Since its inception, Twister has sparked controversy, incited marriages (and maybe a few divorces?), and has even been banned in Germany.

Twister Rules
Should you even be using the spinner?

Following the incredible discovery that you may, in fact, be using the Draw 4 rule in Uno wrong, we decided to do a deep dive into the Twister instructions to see if we could discover any hidden rules that may have been forgotten over time.

TV and movies may have done us a Twister disservice, as we discovered in the following bolded out rules. Warning: this may just change the way you play two-player and four-player Twister for life, but no one tell Carrie from Sex and the City.

Twister Rules

For a Two Player Game

  1. Players first remove their shoes and stand at opposite ends of the mat, near the word twister, facing each other.
  2. Each player must then place their feet on the yellow and blue circle closest to them.
  3. A third person – or the ‘referee’ – spins and reads aloud the limb and colour the arrow is pointing to. (For example “Right Hand – Red).
  4. Players must then move to obey the direction of the Referee.
  5. Only ONE limb from ONE player only can occupy any one circle at one time – if both players reach for the same circle, the Referee will decide which player was there first.
  6. Once limbs have been placed on the circle, including both feet at the start, they cannot be moved or lifted without the direction of the Referee by each spin. However, one limb may be lifted to allow another limb to pass by but must be immediately replaced to the circle it was originally on. The Referee must be notified before making this move.
  7. If all the circles of one colour are taken up, the Referee must spin until a different colour comes up.
  8. Except for rule 7, the player must move the limb that is called to another circle even if it is already on the same colour that is called.
  9. Whenever a player falls, or lets an elbow or knee touch the mat, the game is over and the other player is the winner.

For a Three Player Game

  1. Two players must face each other from opposite ends of the mat, with the third player facing the centre from the two middle red circles along the side.
  2. Gameplay follows that of the two player game.

For a Four Player Game

  1. Players must form teams of two players each.
  2. Players that are on the same team line up side by side, occupying the four circles at the “Twister” end of the sheet. The other team faces them on the other end.
  3. The Referee calls the spin in the same way as the two player game, but all four players must take each position called.
  4. Gameplay continues as in the two player version, except partners can each occupy the same circle with one limb – and it does not need to be the same limb.
  5. When one player from a team falls, or touches an elbow or knee to the surface, the game is over and the other team is the winner.

For a Two Player Game Without a Referee

  1. Played with the same rules as a regular two-player game, except the spinner is not used.
  2. One player calls the limb that needs to be moved, and the other player calls the colour of the circle it must be moved to.
  3. Players alternate turns of who calls the limb and the colour.
  4. The winner is declared as in the regular two-player version.

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