How well do you know your friends? Can you guess what they are thinking? In these Blank Slate rules, you’ll learn how to play the game and how you’ll benefit from predicting what your friends’ answers might be!
Blank Slate is a fun party game where you try your best to guess how your opponents will fill in the blank on the Word Cue cards that are drawn each turn. If you match someone’s word, each of you scores points! The first player to reach 25 points wins the game!
Winner of the 2020 Årets Spil Best Adult Game and the 2018 Spring Parents’ Choice Fun Stuff Award, Blank Slate will be sure to entertain adults and a family-friendly audience.
This Blank Slate rules guide will cover the following:
- What is Blank Slate?
- What you’ll need to play Blank Slate
- The Blank Slate rules
- How to win Blank Slate
- FAQs
- Similar game guides
Find out how to play Blank Slate by reading more below!
What is Blank Slate?
Blank Slate is a simple party game where players have to fill in the word that is missing from the blank space on the card. Players get bonuses if they match the same word with other players. The first player to reach 25 points wins the game.
Number of players: 3-8
Ages: 8+
Difficulty: Easy
Length of play: 20-35min
Category: Party, card, family-friendly, humor, word
Similar to: Scattergories, Codenames, The Chameleon
Main Objective: Be the first player to reach 25 points by matching answers with other players.
Why We Love It: We love that each game is unique and that the cards are double-sided, so when you are finished playing all of one side, you can flip the box and play the other side!
What You’ll Need to Play Blank Slate
Everything you need to play Blank Slate can be found in the box:
The following components are found inside each game:
- 1 Dry-Erase scoreboard
- 8 Dry-Erase slates with colored borders
- 8 Dry-Erase markers with erasers
- Card box with 250 double-sided cards
- Rulebook
Blank Slate Rules
Game Setup
- Each player chooses one of the colored blank slates to play with.
- Each player finds their matching colored space on the scoreboard and writes their name in that space with the dry-erase marker.
- Pick a player to go first. The player whose turn is to draw a card is called “The Selector.”
You are now ready to start the game!
How to Play Blank Slate
- The Selector draws the frontmost Word Cue card out of the “Draw” side of the box and reads it aloud. The Selector then places it in the middle of the play area for everyone to see.
- The “Answer Phase” now starts. Each player takes their dry-erase slate and marker and writes down a word to fill in the blank space on the Word Cue card. Players should think of a word that other players would also guess to obtain points.
- Starting with the player to the left of the current Selector, each player shows their answer one by one by placing their slate in the play area for all to see.
- Once everyone’s words are revealed, scoring takes place:
- If two players (exactly) write the same matching word, each player earns 3 points.
- If two or more players write the same matching word, each player earns 1 point.
- If someone does not match any words with another player, they do not get any points this turn.
To keep score of a player’s points, simply fill in the circles on their track of the scoreboard matching the number of points that player received this turn.
When you are done with the Word Cue card, place it at the end of the box where it’s labeled “Discard,” and the next Selector draws a new card from the “Draw” side.
Important Game Rules
Not Allowed:
- You cannot write only 1 letter as your answer to finish a word. Each word you write must be 2 or more letters long.
- Example: The Word Cue card is Star___. You cannot write “T” to make the word “Start.”
- You cannot write more than 1 word as your answer.
Allowed:
- Syllables (as long as the Word Cue can still be heard when pronounced)
- Proper nouns
- Compound words
- Two-word phrases (one of which must be the word on the card)
How to Win Blank Slate
A player wins the game once they reach 25 points!
If there is a tie, you have the option of playing one more round as a tiebreaker or the tied players can share the victory!
Video Tutorial for Blank Slate
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a difference between the Gray cards and White cards in the box?
The Gray cards are meant to be played through the first time you play the game. When the Gray cards are completed, you can start drawing the White cards instead.
Can Blank Slate be played virtually?
Blank Slate can easily be played virtually using any online meeting platform with cameras as long as one person owns the game. Players can use scraps of paper to write their answers on and hold them up for all to see once everyone has guessed!
Is Blank Slate fun with only 3 players?
Yes, you can still have a great time playing the game with only 3 players, but most people agree that 4-6 players is the ideal amount!
Other Similar Games to “Blank Slate” (Our Guides)
If you enjoyed reading this guide on Blank Slate, check out these other game guides (if we have covered them):
- Scattergories rules
- Codenames rules
- The Chameleon rules (coming soon)
- Pictionary rules
- Balderdash rules
- Guesstures rules
- Telestrations rules
- Dixit rules
- Decrypto rules
- Name 5 game rules
