Fishbowl

Play Fishbowl with friends — 4+ players, 20 minutes. Play online party games with friends. Free in Pocket Party with 150+ IRL social games.

4+ players, about 20 minutes, ages 10+.

Play online party games with friends.

Setup

Prepare three pieces of paper and a pen for each player and a fishbowl to put papers in (or any container will do). Give each player three pieces of paper and a pen and have them write a proper noun on each piece of paper and place it in the fishbowl. Eg. Proper nouns “Brad Pitt”, “Australia”, and “Barrack Obama”. Divide all the players into two teams. Prepare a 1-minute timer (a phone should work fine). Each team assigns a player to go first.

How to Play

Start the timer. The first player from the first team takes a piece of paper from the fishbowl. Then they have to describe that noun in order for their teammates to guess the answer. Eg. the Player picks “Brad Pitt”. He can describe him as “he’s a very famous actor, he played in Fight Club and he was married to Angeline Jolie”. When the player’s team guesses correct the player throws the piece of paper on the floor, draws another one, and keeps going. If the team cannot guess the word, the player puts the paper back in the fishbowl and draws another one. When the time is up, the team scores as many points as there are pieces of paper on the floor. Then the papers are put back in the fishbowl and the second team sends their player up and the timer starts again. Once both teams have had their turn start the second round: The player who draws the noun can only use one word to describe it to their teammates. Eg. Noun picked is “Brad Pitt”. The player can only say “actor” or “Handsome”, “Blond”, or “Male” to describe it. For every correct answer, the piece of paper gets dropped to the floor and the points are added up when the time is up. The pieces of paper are returned to the fishbowl so the next team can have a turn. For the third and final round, the player who takes the noun has to act it out without using any word. Eg. The noun picked is “Brad Pitt”. The player has to act like Brad Pitt somehow so their team guesses. For each correct answer, the piece of paper gets dropped to the floor and added up as points for the team when the time is up. The team who has the most points after the 3 rounds is the winner.

Frequently asked questions

How many people do you need to play Fishbowl?

Fishbowl is designed for 4+ players. It works best when everyone can hear each other and take turns quickly.

How long does Fishbowl take?

A round of Fishbowl usually takes about 20 minutes, depending on group size and how much discussion your players add.

Can you play Fishbowl without extra props?

Yes. Pocket Party handles the prompts, roles, or setup for Fishbowl, so you do not need a printed deck or complicated equipment.

Is Fishbowl good for groups?

Yes. Fishbowl is meant for social play, so it works well when the group wants conversation, quick reactions, or shared laughs.

Can kids play Fishbowl?

Fishbowl is recommended for ages 10+. For younger groups, read the rules first and choose categories or prompts that fit the room.