How to Play Adverbs

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Adverbs is a spoken and physical performance game in which one player secretly chooses an adverb and then acts out commands from the other players in the manner of that word. If the chosen word is 'nervously', every action they perform must drip with nervous energy. The challenge for the guesser is to spot the common thread running through wildly different actions.

It earns its place at any gathering because it needs no equipment, scales easily from a quiet family evening to a noisy party, and rewards creativity over knowledge. The laughter tends to come quickly, which is why it remains a staple of living-room and after-dinner entertainment across all age groups.

A little history

The origins of Adverbs as a named parlour game are unclear, though games built around miming and verbal performance have been documented in British and European social settings since at least the Victorian era. It appears in various twentieth-century collections of parlour and party games under the name 'Adverbs' or the near-identical 'In the Manner of the Word', and those two names are sometimes used interchangeably today. Beyond that, the record is thin.

Setting up

1. Gather four or more players in a space where everyone can see each other clearly.
2. Choose one player to be the first Performer. Any fair method works: youngest goes first, volunteer, or a quick nose-tap game.
3. Agree on a scoring method before play begins. The simplest is one point per correct guess; the Performer scores one point if the group fails to guess within the agreed round limit.

How to play

1. The Performer thinks of an adverb in secret and does not reveal it to anyone. The adverb must genuinely describe a manner of doing something, for example: clumsily, dramatically, suspiciously, tenderly.
2. The other players are the Guessers. In turn, each Guesser calls out an instruction for the Performer to carry out. Instructions must be simple, everyday actions: 'open a window', 'greet a friend', 'pick up a coin', 'pour a drink'.
3. The Performer carries out each instruction as fully as possible in the manner of their secret adverb. They must not speak in character unless the action naturally involves speech, but they should use body language, pace, and expression to convey the adverb.
4. After any instruction has been performed, any Guesser may call out a guess at the adverb. There is no set guessing turn; shout it when you think you know it. Only one guess per Guesser per instruction is the standard courtesy rule.
5. If the guess is correct, the round ends. The successful Guesser scores one point and becomes the next Performer.
6. If the guess is wrong, play continues. The next Guesser in sequence gives a new instruction.
7. If no one has guessed correctly after every Guesser has given one instruction each, that constitutes one full round. Agree before the game on how many full rounds are allowed before the Performer wins the round and reveals the word. Two full rounds is a common limit for beginners; one round suits more experienced players.
8. After the reveal, the next player clockwise becomes the Performer and a new round begins.
9. Continue until every player has been the Performer at least once, or until an agreed number of total rounds has been completed.

Winning and scoring

The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. Award one point to the Guesser who correctly names the adverb. If the group exhausts their allowed rounds without guessing, award one point to the Performer instead. In a casual game, most groups play until everyone has performed twice and then compare tallies. In a competitive game, set a fixed number of rounds in advance and declare the highest scorer the winner. Ties are broken by a sudden-death round: both tied players perform simultaneously with the same adverb chosen by the group, and the first correct guess from any other player ends the tie.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns adverb validity. Words such as 'fast' or 'hard' are technically adverbs but are so broad they make the game trivially easy or frustratingly vague. A widely accepted house rule is that the Performer must choose a word that clearly describes an emotional or stylistic manner of doing something, ruling out pure speed or direction words. If another player challenges the chosen word before play ends, the group votes and a simple majority decides. The Performer must reveal the word for the challenge to be assessed.

A second recurring edge case is the near-miss guess. If a Guesser says 'nervously' and the word was 'anxiously', it is for the group to agree in advance whether synonyms count. The most popular ruling is that synonyms do not count as a correct guess but earn no penalty, and the Performer confirms only whether the exact word has been found. Setting this policy before the game starts prevents most arguments.

How to win more often

• As the Performer, choose adverbs that are vivid and physical rather than purely mental. 'Sleepily' is far easier to convey convincingly than 'reluctantly', which saves you from unintentionally muddled performances.
• As a Guesser, give instructions that force a wide range of body language. Asking someone to 'propose marriage' and then 'swat a fly' back to back will expose the adverb far faster than two similar seated actions.
• Listen to other Guessers' wrong answers. They narrow the field, and a confident wrong guess from someone else can confirm the emotional territory you were already considering.
• As the Performer, commit fully. Half-hearted acting produces ambiguous signals and a longer, less fun round for everyone. The more clearly you embody the adverb, the better the game.
• In a long game, keep a loose mental tally of which adverbs have already been used. Repeats are not illegal but burn time and reduce variety. Veteran players often set a house rule banning reuse within the same game.

Variations

In the Manner of the Word

This is the most widely known alternative name for Adverbs and is essentially the same game. Some families play it with a stricter rule: the Performer must also incorporate the adverb into any spoken lines they deliver during the action, making the verbal performance as important as the physical. If they break that rule, they must perform the next instruction again.

Team Adverbs

Divide players into two teams. One member of Team A performs while Team B gives instructions and guesses. Teams alternate roles each round. Score one point per correct guess for the guessing team. This version works well with larger groups of eight or more and adds a cooperative element, as the guessing team can confer before shouting an answer.

Adverb Chain

After each successful guess, the winning Guesser must choose a new adverb that starts with the last letter of the just-guessed word before sitting down as the next Performer. This keeps the word selection quick, removes overthinking, and produces a pleasingly varied chain of words across the game. A ten-second time limit on the chain step stops deliberate stalling.

Written Adverbs

Each player secretly writes three adverbs on slips of paper at the start of the game. All slips go into a bowl. The Performer draws a slip at random and must perform that word rather than choosing their own. This levels the playing field because no one can pick an easy word for themselves, and it often throws up unexpected challenges that produce the funniest rounds.

Adverbs: frequently asked questions