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Hi hello, do you love playing games with your family and friends? Especially games that make everyone of all ages fall out of their chairs from laughter — and that pretty much anyone can easily learn and understand before the game even starts?
Then you've GOTTA try 5 Second Rule, where you draw a card then literally have (you guessed it!) five seconds to spit out the first three things that pop into your brain.
First, your group agrees on a number of rounds to play (10? 20? 50?? You could even start with something 10 or 15 then extend that if you're all having fun). On your turn, you pull out a card that will ask you to "Name 3" of something — vegetables, sitcoms, things you might find in a garage, famous bald people, ice cream toppings, etc. — and you have only five seconds to list 'em out! If you manage to do it successfully, you get to keep that card as a "point". When the rounds are over, the person with the most points/cards wins!
But because you're under pressure — you draw your card and flip a spiral timer that makes a funny zoooop! noise as it counts down your five seconds — it's not as easy as it sounds!
Ellen — yes ELLEN! — has played this game with celebs on her show because it's just. that. good.
But she's not the only fan: it has EIGHTEEN HUNDRED positive reviews on Amazon, because it's a truly excellent party game for friends and family, and, idk, strangers waiting for a delayed flight at the airport. Why not??
Promising review: "Once we played a couple rounds it was a hit. We played it over the week of Christmas multiple times. There are enough categories in the box (double-sided on the cards: a red side and a yellow side) that you can take out the ones you played with the previous go or flip them over. You can always set your own rules as long as everyone agrees on them first!" —Candace
"I played it with my grandson first. We both laughed so hard, to tears. Had a ball. Then took it to our family Christmas gathering. Everyone participated, laughter was uncontrollable. After we played the planned number of rounds, everyone wanted to just keep playing. No one wanted to go home. Senior adults, adults in their 40s, teens and grade schoolers, everyone had a blast." —Cheri Ford
The rules say you need at least three people, and from there your group can be as big as you want! But reviewers — and Ellen! — play it with just two, and it's still a hilarious time. Then once you get the hang of it, it's easy to bend the rules however your group likes best.
"Wow really fun game! Even with just two people it works. This game is easy to pick up, follow as intended, and have a blast!" —OnlineShopper7
"We have three teenagers and leave this game sitting out in the living room. We often don't play by the exact rules of the game, but someone will randomly pick up the timer, grab a card, call out the category and we'll all start yelling out answers. This game was a hit (rule-abiding or not) from day one! Recommended!" —Shea
And while it's technically 10+ (which, according to reviews, seems appropriate) it's easily adaptable to families with kids under 10, too — just let the younger ones use the cards from the junior version.
"I bought this after watching the Ellen show. It’s that hilarious in real life, lol. This is a great social game. The questions aren’t very hard (usually), but your brain freezes up, which is the hilarious part. This version isn’t good for kids because they don’t know what most of the questions mean yet. So we use the adult version and kids version together on family game night to keep it fair." —TobysMommy
Get the Junior version on Amazon for $11.43.
OH, and this is also a great game to play with coworkers! We love playing it here at BuzzFeed on occasion, but it can work at all sorts of companies.
I played once with a group of coworkers and we had a blast! It really is harder to spit things out than it seems.
"Bought as a game for work to celebrate Professional Lab Week. It was a GREAT hit. The Residents and Doctors all loved it, as well as the rest of the staff. Had people standing in line waiting to play." —Avid Reader
"Great game that works for a wide range of audiences. Some of them are hard (three perennial flowers??? uhhh...) Some of them are easy (three dances) some of them only seem easy and somehow still best your group (cereal). I recently brought it in to play with my team at work. It was a big hit, and a great way to have a quick ten minute break." —SouthLake
So if you want a quick and easy way to get everyone in your life laughing and hanging out together, look no further than 5 Second Rule! Get it on Amazon for $18. (Up for something a little more NSFW? Check out their Uncensored Version, too, for $15.37.)
The reviews in this post have been edited for length and clarity.
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