How to Play Forfeits

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

Forfeits is a social parlour game in which players who break a rule, lose a challenge, or fail a task must perform a penalty, known as a forfeit, set by the other players or a designated judge. It requires no board, no screen, and no specialist equipment, which is exactly why it has outlasted most of its Victorian contemporaries.

The game works best in a living room, at a party, or around a table after dinner. Its appeal is simple: the threat of a forfeit keeps everyone alert, the forfeits themselves generate the laughs, and the whole thing scales effortlessly from a quiet family evening to a lively gathering of a dozen adults.

A little history

Forfeits has been played in Britain and across Europe for several centuries, and is documented in Victorian-era parlour game collections including mid-nineteenth-century etiquette and entertainment guides that describe structured forfeit rounds as standard drawing-room fare. Its precise origins are unclear, though penalty-based folk games of a similar character appear in records from at least the seventeenth century. The game was widely included in printed game compendia throughout the 1800s and remained a fixture of children's parties well into the twentieth century.

Setting up

1. Seat all players in a circle or around a table so everyone can see one another clearly.
2. Agree on a Judge for the session, or decide that all players collectively judge whether a forfeit is completed satisfactorily. The Judge role can rotate each round if preferred.
3. Decide which trigger game or ruleset you will use to determine who earns a forfeit (see How to Play below for the standard method).
4. Optionally, each player writes two or three forfeit tasks on separate slips of paper, folds them, and places them in a hat or bowl. These are drawn at random when a forfeit is earned. Alternatively, the group invents forfeits on the spot.
5. Agree on any topics or actions that are off-limits before play begins, particularly when children are present.

How to play

1. Choose a starting method. Common options: the youngest player goes first; a rhyme is used to select the first player; or the Judge nominates.
2. The active player, the one whose turn it is, takes part in whichever challenge the group has agreed upon. Classic formats include: answering rapid-fire questions without saying 'yes' or 'no'; completing a tongue-twister without stumbling; holding a straight face while others try to make them laugh; or following any other agreed forfeit-earning game.
3. If the active player fails the challenge, breaks an agreed rule, or loses the round, they have earned a forfeit.
4. The Judge (or the group) assigns the forfeit. If slips were prepared, the player draws one from the hat and reads it aloud. If forfeits are invented on the spot, the group has thirty seconds to agree on a single task.
5. The forfeit must be proportionate and agreed to be acceptable within the group's pre-set limits. The player then performs the forfeit in front of the group.
6. The Judge rules whether the forfeit has been completed properly. If the player refuses or fails to complete it, they receive a mark against them (one point of shame, a token, or a tally mark on paper).
7. Play passes to the next player clockwise. Continue until each player has had an equal number of turns, or until a set time limit is reached.
8. Common classic forfeits include: singing a verse of a song chosen by the group; hopping on one foot for ten seconds; reciting a tongue-twister three times fast; telling a joke; doing an impression; answering any one question put to them truthfully; or performing any other task the group considers suitably amusing but fair.

Winning and scoring

Forfeits is primarily a social game and does not require a winner, but a competitive scoring system can be applied. Each refused or failed forfeit scores the offending player one penalty point. At the end of the agreed number of rounds, the player with the fewest penalty points wins. In a timed session, the player with the fewest marks when time is called is the winner. In purely social play, no score is kept and the game simply ends when the group decides it is finished.

The fine points

The most common dispute is whether a forfeit has been completed to a satisfactory standard. The Judge's ruling is final, but in groups playing without a dedicated Judge, a simple majority vote is the cleanest resolution. If the vote ties, the forfeit is considered failed and a penalty point is awarded. Players should resist the urge to set impossibly demanding completion standards against rivals.

A second common issue arises when a player objects to a forfeit as embarrassing or inappropriate after it has been drawn or assigned. The correct ruling is that objections to the type of forfeits permitted must be raised during setup, not during play. However, any player may decline any specific forfeit and accept a penalty point instead; no one should be pressured into a forfeit that genuinely distresses them. This opt-out rule should be stated plainly before the game begins.

How to win more often

• Write your forfeit slips with the room in mind. A forfeit that suits a group of adults at a party will fall flat, or cause offence, at a family gathering. Pitch every slip at the right level before play starts.
• When competing in a 'no yes or no' challenge, steer every answer into a statement or a question of your own. Buying even two extra seconds before answering dramatically reduces slips.
• If you are the Judge, be consistent. Players quickly lose confidence in a Judge who is lenient with friends and harsh with others. Clear, even-handed rulings keep the game enjoyable.
• Volunteer memorable but achievable forfeits when inventing on the spot. A forfeit that is too easy disappoints the group; one that is genuinely difficult but possible produces the best reactions.
• Keep the pace moving. Long gaps between forfeits let the energy drop. If a player is stalling, the Judge should set a ten-second countdown before awarding a failure mark.

Variations

Redemption Forfeits

Any player who has accumulated two or more penalty points may attempt a Redemption Forfeit at the end of the game. The group sets a single, more demanding task. If they complete it successfully, one penalty point is removed from their total. This adds a comeback mechanic that keeps trailing players engaged to the very end.

Question and Answer Forfeits

Players sit in a circle and take turns asking their neighbour any question they choose. The neighbour must answer immediately and truthfully, without saying 'yes', 'no', 'maybe', or the name of any other player present. Any slip earns a forfeit. This variant suits older players and produces more conversational, often funnier results than pure physical tasks.

Team Forfeits

Players divide into two equal teams. When a player earns a forfeit and fails to complete it, the penalty point goes against the whole team's tally rather than the individual. Teams therefore have an interest in coaching their own members during the forfeit performance, which adds a cooperative layer and raises the collective tension considerably.

Progressive Forfeits

Each time a player earns their first forfeit, the task is simple. Their second forfeit must be visibly harder, their third harder still, with the group escalating the difficulty in agreed steps. Players with clean records are incentivised to stay sharp, while repeat offenders face increasingly entertaining challenges as the game progresses.

Forfeits: frequently asked questions