Balderdash Game: Rules, Scoring and the Editions on Amazon

What the Balderdash game is

Balderdash is a party game about making things up. Each round, one player reads a clue nobody at the table is supposed to know. It might be an obscure word, a real person you've never heard of, an odd movie, a set of initials or a strange law. Everyone else writes a fake answer that sounds true. The real answer goes into the pile, and the table votes.

You score two ways. You can guess the real answer, or you can write a bluff good enough that other people vote for it. The second way is more satisfying. Ask anyone who has watched their whole family vote for a definition they made up in 40 seconds.

The box facts, from Mattel's Balderdash instruction sheet (item R2813):

• Players: 2 to 6
• Ages: 12+
• Contents: 1 game board, 280 game cards, 1 answer sheet pad, 6 movers, 1 die and the instruction sheet
• Not in the contents list: pencils or pens. Step 2 of setup tells each player to get one.
• Co-op or competitive: competitive, every player for themselves

The listings in our data don't state ages for any edition, and only two state a player count. Mattel's sheet is the clearest age guide I have.

How Balderdash plays

These rules are in my own words, from Mattel's Balderdash instruction sheet R2813 (the sheet is dated 2009). Older editions in the table may use different categories or a different board. If your box has its own sheet, that's the one to follow.

Setup

1. Put the board in the middle of the table.
2. Give everyone a pencil or pen and a few answer sheets.
3. Each player picks a mover and puts it on Start.

Mattel also suggests one thing I like a lot: before your first game, pull a card and read every clue and its real answer out loud. It shows new players what the real answers sound like, which makes everyone a better liar on round one.

The Dasher and the die

Everyone rolls the die. High roll is the first Dasher, the player who leads the round.

The Dasher rolls again to pick the category. Each card has five clues, one per category, and the die number tells you which line to read. Roll a 6 and the Dasher picks. The sheet also offers an optional rule where the Dasher always picks the category with no roll. Agree on that before you start.

The five categories on the current sheet:

1. Weird Words: what does this word mean?
2. Peculiar People: who is this person?
3. Incredible Initials: what do these initials stand for?
4. Marvelous Movies: what is this movie about?
5. Laughable Laws: what is this law?

Writing the bluffs

The Dasher reads the clue from the blue side of the card. Everyone else copies the clue onto an answer sheet and writes a fake answer underneath. Sign it with your initials and hand it to the Dasher face down.

While that's happening, the Dasher copies the real answer from the green side of the card onto their own sheet, then puts the card at the back of the box.

The sheet says your answer can be as silly or as serious as you like. It also tells the Dasher to check every slip for legibility and quietly ask the writer if something can't be read. I suspect a teacher wrote that line. I've graded enough homework to know why it's there.

Reading and voting

The Dasher shuffles all the slips, real answer included, and reads them aloud in random order without tipping off which one is real. Players aren't allowed to give away their own bluff, either. The sheet bans claiming it out loud and bans nudges, winks and grunts. It names all three. Somebody's family needed that sentence.

Then, going clockwise from the Dasher, each player votes for the answer they think is real. The Dasher marks each vote on the slip that got it. You're allowed to vote for your own bluff as a trick, but it earns you nothing.

Scoring

Once everyone has voted, the Dasher reveals the real answer and the points get counted:

• 1 point for every vote your bluff collected
• 2 points if you voted for the real answer
• 3 points for the Dasher if nobody found the real answer
• 3 points for anyone whose answer was very close to the real one

That last rule has a wrinkle. If someone writes an answer that's basically right, the Dasher sets that slip aside and doesn't read it. The writer takes 3 points and sits out the vote. If two or more players land close to the real answer, the round is canceled, those players get 3 points each, and the Dasher draws a new card.

Moving and winning

Points move your mover forward on the board, one space per point. The player to the Dasher's left moves first, then everyone else clockwise. Then the Dasher role passes to the left. The first player to reach Finish wins.

Lucho's take: "The real answer is always the strange one. So bluff boring. Boring sounds true." I've watched him do it. It works more often than I'd like.

The 2-player game

Mattel's sheet includes a 2-player version. You take turns as Dasher. The Dasher rolls, reads the clue and writes a bluff before flipping the card. Then they copy the real answer and read both to the other player. If the guesser picks the bluff, the Dasher moves 3. If the guesser picks the truth, the guesser moves 2. It's a duel instead of a party, and it plays fine on a quiet night.

Balderdash editions on Amazon US right now

Our data for this page lists 6 Balderdash editions on Amazon US as of October 2026. The table above shows the players, age and play time each listing states. Most of the listings leave those fields blank, and the table shows a dash where they do. I won't fill the gaps with a guess.

Current-looking Mattel boxes

• Mattel Balderdash Board Game. Listed for 2 to 6 players, which matches the rules sheet above. If you want the game as described on this page, start here.
• Mattel Balderdash. A second Mattel listing with the plain name. Our data has no players, age or contents for it, so compare the photos on the listing before you choose between the two Mattel boxes.

Year-named editions

Three listings carry a year in the name:

• Mattel Balderdash 2003 Version
• Mattel Balderdash 1995 Edition
• Parker Brothers Balderdash (1995), which lists 2 or more players

None of the three list an age, contents or categories in our data. Older boxes may not use the five categories above, so don't assume the 2009 sheet matches them. If you're buying one of these to replace a copy you grew up with, the year on the box is the thing to match.

Beyond Balderdash

• Hasbro Beyond Balderdash. Listed as its own game, not an expansion. Our data has no players, age or category list for it. It carries the Balderdash name, but I can't tell you from the listing how its rounds differ, so check the listing's description before buying it as a substitute.

Which Balderdash edition fits your table

One opinion, with its reason: the age on the box works in both directions. Mattel's sheet says 12+, and the reason is right there in the rules. Every player has to read a clue, invent a believable definition, write it legibly and then keep a straight face while it's read out loud. A 9-year-old can manage parts of that. All of it, for an hour, is a lot to ask. Going the other way, a game for grown-ups that's labeled 12+ isn't a kids' game. Plenty of adult tables never outgrow it.

A few quick matches, from the listings:

• A first copy for a group of 3 to 6: the Mattel Balderdash Board Game, listed at 2 to 6 players
• Replacing a box from the 1990s: the 1995 Edition (Mattel) or Balderdash (1995) from Parker Brothers
• Replacing a box from the 2000s: the 2003 Version
• Something with the name but a different box: Beyond Balderdash

Two practical notes. First, the contents list in the rules sheet names an answer pad but no pencils, so put a handful of pencils in the box lid before game night. Second, answer slips run out. Plain scrap paper cut into strips works fine. That's our habit, not a Mattel rule.

Dana's ruling, applied mostly to herself: no bluffs that sound like a diagnosis. She's an ER nurse. When she writes a fake medical word, the whole table votes for it, and she says that isn't bluffing, it's malpractice.

Check the age label on the listing. Toys with small parts are a choking hazard for children under 3, and the die and movers are small parts.

Who should skip Balderdash

Skip it if your group doesn't enjoy writing. Every round, every player but the Dasher writes something. If half your table freezes at a blank slip, a drawing or acting game will go better.

Skip it if your youngest player is still a new reader. Clues include obscure words and odd legal phrasing, and the sheet's 12+ is about that. A party game with picture cards fits a younger table better.

Skip it too if you only ever have two players and want a big night. The 2-player rules work, but the best part of Balderdash is watching three people vote for the same fake answer. You need a crowd for that.

If you like Balderdash, look at these

Pages chosen by what they share with Balderdash: a group of 3 or more, words, and a little bluffing.

• Party games: the wider shelf of group games
• Taboo: words again, but you're describing, not inventing
• Scattergories: write fast answers, score the ones nobody else wrote
• Telestrations: writing and drawing, with the same "how did we get here" reveal
• Trivia games: for the player who always knows the real answer
• Apples to Apples: a judge picks the best answer instead of the true one

For the rest of each maker's lineup, see the Mattel and Hasbro brand pages.

Bring pencils. The box won't.