Hot Words (2020)

About this game

Hot Words is a team-based fast action party game that has you describing as many words as possible in 90 seconds. The tricky bit are the Jalapeno Cards which add rules to your team. The hotter the jalapeno, the more difficult the rules. These rules will prevent you from saying 'Hot Words'- if any member of another team hears you utter a hot word, they can ring the dinner bell to force you to drop the card you're working on and draw a new one. The game is played over 4 'courses', every course you'll get a new jalapeno card which will add to the previous hot words your team already have. These are cumulative and will make each course trickier! Harder jalapeno cards score higher bonus points though, so striking the balance is key. —description from the designer

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 4 to 16.
• Rules load. At 1.7/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 8 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.