Party GamesTaste and Tell
Blindfolded players taste a tiny spoonful from each of eight or ten bowls and name what it is. Everyday foods become mysteries when you cannot see them: people confuse besan with sattu, jaggery with brown sugar, and everyone is astonished by how hard it is to tell apple from raw potato. It is a calm, seated game that fits well just before a meal.
- Ages
- 6 and up
- Players
- 4 to 20
- Time
- 15 minutes
- Place
- a table
- Energy
- quiet
- Group size
- Small group (4 to 8), Medium group (9 to 20)
- Good for
- Children, Teenagers, Adults, Elders, All ages together, Ladies' parties, Office
What you need
Eight to ten foods in small numbered bowls, a clean spoon for every taste (or use toothpicks), a blindfold, paper and pen for the scorer, drinking water.
How to play
- Before the party, prepare the bowls where players cannot see them. Good choices: sugar, salt, jaggery, tamarind, roasted chana, poha, grated coconut, saunf, a slice of apple, a slice of pear, plain curd, a cube of paneer.
- Blindfold the first player and seat them at the table.
- Give a small taste from bowl 1 on a clean spoon. The player says what they think it is. The scorer notes the answer without saying whether it is right.
- Go through all the bowls, with a sip of water between tastes.
- Send the player to a "finished" side of the room so that they cannot tell the others, and bring in the next.
- When everyone has played, announce the answers.
Who wins
The player with the most right answers wins.
Variations and tips
- Smell version: cotton wool or small covered cups with cardamom, coffee, hing, lemon peel, camphor, rose water, ginger. No tasting at all, and no allergy worries.
- Touch version: a cloth bag or "feel box" with a potato, a comb, a key, a walnut, a sponge.
- Team version: teams of three confer in whispers.
Safety and kindness
Ask every player about allergies and dietary rules before choosing the foods, and tell them the list will contain nothing unpleasant: no chillies, nothing spoiled, no tricks. Vegetarian items only unless you know the group. Never share a spoon.
Common problems and how to fix them
- Players who have finished whisper answers. Keep them at the far end with a snack.
- Scores are all the same. Add two hard items, such as two kinds of dal flour.
Party plans that use this game
- Family get-together, all ages
- Festival gathering (Diwali, Lohri, New Year)
- Senior citizens' get-together
Host tools
Time the round with the party timer, make chits or random teams with the chit maker, and keep the points on the scoreboard.
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- Chidiya Ud 5 to 10 min
- Poshampa 10 to 15 min
- Kokla Chhapaki 10 to 15 min
- Dog and the Bone 15 min
- Aankh Micholi (Blind Man's Buff) 10 to 15 min
See all 29 party games.