How to play “Guess the sound”
Set up
Number of players
The game can be adapted to any number of players. If kids are playing, choose sounds that match their age and what they know.
What you need to play
Objects you have at home that can be used to generate all kinds of sounds.
Team Formation
It’s more fun in teams—just make sure they’re evenly matched!
Agree on the number of rounds
In a round, each player takes a turn and tries to guess a sound. The ideal number of rounds depends on the total number of players and the amount of time you want to spend playing.
- For 2 players (1 vs 1) = 6 rounds (12 sounds in total)
- For 4 players (2 vs 2) = 4 rounds (16 sounds in total)
- For 6 players (3 vs 3) = 3 rounds (18 sounds in total)
- For large groups it will be enough to make a single round, 1 sound per player.
Just a suggestion—feel free to change it!
Which team goes first?
In each round the teams will alternate turns guessing one player from each team at a time. The team with the youngest player goes first.
Order within the team
We also recommend establishing the order in which players from the same team will participate during a round.
Choosing your sounds
Each team gathers and secretly agrees on what and how they will generate the sounds. Below you will find a lot of ideas.
Goal of the game
Who will win?
The team that demonstrates the best sense of hearing by guessing the most sounds, identifying what makes the sound and in what way, wins.
“Guess the sound” rules: playing a game
Visual barrier
Logically, the player who takes the turn should not see how the sound to be guessed is being generated.
The easiest way to achieve this is to have him sit in a chair and have the sound generated behind his back. He/She can also be asked to close his eyes.
Another possibility is to blindfold the player or use some barrier that visually separates the guessing player from the source of the sound, such as a folding screen or an opaque cloth hung in some way, as if it were a curtain.
Search for object to generate sound
One player from the other team goes to look for the object they had previously decided on, stealthily so as not to give away any clues.
Sound and listen
Play the sound. It’s normal for players to hesitate and ask, ‘Again? The sound will be generated a maximum of three times.
What is it?
Here comes the moment of truth! The player has to say what made the sound and how—like, ‘You crushed a plastic bottle!
If you get it right, one point is added to your team’s score.
Next turns
Now it is the turn of a player from the other team. Teams will alternate until a round is completed.
Next rounds
The game continues if it has been agreed to play several rounds.
No cheating!
The player whose turn it is may not use any sense other than the sense of hearing.
Your teammates cannot do or say anything to help you. In case of doing so, the turn will be lost without scoring any points.
End of the game. Who wins?
Game over
The game ends when the rounds agreed upon before the start of the game have been completed.
And the winner is…
The team that guessed the most sounds is the winner.
Examples of sounds
These are just a few examples to spark some ideas:
Level 1: very easy to guess sounds
- Sound produced by clapping the hands.
- Finger snapping sound.
- Sound of door closing.
- Sound of a piece of paper being crumpled.
- Sound of a drop of water falling into a container filled with water.
- Sound of a keyboard when typing.
- Sound of kissing.
- Sound of a glass filling up with water.
- Sound of a drink can being opened.
- Sound when closing a metal snap button on a shirt or pants.
Level 2: sounds that may cause doubt
- Sound of a pencil writing on paper.
- Sound of a zipper being opened or closed.
- Sound of a zipper being open or closed.
- Sound of a drop of water falling into an empty container.
- Sound of a sheet of paper being torn very slowly.
- Sound of a plastic bag being crumpled.
- Sound of a light switch being flipped.
- Sound of a soft drink can being crushed.
- Sound of a key turning in a lock.
- Sound of Velcro separating.
Level 3: difficult to guess sounds
- Sound of a coin spinning on a table.
- Sound of a glass or crystal goblet being struck gently with a metal object (can be confused with the sound of a bell).
- Sound of a broom sweeping, in a slow motion.
- The sound produced by one nail slightly bending another.
- Sound generated with the mouth simulating a bottle being opened. If any player has the ability to imitate sounds, it’s time to knock everyone’s socks off.
- Sound of a knife passing its blade over the blade of another knife, as if sharpening.
- Sound of an electric toothbrush (could be confused with the vibration of a telephone).
- Sound of a plastic straw being blown into a glass.
- Sound of a sheet of paper being rapidly crumpled and uncrumpled.
- Sound of a marble falling into a glass dish.
There are dozens of possibilities. We encourage you to be creative. Look around—you’ll find plenty of things to make tricky or fun sounds with!
Games similar to ‘Guess What it is by Touch’
This game is part of a group of games which could be used to organize a real
CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE SENSES!
SMELL: Guess what it is by smell
TASTE: Guess the flavor
TOUCH: Guess what it is by touch
EAR: Guess what it is by sound
Yep, we know, sight is missing from the lineup. We will shortly add a game for it. When? We don’t know yet, but if you follow us on social media, we’ll keep you posted 😉
