The game is played using a set of 40 randomly chosen name cards, known as the Deck of Fame.
Each team gets 30 seconds to guess as many names as possible, with one player giving clues to his teammates.
Players use words, sound effects and charades as they give their clues, but speech becomes more restricted as the game progresses in rounds 2 and 3.
For advanced play, there is an optional round 4 in Time's Up!, where the Guesser starts with their eyes closed while the Cluegiver freezes in a pose depicting their clue.
This version of the game challenges players to guess the titles of books, films, songs, etc., using the same basic rules.