Desi Chaat

Who does what?

See a turn

Use the sand timer and cowbell supplied with the main game. The pack guides use a phone timer and verbal checks.

Don't get lost in translation

Get your team to guess the word at the top of the card. The catch: you can't say the four words underneath it. You have 60 seconds, the other team is sitting right next to you holding a cowbell, and they are dying to ring it.

What the cards look like

Every card has a main word at the top and four don't-say words underneath. Some cards also carry a symbol. Both sides of every card are playable, and each side is a different word.

Set up

1. Split into two teams and sit in a circle, alternating: Team 1, Team 2, Team 1, Team 2.
2. Each team picks a Language Guru. Gurus settle any argument about language, and both have to agree (or ask Google).
3. Choose which colour side of the deck everyone plays first. The colours don't mean anything — picking one just keeps the whole table on the same side.
4. Team 1 picks their first clue-giver, who takes about 15 cards and holds them face down. Run out before the timer does? Take more from the pile and keep going.
5. Team 2 picks a checker, who sits next to the clue-giver with the cowbell.
6. Someone else from Team 2 holds the timer. Put the score pad where everyone can see it.

★ The main round

1. The timer gets flipped, and the clue-giver turns over the first card.
2. The clue-giver gives clues until their team shouts the main word, then goes straight to the next card. Get through as many as you can in 60 seconds.
3. Only the clue-giver's team guesses. The other team stays quiet (and watches for mistakes).
4. Stuck? The clue-giver can skip the card, but it costs a point. Skipped cards — and cards ended by the bell — go face down in a discard pile. Keep correctly guessed cards in a separate pile until scoring, with the last correct card available if you’re playing the optional translation round.

For CRICKET (don't say: game, sport, bat, wicket), you could say: "Sachin Tendulkar plays this!" or "Eleven people, a ball, and five days of it."

What the clue-giver can't do

The checker is listening for all of these:

• Saying any part of the main word.
• Saying any of the four don't-say words.
• Directly translating any of the words on the card. Translations are only allowed in the optional translation round.
• Using an abbreviation or its full form. If the card says NRI you can't say "non-resident Indian", and the other way round.
• Acting or gesturing, unless the card has a symbol that allows it.

When the cowbell rings, the clue-giver loses 1 point and moves to the next card.

If a teammate shouts one of the don't-say words, the clue-giver is now free to use that one word. It costs nothing and earns nothing. The main word and the other don't-say words are still off limits.

Symbols on the cards

Symbol	The card is...	You're allowed to...
Be Filmy!	a movie dialogue or a popular saying	use gestures and act it out. Be your filmiest.
Sing the Song!	a song title	sing and dance your heart out. You still can't say anything written on the card.
Movie Time!	a movie title	use gestures and act it out.

No symbol, no acting.

The translation round (optional)

Want an extra language challenge? Agree before you start whether to include this round. If you leave it out, score the main round and move to the other team.

1. When the sand runs out, take the last card your team guessed correctly.
2. The checker counts down from 10, out loud.
3. Before the count ends, the clue-giver translates the main word or any of the four words under it into any other language: your mother tongue, a regional language, even slang.
4. +1 for each correct translation.

For BAZAAR (shop, street, buy, sell), in Hindi: "dukaan, sadak, khareed, bechna".

Does that word really translate that way? Ask the Language Gurus. Both have to agree. If they can't, pick another card.

Scoring

Tally the turn on the score pad. Then the other team goes: they pick a clue-giver and about 15 cards, and your team sends a checker with the cowbell.

Winning

• Play as many rounds as you like. Just make sure both teams get the same number of turns.
• The team with the most points wins.
• Tied? Each team picks one player for one final round.

Variations

Big room (20 or more). Three or four teams instead of two. Agree the number of rounds before you start, and rotate the cowbell so a different team checks each turn.

Only two of you? You can play casually: one gives clues, one guesses. With nobody holding the cowbell it isn't the official game, so don't bother keeping score.