Balderdash

1 Overview

Balderdash is a bluffing party game for 2 to 6 players (best with 4 to 6) published by Mattel. The Dasher draws a card and reads an obscure word, movie title, initialism, person's name, or unusual law. Every other player invents a fake but convincing definition. All answers are shuffled with the real one and read aloud. Players vote for the answer they believe is correct. Points go to players who guessed right, players whose fake answers fooled others, and (occasionally) the Dasher.

Balderdash rewards creative writing, plausible bluffing, and reading your opponents. The funniest bluffs and most convincing fakes produce the most memorable game nights.

2 Components

• Card deck with 5 categories per card
• Score track board
• Player pawns
• Answer sheets and pencils (or use paper)
• Die

3 Setup

1. Place the score board in the center. Each player puts their pawn on Start.
2. Choose a starting Dasher (the player who reads the clue and collects answers).
3. The Dasher role rotates clockwise each round.
4. Give each non-Dasher player an answer sheet and pencil.

4 Gameplay

1. The Dasher rolls the die to determine which category is used this round.
2. The Dasher draws a card and reads the clue for that category aloud. Do not read the real answer yet.
3. All other players write a convincing fake answer on their sheet and pass it to the Dasher secretly.
4. The Dasher also writes down the real answer from the card.
5. The Dasher shuffles all answers (real and fake) and reads each one aloud, assigning a letter (A, B, C...) to each.
6. Each player votes for the answer they believe is real. The Dasher records votes.
7. The Dasher reveals the real answer. Score the round.
8. The Dasher role passes left. Repeat.

5 Scoring

First player to reach the finish space on the score track wins. Most groups set a target of 10 to 15 points or play a set number of rounds.

6 The Five Categories

7 Strategy Guide

Write Plausible, Not Funny

The instinct for new players is to write something funny. Resist it. Funny answers get laughed at and not voted for. The best fake answers are dry, technical, slightly boring, and formatted like real definitions. "A traditional Scandinavian fishing technique" beats "when you put cheese in your ear."

Match the Real Answer's Style

Pay attention to how real answers in that category tend to be phrased. Words have dictionary-style definitions. Laws have legal phrasing. Movies have plot-synopsis structure. Mirroring that style makes your fake blend in.

Read the Other Players

After a few rounds you'll learn each player's writing style and tell-tales. Vote against your own tells before others spot them.

Vote Strategically When Unsure

If you genuinely cannot identify the real answer, vote for the most boring, dry answer — real definitions are usually less colorful than fake ones.

8 FAQ

9 Advanced Bluffing Tips

Use the Right Vocabulary Register

For the Words category, the real answer will use technical or archaic English vocabulary. Your fake answer should sound like it came from a 19th-century dictionary: "To pour (a liquid) in a careless or unsteady manner, causing it to run over the edge." For the People category, use the cadence of an encyclopedia entry: "19th-century American astronomer and popularizer of science, known for his 1898 fictional account of a trip to Mars."

Include Specific-Seeming Details

Specific details — dates, places, numbers — make fake answers feel authoritative. "A Gaelic term used in Scotland and northern Ireland, particularly Argyllshire, for the practice of..." sounds more credible than a vague one-liner. The specificity suggests research rather than invention.

Exploit the Plausible Middle Ground

The best fakes are answers that are neither obviously wrong nor obviously right. They occupy the plausible middle ground: not so bizarre that players dismiss them immediately, not so accurate that you accidentally write the real answer. For Laws, lean into the fact that real laws are often strange — a fake law that sounds weird but legalistic ("It is an offense under the Public Order Act to bring a salmon into Parliament") is more believable than one that sounds invented.

The Confidence Trick

When reading answers aloud (if the Dasher allows authors to read their own), some players deliver their fake with confident authority while acting uncertain about others. This reverse signaling can mislead opponents. However, most experienced Balderdash groups have the Dasher read all answers to prevent voice-recognition cheating — adjust your strategy based on your group's house rules.

10 Common Mistakes

• Writing the same answer as the real one accidentally: If you happen to write the exact real answer, you earn 3 bonus points — but you also eliminate the possibility of fooling anyone that round. If the Dasher spots your answer matches the real one, they should tell you to rewrite (house rule) or score you the 3 points immediately.
• Reading fake answers too expressively: In groups where players read their own answers, an overly dramatic delivery signals "I wrote this." Keep delivery flat and consistent whether you wrote the answer or not.
• Ignoring the category's format: A Word answer written in movie-synopsis style, or a Law answer written as a dictionary definition, stands out as fake immediately. Always match the structural format of the category.
• Writing too quickly without thinking: The pressure to submit answers fast leads to sloppy, unconvincing fakes. Use most of the available time. A carefully crafted 2-sentence fake that takes 90 seconds to write will outperform a rushed 10-second response every time.
• Voting for the funniest answer: Humor is memorable but rarely convincing as a real answer. If you're voting and unsure, vote boring, not funny.