Section 7: Violations & Penalties
Penalties should preserve fair play without turning a casual game into an argument. When possible, stop an improper clue immediately and explain the ruling briefly.
Drawing Violations
- Writing a word, letter, number, initial, abbreviation, or other deliberate piece of language.
- Speaking, whispering, mouthing, humming, or making a sound associated with the prompt.
- Acting out the answer or using gestures away from the drawing surface.
- Showing the prompt card or its reflection to a guesser.
- Indicating the number of letters, words, or syllables through fingers, blank spaces, or similar codes.
- Giving deliberate confirmation such as nodding, shaking the head, or signaling that a guess is close.
A clear drawing violation ends the turn and the active team receives no point. Accidental marks that merely resemble letters or numbers may be erased without penalty if they convey no useful information. Repeated or intentional violations may cause the offending player to lose the next drawing turn.
Guesser and Opponent Violations
A guesser who secretly views the card makes the prompt ineligible for scoring; discard it and use a new card. An opposing player who calls out clues, distracts the drawer, interferes with the equipment, or reveals a prompt gives the active team a replacement turn. If the interference occurs after an otherwise correct guess, the point still counts.
Timing and Procedural Errors
If the timer starts before the drawer has read the prompt, reset and restart the turn. If the timer fails or the end signal cannot be determined, replay the turn with the same prompt unless that prompt was exposed; if exposed, draw a replacement. A guess begun before the signal counts only if the complete answer is spoken before the signal starts.
Prompt Problems
A drawer may reject a card before the timer starts if it is illegible, duplicated in the same game, outside the agreed content limits, or genuinely unknown to the drawer. Replace it without penalty. Once drawing begins, the prompt normally cannot be exchanged merely because it is difficult.