Speaky Spokey: Jamaica's Card Game

Explain it in English

What if you had to explain Jamaican words in English?

More than a decade ago, we asked the same question. The result.
Speaky Spokey, the game, was born. As we played it with colleagues and friends, there was one common denominator... pure fun!

Now it's time to share the love with you. So... we've designed a delightful deck of Jamaican words and phrases so that you can play Speaky Spokey yourself.

100 words

The game has 100 Jamaican words and phrases, ranging from the commonly used to the obscure.

Uniquely Jamaican

How well do you know the Jamaican language?

Family friendly

Like all languages, Jamaican can be (uhm) colourful. All the words in our deck have been selected to be suitable for the entire family.

Lots of fun

This game tests both your vocabulary and resourcefulness. How do you get your team to guess the word "screechy"? No spelling, rhyming or patois allowed!

How to play

Visit the rules page for variations of the game and detailed instructions

⭐Most fun for speakers of the Jamaican language

Objective

Teams attempt to guess a Jamaican word or phrase. The team with the most correct guesses wins.

Number of Players

5 to 11 players

Setup & Equipment

⏱️ A 60 second timer (use your phone or computer).
🔨 A "gavel" (we recommend a wooden or plastic spoon).
👨🏾⚖️ Appoint a referee.
🤼🏾 Split into two teams (each team should have between 2 and 7 players).

Game play

Rounds
A complete game consists of 2 rounds.
A round involves both teams having a turn.

The 3 no-nos
The game has 3 "no-nos":
(1) Patois - No use of Jamaican words or phrases
(2) Rhyme - No saying that the word, phrase or part of the phrase rhymes with or sounds like something else,
(3) Spelling or Saying - No spelling or saying the word, phrase or part of the phrase.

Selecting which team plays first
Flip a coin or discuss and agree on which team should play first.

Playing a turn
- A team sends forward a speaker
- A turn begins when the referee draws a card from the deck and hands it, to the speaker.
- The referee starts the 60 second timer and the speaker may then go.
- The speaker must avoid the 3 no-nos while helping their team to guess the word or phrase.
- If a speaker does a "no-no" the referee hits the table with the gavel and the speaker must choose another word.

‍Skipping words
A speaker is allowed to skip an item (word or phrase) at anytime. If they choose to "skip", the referee must immediately reveal the next item to them. A speaker cannot go back to a skipped item. They can skip until they have reached the 4th item on the card. Once an item has been skipped it cannot be guessed on that turn. A speaker is only allowed one card per turn.

Completion of a turn
If a speaker "blurts" out the item or part of the item the turn is complete.
If the timer is finished the turn is complete.
If a speaker skips all 4 words on the card the turn is complete.
‍
Scoring
- Every time a speaker does a "no-no" 1 point is awarded to the opposing team.
- If a speaker "blurts" out the the opposing team is awarded 1 point.
- If the current team guesses the item correctly they are awarded 1 point.
- If the current team guesses the item correctly in less than 15 seconds, they are awarded 3 points.
- If the current team guesses the item correctly after the timer is finished, the opposing team is awarded 2 points.
- if a member of the opposing team guesses the item when it is not their turn, 2 points are awarded to the current team.

"Speaky Spokey is really two games, standard rules for Jamaican speakers and international rules for everyone else."

David Bain

Inventor of Speaky Spokey

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Help your team to guess the Jamaican word