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🚌 Transport Taboo Game

Unit: Transport and Getting Around • Level A2 • 20 Minutes

📋 Rules of the Game

👨‍🏫 For the Teacher

Divide the class into Team A and Team B and place the cards face down.
Say: "One student describes the secret word, but never say the forbidden words!"
Set a timer for 60 seconds for each turn.
Award points on the board: +1 for correct guess, -1 for forbidden words, +1 bonus for comparatives.
Keep the Teacher Key handy at your desk to check forbidden words and give hints.

🎒 For the Students

Help your team guess as many transport words as possible in 60 seconds.
Describe the word without saying the three forbidden words on your card.
Do not use gestures, body language, or spelling clues.
Earn 1 point for every correct word your team guesses.
Earn 1 extra bonus point every time you use a comparative like "faster than".

⏱️ Timed Plan (20 Minutes Total)

Step 1

Get into teams and review the rules.

Step 2

Practice sentence starters with the teacher.

Step 3

Round 1: Team A and Team B take turns.

Step 4

Round 2: Harder cards and double bonus points.

Step 5

Count final scores and answer closing questions.

🎴 20 Taboo Cards (Easy to Harder)

Taboo Card1

🚌

Bus

✖ Road✖ Ticket✖ Driver

Taboo Card2

🚆

Train

✖ Track✖ Station✖ Fast

Taboo Card3

🚲

Bicycle

✖ Wheels✖ Ride✖ Helmet

Taboo Card4

🚗

Car

✖ Drive✖ Park✖ Road

Taboo Card5

✈️

Plane

✖ Fly✖ Airport✖ Sky

Taboo Card6

🚢

Ship

✖ Water✖ Sea✖ Big

Taboo Card7

🚕

Taxi

✖ Yellow✖ Cab✖ Meter

Taboo Card8

🎟️

Ticket

✖ Buy✖ Paper✖ Show

Taboo Card9

👨‍✈️

Driver

✖ Person✖ Car✖ Wheel

Taboo Card10

🧳

Passenger

✖ Sit✖ Person✖ Travel

Taboo Card11

🚉

Station

✖ Train✖ Stop✖ Building

Taboo Card12

🚏

Platform

✖ Number✖ Wait✖ Track

Taboo Card13

🪙

Fare

✖ Money✖ Price✖ Pay

Taboo Card14

🗺️

Journey

✖ Trip✖ Travel✖ Long

Taboo Card15

⏳

Delay

✖ Late✖ Wait✖ Time

Taboo Card16

❌

Cancel

✖ Stop✖ No✖ Gone

Taboo Card17

⏰

Rush Hour

✖ Busy✖ Traffic✖ Morning

Taboo Card18

🚶

On Foot

✖ Walk✖ Legs✖ Shoes

Taboo Card19

🚇

Underground

✖ Metro✖ Tube✖ Below

Taboo Card20

🚦

Traffic Lights

✖ Red✖ Green✖ Stop

🎯 Scoring

+1 Point

Word Guessed

Your team guesses the word correctly within the 60 seconds.

-1 Point

Forbidden Word

The speaker says any of the three forbidden words on the card.

+1 Bonus

Grammar Clue

The speaker gives a correct clue using a comparative (e.g. "faster than").

💬 Sentence Starters

1. "It is cheaper than a taxi, but slower."

2. "You travel by bus or by train."

3. "This is the fastest vehicle in the world."

4. "We go on foot when the journey is short."

5. "The platform is more crowded than usual during rush hour."

6. "A delay is worse than paying a high fare."

🔑 Teacher Key

Use this key to verify clues and catch common A2 grammar slips during the game.

Card	Forbidden Words	Example Clue	Mistakes to Listen For
1. Bus	Road, Ticket, Driver	"It is bigger than a car and carries many people."	"more big than"
2. Train	Track, Station, Fast	"It is longer than a bus and goes between cities."	"more fast"
3. Bicycle	Wheels, Ride, Helmet	"It is cleaner than a motorbike and you use your legs."	"by foot" instead of "on foot"
4. Car	Drive, Park, Road	"It is more expensive than a bike and has four doors."	"expensiver"
5. Plane	Fly, Airport, Sky	"It is the fastest way to travel across the sea."	"most fast"
6. Ship	Water, Sea, Big	"It is heavier than a plane and travels between ports."	"heavyer"
7. Taxi	Yellow, Cab, Meter	"It is faster than a bus, but you pay a higher fare."	"more cheap"
8. Ticket	Buy, Paper, Show	"You must have it before you board the train."	"by feet"
9. Driver	Person, Car, Wheel	"This worker guides the bus along the route."	Confusing with "passenger"
10. Passenger	Sit, Person, Travel	"Someone who pays a fare and waits inside the vehicle."	Saying "passager"
11. Station	Train, Stop, Building	"The large place where people meet before a journey."	"more near than"
12. Platform	Number, Wait, Track	"The raised floor where you stand before stepping on."	"in platform" instead of "on"
13. Fare	Money, Price, Pay	"The cost of traveling from one station to another."	Confusing with "ticket"
14. Journey	Trip, Travel, Long	"The time when you go from start to finish."	"more long than"
15. Delay	Late, Wait, Time	"When a departure happens after the timetable says."	"more late than"
16. Cancel	Stop, No, Gone	"When an announced train will not run today."	Pronouncing "can-cell"
17. Rush Hour	Busy, Traffic, Morning	"The most crowded period of the whole day."	"crowdedest"
18. On Foot	Walk, Legs, Shoes	"Getting around without any engine or bicycle."	"by foot"
19. Underground	Metro, Tube, Below	"A railway system that runs under city streets."	"under ground railway"
20. Traffic Lights	Red, Green, Stop	"Coloured street lamps telling drivers when to proceed."	"light traffics"

🔄 Variations

Variation 1 (Easy): One Forbidden Word

Cover the bottom two forbidden words with paper. Players only avoid the first forbidden word.

Variation 2 (Medium): Standard Three Words

Play with all three forbidden words blocked as written on each card.

Variation 3 (Hard): No Body Language or Rhyming

Players must keep hands behind their backs and cannot say "sounds like" or rhyme words.

Fast Group Challenge: Grammar Mandatory

Every clue must contain at least one comparative ("-er than" or "more ... than"), or the guess does not count!

❓ Closing Questions

1. Which transport word was the most difficult to describe without the forbidden words?

2. Which is better in your city: traveling by bus or going on foot? Why?

3. What happens when there is a delay during rush hour?