How to Play Sausages

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

Sausages is a spoken parlour game for four or more players in which one player fields questions from the rest of the group and must respond to every single one with the word 'sausages', keeping a completely straight face throughout. The questions can be as absurd, leading, or deadpan as the askers choose, and the tension between a ridiculous answer and a serious delivery is what generates the laughter.

It travels well because it needs no equipment whatsoever, fits any space with enough chairs, and works equally well as an icebreaker at a family gathering, a long car journey game, or an after-dinner wind-down. The rules take thirty seconds to explain and the game is immediately playable by anyone old enough to understand a question and keep a secret.

A little history

The origins of Sausages as a named game are unclear. Games built on the same mechanic, giving a fixed absurd word as the answer to any question, appear in Victorian and Edwardian parlour game collections under various titles, and 'sausages' is among the most commonly cited answer-words in British sources of that period. It belongs to a broad family of straight-face and forfeiture games that were standard drawing-room entertainment before radio and television. Beyond that general lineage, no reliable documentation pins down when 'Sausages' settled into its current form or acquired its modern name.

Setting up

1. Gather all players in a circle or around a table so everyone can see one another's faces clearly.
2. Choose one player to be the answerer first. Any fair method works: youngest goes first, volunteer, or a quick round of rock-paper-scissors.
3. Agree before play begins on the elimination rule you will use: either a single slip ends that player's turn, or allow a set number of slips before elimination.
4. If using timed rounds, agree on a duration now, typically 60 to 90 seconds per answerer.

How to play

1. The answerer sits or stands where every other player can see their face.
2. The remaining players take turns, or call out freely if the group prefers, asking the answerer any question they like. Questions may be rapid-fire, philosophical, silly, or trap-like.
3. The answerer must respond to every question with the single word 'sausages' and nothing else. No extra words, no gestures replacing words, no mouthing alternatives.
4. The answerer must maintain a completely straight face throughout. Smiling, giggling, laughing, or breaking composure of any kind counts as a slip.
5. Saying any word other than 'sausages', including accidental filler words such as 'er' or 'um' before the answer, also counts as a slip.
6. Askers must phrase actual questions. Statements, noises intended purely to startle, or physical contact are not permitted.
7. When the answerer slips, their turn ends immediately. If playing an elimination format, they are out; if playing a rotating format, the next player becomes the answerer.
8. Continue until every player has had at least one turn as answerer, or until only one player remains if using elimination rules.
9. The player who holds out longest as answerer without slipping wins that round.

Winning and scoring

In a single-round game, the winner is the answerer who lasts the longest before slipping, either in absolute time or by surviving the most questions. In a full rotation game, each player takes one turn as answerer and the winner is whoever endured the longest without slipping. If two or more players lasted equally long, they face a sudden-death round against each other. In an elimination format, players are knocked out as they slip and the last player to be eliminated wins outright. There is no points system in the standard version of the game.

The fine points

The most common dispute is over what constitutes a smile. The group should agree before play that a visible upward movement of the corners of the mouth counts, regardless of whether the answerer laughs audibly. Slight nose-twitching or eye-watering through effort does not count unless accompanied by a genuine smile or laugh. Majority vote among the askers is the standard way to settle close calls, and that decision should be final to keep the game moving.

A second recurring argument concerns questions that contain the word 'sausages' themselves, for example 'Do you like sausages?' Some groups rule these are perfectly legal and good tactics; others ban them as too easy to withstand. Settle this before the first round. Similarly, decide in advance whether askers must wait for the answer before asking the next question, or whether overlapping rapid-fire questions are allowed. Both styles are played widely; the rapid-fire version is harder on the answerer.

How to win more often

• Vary your delivery as answerer: sometimes answer immediately, sometimes pause as if seriously considering before saying 'sausages'. Unpredictability makes you harder to crack.
• Fix your gaze at a neutral point slightly above your questioners' heads rather than looking directly into their eyes, which is where most players lose composure.
• As a questioner, build a slow sequence of increasingly absurd questions rather than going immediately to your best material. The contrast effect is far more likely to break the answerer than a single outrageous opener.
• Avoid questions that are so complicated the answerer has to think hard about understanding them. A simple, perfectly timed question lands better than a convoluted one.
• Watch for the answerer beginning to anticipate laughter before they have even heard the question. Once they are braced for something funny, slip in a completely mundane question delivered in total seriousness.

Variations

Banana

Identical rules, but the compulsory answer word is changed to 'banana' or any other word the group nominates before play. This is useful when younger players have already played Sausages so often that the word itself no longer provokes a reaction.

Two-Word Sausages

The answerer must say 'sausages' twice in response to every question, delivered in a flat, even tone: 'sausages sausages'. The repeated delivery creates a different comedic rhythm and many players find it significantly harder to keep a straight face when forced to say the word twice.

Team Sausages

Players split into two equal teams. One team nominates an answerer while the opposing team supplies all the questions. The teams swap roles after each answerer slips or survives a set time limit. The winning team is the one whose answerer or answerers collectively lasted the longest across all their turns.

Forfeit Sausages

Instead of simple elimination, each slip earns the answerer a forfeit card drawn from a prepared pile agreed before the game. The answerer carries out the forfeit immediately and then continues, making it possible to play a single long session rather than knock players out. This version works particularly well with mixed age groups where elimination might discourage younger players.

Sausages: frequently asked questions