a (sort of) homemade version called the Celebrity Game from time to time, but Apples to Apples reigns supreme in our house.

Board game nights are AWESOME.

Kathy B! said...

There should be a filter on parents to prevent just this sort of foolishness.

Unknown said...

Haha, this was hilarious! I definitely recommend the game "Balderdash" for your next family get-together!

Vivienne @ the V Spot said...

Your family reminds me very much of my family. (Except the part about the divorced parents and the dad yelling about condoms.)

Padgett Hoke said...

Taboo is my all time favorite! I like to think that my friends and I could beat anyone, purely because we know way to much about each other and can always rely on our experiences!

I love New York, have been there many many times, I am just sad that my best friend won't be down the street anymore! I have already booked my ticket for October!

Where are your favorite places to go?

Tam and John said...

Great post! We LOVE Taboo! So glad I found your blog, it's terrific! :)