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How to Play Basta

Looking for an educational game to play with people of all ages? Try Basta! Basta means "Stop," or "Stop now," in Spanish. This game makes using the word itself fun! You yell "basta" when game time is up. Get ready to push your mind to the limit while sharing all types of fun knowledge. For 2 or more players or teams.

Pick 5 categories and write them down on paper or the dry erase board. Examples of some topics are food, animals, countries.

Cut up letters of the alphabet and mix them in a bag or shoebox.

Have a person pick a letter, without looking. The letter picked represents the letter that must be used in that round of play. For example, if you pick the letter "A" any answer to any category must begin with that letter. If the category is Animal, you could write "antelope," if the category is fruit, you could write "apple."

Allow each person or team to take about 3 minutes to write down an answer to each category without letting the other people or teams see their answers.

Yell "basta!" after time is up. Each person or team reveals their answers. If any team duplicates an answer they get 50 points. If their answer was original they get 100 points. For example, Teams "A" and "C" pick antelope as their answer, but team "B" chose anteater. Team "A" and "C" will get 50 points, while team "B" will get 100.

End the game when a certain amount of points (should be determined when game starts) are reached by a player or team.

Things You'll Need:

  • Pen and paper or dry erase board and markers
  • Timer
  • Letters of the alphabet cut out
  • Bag or shoebox

Tip

Three to 5 rounds are usually enough to play this game. Categories can be changed each time, but it's not required. If categories are not changed, do not reuse the letters that have already been picked, otherwise, you can add the used letters back into the bag.

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