Stats:
No. of players: 4 – 18
Amount of time to play: 60-90 min
Age requirements: 13+
Set-up time: minimal

Time’s Up is a party game in which you must get your team to guess celebrities. But over the three rounds of play what information you can give and how changes.

Time’s Up Rules Description:

Time’s Up starts after you draw forty cards and deal them out to all players. Each player then gets two more cards. You then look at and must discard two of your cards. The remaining forty cards are shuffled together and what you play the rest of the game with.

In the first round you may say and do most anything to get your team to guess the name on the card you draw. If they guess the name on the card you set it aside. You may not pass and after thirty seconds your turn is over. The next team takes their turn and the deck keeps going around until all forty names are guessed. Before starting round two you add up the cards your team got and get one point for each.

Round two uses all of the same cards, but this time you may only say one word. You may repeat that word and add any non-verbal clues. And your team may only gets one guess. If they are right you keep the card. If they are wrong you set the card aside. Once your thirty seconds are up the cards that were guessed wrong are shuffled back into the deck and the next team takes their turn. The round ends once all the cards are guessed. Again you get a point for all the cards your team guessed correctly.

In the third round your team only gets one guess and may pass, but you may only pantomime. This round also ends once all the cards are guessed and you total your cards to get your score for the round.

After all three rounds the team with the highest total points wins.

Quick Review of Time’s Up:

Time’s Up is a fun party game that is fun and accessible. The rules are simple, quick and easy to learn and teach.

The components for this game are very nice. It comes with 525 cards, an electric timer and score pad. Everything works well and helps the game run smoothly.

I like how this name-guessing game has a memory aspect to it. Remembering the forty cards over the three rounds helps a lot. And remembering the clues given between the first and second rounds can make a difference too.

I also like the third round. It is very funny. Once you can only pantomime the names some pretty funny things can happen.

You might get names and have no idea who they are, but there is a glossary of everyone in the game in the rules. This helps a lot.

Time’s Up is one of the best party games I have played. It is fast, funny and fun. If you are looking for a new party game, you should pick this one up.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 2 out of 6
Luck 2 out of 6
Player Interaction 5 out of 6
Replay Value 5 out of 6
Complexity 2 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6