Summary
Yappers, unite. If you’re a lover ofboard games, but are tired of playing your hand close to the chest, then we’ve got a fantastic list of board games for you to try out at your next game night. From social deception games to free association games, this list is full of fantastic games that only have one rule: you have to talk.
Sometimes your words might be limited. Or, you might be able to say whatever you want to point the finger at a fellow competitor. Either way, these fun and unique games are perfect for all the yappers out there.
3-8
Time to Play
15 mins
The Chameleon is an incredibly fun word association and social deception game all rolled up into one! In this game, players will all be able to reference a grid of words in the same category. For example, the card might say ‘Sports’ followed by a grid of words that are all related to sports.
Dice are then rolled to determine which word on this grid is the secret word. One person, the Chameleon, does not know what the word is. Players then take turns saying a one-word associated word to inform other players that they know what the correct term is. After that, it’s up to the group to figure out who the Chameleon is, or for the Chameleon to guess the correct secret word.
3-10
5-10 mins
One Night: Ultimate Werewolf is, forgive the pun, the ultimate social deception game that relies heavily on conversation. While, of course, there are cards and a time that are necessary to play, the real fun of the game happens after the night phase is complete.
In this game, players take turns performing various actions, and then have a few minutes to figure out what happened during the night. One team of players is trying to figure out who the werewolves are, while the werewolves are trying to remain hidden. The fights you will get into playing this game are something else.
5-10
30 mins
The Resistance is a slightly longer social deception board game in which players work on separate teams: spies and Resistance Operatives. Played throughout several rounds, players will take turns either trying to thwart the missions of the Resistance or see that they are pulled off successfully, depending on which team they’re playing for.
However, the real fun of the game happens in between rounds, in which players can levy accusations against one another and subsequently vote on who to send on subsequent missions. Again, yapping is the name of the game here, as being able to plead your case successfully could make the difference between life and death.
3-6
15-30 mins
Another secret identity game, Hoax sees players taking on secret roles within a wealthy family and household. In the game, players must eliminate one another by exposing their lies about their identities. What’s most interesting about this game is that it really prevents people from remaining too quiet; perfect for yappers.
That’s because, in each round, you have to claim your identity. you’re able to’t really just pass. This also happens to invite a lot of suspicion each round, meaning players are likely to be flinging accusations at one another every second in this game.
2-5
45-60 mins
Gloom is a really interesting narrative-driven game that encourages players to tell elaborate, gothic-inspired tales of woe and tragedy. In this game, your goal is to spin a story so gloomy and depressing that other players don’t even stand a chance of competing. It’s sort of like the Tragedy Olympics; almostan anti-cozy game, if you will.
In this game, you’ll choose a family, and play cards that range from standard events of tragedy to untimely death. While you can play this game in a sort of drab, boring way, the rules of the game encourage you to weave your cards together into an intricate story. So yes, you can play an untimely death card and say nothing more, but you’ll actually have way more fun if you weave an intricate tale alongside the card.
4-16
30-45 mins
Monikers is a great party game that puts a fun twist on your typical game of Charades. In Monikers, you’ll build a deck proportionate to the number of players you have, and split up into teams. From there, you’ll work your way through the deck in three rounds, trying to get your fellow teammates to guess the clues on the card.
In the first round, you’ll be allowed to say whatever you want; again, ideal for yappers. However, as the game progresses, you’ll be limited in scope. In the second round, you may only use one word, and in the third round, you’ll actually be forced back into Charades. Still, this game is sure to give players a rousing evening of clue-yelling and association.
2-12
Wavelength is a fantastically fun party game that you can play by splitting up into teams, or in one large group, depending on how competitive you want to be. In this game, one person, the clue-giver, receives a card with two opposed terms. For example, a card might say ‘Bad’ vs. ‘Good.’ From there, the clue-giver spins a wheel, revealing a point on the spectrum between the two concepts.
From there, the clue-giver must give a one-word clue to the group to help them figure out where on the spectrum of these two concepts the wheel sits. This can create some really fun conversations. Which is worse, a bad cold or a migraine? Debate is always going to be front and center in a game like Wavelength, which is ideal for a group that loves to argue for sport.
Dixit is a really charming and fun storytelling-based game witha casual element to it, in which one player takes on the role of the storyteller. From there, they draw cards and begin to communicate ideas based on an image in their hand. All other players select cards as well that match the idea communicated. From there, players must figure out which card is the storyteller’s and separate it from the rest of the group.
Though the game does rely on somewhat limited communication, the debate and thought process behind how you communicate is ideal for talkative people. Plus, if you like image-driven games, the artwork in this game is simply to die for.
2-8
Similar to some of the other games on this list, once again, this game relies on limited communication. However, the game literally lives or dies by how you express yourself.
In this game, players divide themselves into two teams. One person takes on the role of a spy, trying to communicate certain code words to their teammates by giving one-word clues. However, they have to be careful to give clues that aren’t too close to the enemy team’s secret words, lest they give their opponents points by mistake. This game is great for wordy people who love to flex their vocab skills.
20-30 mins
The last game on this list is another game that relies on limited communication with an added visual component as well. In this game, players take on the roles of raccoons and opossums in a junk yard, trying to match trash-like objects to words on cards.
While one player will sadly be forced to remain relatively quiet about their word choices, this game can inspire a wonderful sense of debate amongst the team. It’snot necessarily the perfect talking game, but trying to figure out which trash object (like a bow tie, for example) can best be associated with three random words on cards encourages spirited debate and cooperative play.
