The quick version
Make two teams and one shared bowl. Alternate 60-second turns, scoring one point per correct prompt. Empty the bowl by describing, refill it for silent acting, then refill it for one-word clues. Highest combined score wins; share ties.
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Build a bowl everyone can use
Make two teams, each with at least two people. Everyone writes two distinct familiar names, objects or short phrases, one per slip. Use answers the group could reasonably recognize; avoid private jokes only two people know. Keep a few blank slips for replacements.
Read the submitted answers aloud once before folding them into one bowl. This house preview makes sure everyone can hear the wording and flag an unfamiliar or uncomfortable prompt. Replace it now and combine exact duplicates into one slip. Count the finished bowl so you can check all slips return between rounds.
Put willing clue-givers on a rotation within each team. Choose the starting team by a fair draw. The score runs across all three rounds. Each correct prompt earns one point; passes and rule breaches earn zero. A round ends when its bowl is empty, not after a fixed number of turns.
Stuck for an answer? A familiar object or action works: umbrella, firefighter, popcorn, brushing your teeth, a flat tire or building a sandcastle. Choose two distinct prompts each, then use the shared read-through to replace duplicates or unfamiliar answers. Each team needs at least one willing clue-giver; nobody has to take that role.
Three rounds, then the result
Run the turn
Start 60 seconds before the clue-giver draws the first slip. Their team guesses aloud; the other listens. A correct whole answer puts the slip in the team's scored pile and earns one point. Draw another immediately. On a pass or clue-rule breach, reveal that slip to the room and put it in a separate zero-point pile for this round; draw again.
Describe in round one
Use spoken descriptions, without saying any word in the answer or a direct form of it. Do not rhyme, spell, translate the answer, say its first letter or point at an object to give it away. For this version, no acting clues in the description round.
Hand over at the alarm
Stop immediately; an unfinished slip returns to the bowl, unscored. Count scored slips, record the turn total and set them aside. Alternate teams and rotate clue-givers. If a turn uses the last slip early, end the round immediately. No leftover seconds carry over.
Refill for acting
Combine scored and zero-point piles, check the slip count and shuffle everything back into the bowl. The team that did not take the last turn starts next. In round two use silent gestures only: no speech, mouthing, noises, spelling or pointing at real objects. Keep the same turn and scoring procedure.
Refill for one word
Return every slip again. In round three, say one clue word per slip; it cannot be a word from the answer or its direct form. You may repeat that same clue but cannot change it or add gestures. Once the bowl empties, total all three rounds. Highest total wins, ties are shared. Write a new bowl for another game.
Explain the changing clue rule
One answer, three clue styles: practice with “toaster,” then keep it out of the bowl. For describing, try “a countertop appliance that browns slices of bread.” For acting, silently pretend to push a lever and watch the slices pop up. For the one-word round, say “breakfast”—and repeat only that word if needed. These are unscored examples, shown before their matching rounds. Memory of earlier descriptions is part of play; do not add new prompts between rounds. Decide that close wording counts only when it identifies the whole intended answer.
Zero-point revealed passes keep a difficult bowl moving and remain in the next round for everyone to remember. If four turns in a row—two per team—produce no correct answers, reveal the remaining slips, set them aside at zero for this round, then refill or total.
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Ideas & Twists
Choose a variation together before you start.
Fishbowl · See main rules
Suggested house variationDraw the middle round
Replace round two's acting with drawing on a shared visible page. No words, letters, digits, gestures or spoken clues; shapes and arrows are allowed. Keep description first and one word last, the same bowl, passes and 60-second turns. Highest combined three-round score wins; share a tie.
Fishbowl · See main rules
Suggested house variationOne fixed teammate guesses
For each turn name one guesser before drawing; only that teammate may call answers, while the others listen. Rotate both clue-giver and guesser. Keep all three clue modes and the same bowl. Score one per correct prompt, add the three rounds and share a tied result. This works with two-person teams too.
About this guide
A paper house format using the FISHBOWL publisher's describe, act, remember sequence, also shown by The Hat. Play Salad Bowl uses one word before acting and supports the timed, one-point-per-answer format. Previewing the bowl, retiring revealed passes and the stalled-bowl finish are explicit house choices; they are not presented as commercial rules.
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