Absolute Balderdash

About this board game

Absolute Balderdash is a hilarious bluffing game for 4–99 players, released in 2007. Each turn, a card entry is read aloud, and everyone creates a made-up answer of their own.

The real answer is then shuffled together with the players’ phony answers. All of the responses are read aloud, creating a collection of possibilities that may sound convincing, absurd, or somewhere in between. The challenge is to keep a straight face so you do not reveal which answer belongs to you.

• Listen to a card entry read aloud.
• Write down your own invented answer.
• Mix the phony answers with the real one.
• Choose which response is correct.

Players score a move on the board when their phony answers are picked. That means a cleverly written fiction can be just as valuable as identifying the truth. The answer that sounds right may not be right at all.

There is no single required style for your answers. You can be wacky or serious, and absolute anything goes as you try to make your invention sound believable. Whether the table favors ridiculous suggestions or plausible-sounding definitions, every round offers opportunities to mislead the other players.

With its simple turn structure and emphasis on reading answers aloud, Absolute Balderdash focuses on creativity, deception, and the fun of trying to judge what sounds authentic. Write something persuasive, maintain your composure, and see whether the other players can separate the real answer from the phony ones.