Heads Up! Party Game 4th Edition: Rules and Instructions for How to Play

Objective of Heads Up! Party Game

The objective of Heads Up! Party Game is to acquire the most chips by correctly figuring out the words on your headband.

Setup

Each player takes a headband and places it on their head with the logo facing forward.
Sort the cards by their types. Shuffle each type of card separately. Place each deck face down on the table.
Set the chips and timer in the center of the table.
Choose a player to start the game. This player will be the first Guesser. The other players will be the Clue Givers. This role will rotate between all of the players.
Choose a category of cards to use for the first round.

Playing Heads Up! Party Game

Heads Up! Party Game is played over a number of rounds. In each round all of the players will get to play as the Guesser once. All of the players will use the same category of cards when they are the Guesser.

To start each turn the current Guesser takes six cards from the pile of the chosen category. They will place the cards in their headband with the words showing so the other players can see them. When adding the cards to the headband, the Guesser should not look at the words on the card.

Round Setup in Heads Up! Party Game 4th Edition — To prepare for their turn this player placed six cards in their headband.

Before they start their turn the Guesser decides whether they want to use the Normal Play or Challenge Play rules. The Normal Play rules make it easier to guess the words, but each correct guess only earns you one chip. Challenge Play makes it harder to guess the words, but each correct guess earns you two chips.

The Guesser then turns over the sand timer. The Clue Givers work together to give the Guesser clues to help them guess the words on the card currently showing on their headband. The type of clues that they can give depends on the category of cards that are being played. See the Card Categories section below for more details.

When the Guesser gets a word/phrase right, the Clue Givers will move onto the next word. Once both words/phrases have been used on a card, move onto the next card. Should the Guesser or Clue Givers have trouble with a word/phrase, it can be passed.

Should an illegal clue be given, skip the current word. There is no other penalty for an illegal clue.

End of Turn

When the timer runs out, the current Guesser’s turn ends. Their turn could also end if they have finished all of the cards on their headband.

The Guesser then receives chips for each word they guessed correctly. The number of chips they receive for each correct answer depends on whether they played with the Normal Play or Challenge Play rules.

Normal Play: One chip per correct answer
Challenge Play: Two chips per correct answer

Scoring in Heads Up! Party Game 4th Edition — In this round the Guesser correctly figured out Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, The Incredibles, Frozen, Avenger’s: End Game, and Finding Dory. If they were using normal play, they would receive five chips. If they were using challenge play, they would receive ten chips.

Any cards that were used in the round are returned to the box. Any unused cards are returned to the bottom of their corresponding category deck.

The player to the left of the current Guesser becomes the Guesser next. Each player will play as the Guesser once in the round. Once all of the players have played as the Guesser once, the round ends. For the next round the players choose a different category of cards.

Card Categories

Act It Out Kids!

The Act It Out Kids! category plays like Charades. The Clue Givers have to describe the words (actions or items) by acting it out.

In Normal Play you can make any type of gesture, but you cannot talk. You can use sounds though.

Act It Out Kids! Example — For the current card the player has the words T-Rex and Violin. The other players will have to act out being a T-Rex. For the second word they have to act like they are playing the violin.

In Challenge Play you can use any type of gesture, but you cannot talk or make any sounds.

Animals Gone Wild

The Animals Gone Wild category requires the Guesser to guess the animals on the cards.

In Normal Play the Clue Givers can describe the animal however they want as long as they don’t say any part of the animal’s name or rhyme.

Animals Gone Wild Example — For the first animal the Clue Givers could say something like “an animal with black and white stripes”. For the second animal they could say “a small insect that moves around the air”.

In Challenge Play the Clue Givers can’t say any part of the animal’s name, rhyme, or make any animal noises.

Blockbuster Movies

The Blockbuster Movies category of cards feature famous movie titles. The Guesser needs to try and guess the movie title based on clues given by the Clue Givers.

In Normal Play the Clue Givers have to describe the movie without saying any part of the movie’s title or using rhymes.

Blockbuster Movies Example — For the first movie title the Clue Givers could say something like “Elsa sings Let It Go”. For Avengers: End Game the Clue Givers could say something like “the big wrap up film for the Marvel Cinematic Universe”.

In Challenge Play the Clue Givers have to describe the movie without saying any part of the movie’s title, rhyming, or naming any actors or actresses who appear in the movie.

Mix It Up

The Mix It Up category involves a wild variety or words. Each word is a noun though.

In Normal Play the Clue Givers can describe the noun in any way they want with two restrictions. They cannot say any part of the noun, and they can’t rhyme.

Mix It Up! Example — For this round the Clue Givers have to come up with clues for gorilla and football. For gorilla they could say something like “large black monkeys that are originally from Africa”. They could say something like “the sport that NFL players play” for football.

In Challenge Play the Guesser is only allowed three guesses in order to try and get the word.

Winning Heads Up! Party Game

Heads Up! Party Game ends when all of the chips have been taken from the center of the table.

The player that acquires the most chips wins the game.

Winning Heads Up! Party Game 4th Edition — The top player earned the most chips with fourteen. They have won the game.

Team Play

Normally you will play Heads Up! Party Game as individuals. You can choose to play the game in teams though. The rules are mostly the same with a few adjustments.

The players should divide into two teams.
While playing only the Guesser’s teammates may give clues.
The Clue Givers decide whether they want to use the Normal Play or Challenge Play rules.
The two teams will alternate taking turns. Both teams will play the same category each round. For the next round you will choose a different category.
Each time a team takes a turn, they must use a different player to be the Guesser.
The team that earns the most chips wins the game.

Heads Up! Party Game 4th Edition

Year: 2021 | Publisher: Spin Master | Designer: Nick Hayes

Genres: Party, Word

Ages: 8+ | Number of Players: 2-6 | Length of Game: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: Moderate

Components: 6 headbands, 48 chips, 200 cards, sand timer, instructions

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