- Say a word that rhymes with the word.
- Give the first letter of the word.
- Say a part of the word in the disk (example, saying "rage" in "road rage").
After the player's teammates successfully guess the word, the disk is then given to the opposite team. The opponent presses the "Next" button for a new word to appear and starts giving out clues to their teammates. The process continues until the timer runs out, in which the team not holding the disk gets one point and a chance to guess the word for an additional point. The first team to reach seven points wins.
Category: TROPES
- all lowercase letters: The 1994 version is titled catch phrase!.
- Bonus Round: When the timer runs out, the opposing team gets one chance to guess the word for an additional point. The player holding the disk cannot give clues at this point.
- Darker and Edgier: Catch Phrase Uncensored features phrases not suitable for a public or family setting.
- Dolled-Up Installment: The 2012 edition is called Scrabble Electronic Catch Phrase. This was not used in other countries as Hasbro does not own the Scrabble trademark outside the U.S., and was soon dropped for later editions.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The 1994 version used double-sided paper disks with random words inserted inside a case, and the timer was a separate button. The electronic version from 2000 onward has everything in one device, and the players can either select words from multiple categories or everything at once like in the original.
- Expansion Pack: The 1994 version's manual
had a blurb on the very end where one could order sixteen additional disks for $2 USD (including postage and handling) from Parker Brothers offices. - Hot Potato:
- The main gameplay component. The game advises the players to form into a circle with alternating teammates next to each other so they can easily and quickly pass the disk to the opposing player.
- Ultimate Catch Phrase has the players toss the device to the opposing player. It even advises players to be further apart for a more challenging game.
- Loop Hole Abuse: Enforced. Ultimate Catch Phrase allows players to cut the phrase apart and give clues to each individual word as long they don't say the actual word.
- Non-Standard Game Over: If a player is caught breaking any of the three rules, the round is immediately over and the opposing team earns one point.
- Officially Shortened Title: Electronic Catch Phrase was changed to Catch Phrase in 2013 as the original version hasn't been on sale nor updated.
- Themed Stock Board Game: A Star Wars version exists complete with the device shaped like the Millennium Falcon.
- Timed Mission:
- The timer is random in most versions. It's usually around a minute.
- Ultimate Catch Phrase has a set timer of 90 seconds. A player holding the disk also has 15 seconds to give out clues, and failing to guess the word will force that player to pass the disk with a new word to their teammate.
- Totally Radical: Catch Phrase Decades features words and phrases from the 70s up to 2013.
- Updated Re-release:
- The game is updated every now and then to replace any outdated slang, media, and popular figures from the era.
- Electronic Catch Phrase stores the words electronically instead of using physical paper disks. Not only will the words come out randomly, but it can store between 5,000 to 10,000 words.
