Monikers

MONIKERS is a PARTY WORD-DEDUCTION GAME (2015) designed by ALEX HAGUE + JUSTIN VICKERS (CMYK Games founders, later Wavelength) + KEVIN HOVDESTAD. 4-16 PLAYERS in 2 TEAMS describe FAMOUS PEOPLE, characters, historical figures, memes, and cultural references across 3 ESCALATING ROUNDS. Ancient TABLETOP CLASSIC (public domain concept from CELEBRITY / PSYCHIATRIST / DESCRIBE THE NAMES) polished + revitalized with CURATED cards + irreverent humor cards. UNIQUE THREE-ROUND STRUCTURE: (1) ROUND 1 — describe with any words except the actual name; (2) ROUND 2 — describe with ONLY ONE WORD; (3) ROUND 3 — CHARADES only (no words). SAME CARD POOL re-used across all 3 rounds — heightens humor via CALLBACK to Round 1 descriptions. Considered THE MODERN CLASSIC celebrity party game. HELD BGG TOP-30 PARTY consistently since release. Kickstarted 2014 successfully. Multiple expansion decks. 30-60 MIN. GAMEPLAY: Each player gets 10 CARD ALLOCATION — draws 10 cards, keeps 5, passes 5 (drafting). Combined draft-pool becomes GAME DECK. TEAMS play 3 ROUNDS of TIMED TURNS (60 seconds per turn). Round 1: describe as many cards as possible with any words. Round 2: same cards, describe with ONE WORD ONLY. Round 3: same cards, CHARADES ONLY. Each correct guess = 1 point. Highest team score wins after Round 3. GENIUS FEATURE: SAME 50-100 CARDS re-used through 3 rounds — cards you saw in Round 1 have TEAM CONTEXT (in-jokes) for Rounds 2 + 3. Cards include Ada Lovelace, Zaphod Beeblebrox, John Cena, Sisyphus, Dora the Explorer, Wonder Woman, Napoleon, JFK, David Bowie, Nikola Tesla, Groot, and irreverent entries like 'furries', 'a man kissing a horse', 'JNCO jeans'. RECEPTION: BGG top-30 party since 2015; Golden Geek Best Party Game 2016 nominee; considered THE modern celebrity party game + benchmark.

Highest team score wins after 3 rounds (each correct card = 1 point).

Win condition · Highest team score after all 3 rounds wins.

Central card pool + timer + team score tracker. Players draft cards initially.

• Monikers base box

  $30 USD; 210+ cards

• Monikers: Serious Nonsense expansion (2016)

  $20; more cards + irreverent humor

• Monikers: Something Something expansion

  $20; expansion deck

• Monikers: Ninja vs Justin Bieber deck

  $20; themed expansion

• 60-second timer (or phone)

  For turn timing

• Draft cards you'll clue well

  Skip cards you don't know; keep signature cards.

• Round 1 sets Round 2/3 vocabulary

  Describe carefully with in-joke callbacks in mind.

• One-word clues via callback

  Round 2's one word ideally references Round 1 description.

• Skip strategically

  If stuck, skip + return next turn — no penalty.

• Team communication style

  Some teams describe methodically; others frantically.

Round 1 (Full Description)

Describe with any words except name.

Round 2 (One Word)

Same cards; only one word to clue.

Round 3 (Charades)

Same cards; no words at all.

Draft

Each player picks 5 of 10 cards; kept cards make game deck.

Skip

Pass on card; returns to deck for later turn.

• Golden Geek Best Party Game 2016 nominee

  annual · worldwide · since 2016

• BGG top-30 party consistently 2015-2026

  ongoing · worldwide · since 2015

• 🇺🇸United States
• 🇬🇧United Kingdom
• 🇩🇪Germany
• 🇫🇷France
• 🇮🇹Italy
• 🇪🇸Spain
• 🇵🇱Poland
• 🇦🇺Australia
• 🇨🇦Canada
• 🇸🇪Sweden
• 🇳🇱Netherlands

• CMYK Games (publisher)

  Founded 2015 · USA

• Alex Hague + Justin Vickers + Kevin Hovdestad (designers)

  Founded 2014 · USA

• CMYK Games — Monikers— CMYK
• BoardGameGeek — Monikers— BGG
• Wikipedia — Monikers— Wikipedia