✍️ Best Baby Shower Games Editorial Team · Updated May 2026

Catchphrase: Baby Edition

A baby word appears on the screen. You describe it to your team — fast — before the timer's unpredictable buzz hands the device to the other team. Catchphrase: Baby Edition runs itself once the timer starts, and the panic when the buzz hits in your hands is the running joke of the round.

🏃 Active
✅ Crowd-pleaser
🍷 Coed-friendly

⏱ Prep: 5 min
👥 Best for: 10–30 guests
🍷 Coed: Yes
📹 Virtual: In person

What you'll need

A Catchphrase electronic timer from the original game (around $20 used on Amazon or eBay) OR a Catchphrase-style timer app on a phone — search the App Store for "Catchphrase"
A baby word deck — Catchphrase's original cards plus 20 custom baby cards you've handwritten on index cards from Walmart ($3 for 100)
A scoresheet or small whiteboard from Target for tracking team points
Phone chargers nearby — the app drains battery fast over thirty minutes of play
Open seating in alternating-team patterns (one player from team A, one from team B, etc.) around a circle
Two named prizes — a $25 Trader Joe's gift card for the winning team's collective prize and a Yankee Candle for the MVP solo player

Before the shower (setup)

A few days before the shower, decide if you're using the physical Catchphrase game or a phone app. The original Catchphrase electronic device runs around $20 used on Amazon or eBay — the buzzer is louder and the timer is more dramatic than a phone app. The app version (search "Catchphrase" on the App Store or Google Play) is free or a couple of dollars and works perfectly for a casual shower. Either way, you'll want to add custom baby-themed cards on top of whatever deck you start with. Write twenty baby-specific words on index cards from Walmart — pacifier, swaddle, lullaby, breast pump, stroller, baby monitor, colostrum, contractions, gender reveal, baby brain, and so on.
Mix difficulty in the custom deck. Easy words (bottle, diaper, crib) give the round momentum; medium words (swaddle, stroller, lullaby) sit in the middle; hard words (colostrum, postpartum, mucous plug) decide the winner because nobody can describe them in under five seconds. Stack the index cards together with the original Catchphrase deck if you're using the physical game. Charge your phone to full if you're going app-only — the Catchphrase baby shower game eats battery during thirty minutes of play.
On shower day, set up open seating in an alternating team pattern. The Catchphrase baby shower game depends on the device traveling between teams every guess, which only works if teams are interleaved — one player from team A, one from team B, around the circle. Six to eight per team is the sweet spot, so total guests of twelve to sixteen work best. Have your timer, scoresheet, and named prizes visible. Tell the mom-to-be she can play, sit out, or just heckle from the couch. Designate one non-player as the word-judge for fouls.

Front-door setup for Catchphrase: Baby Edition — basket of clothespins and a chalkboard rule sign by the entryway — Set up at the front door so the game starts the second guests walk in.

How to play

Once teams are seated in the alternating pattern, hand the device or first index card to a starting player. Set the Catchphrase timer with a long-range mode if available so the buzz time is unpredictable. The first player sees a baby word, then uses any words, sounds, or gestures (but cannot say the word itself or rhymes) to make their team guess. The instant their team gets it right, they hand the device to the next player in the circle — who's on the opposite team. That's the whole rhythm: see word, describe fast, pass on guess, the next team picks up.

The buzzer-timer runs at unpredictable intervals — sometimes thirty seconds, sometimes ninety. Whoever's holding the device when the buzz hits loses the round, and the other team scores a point. Fast guesses pass the device along; slow guesses or fumbling under pressure lose rounds. The panic moment when the device buzzes mid-clue while you're describing "colostrum" to your aunt is the running joke of the entire shower. Run rounds back-to-back. The word-judge calls fouls quietly when a player accidentally says the word or a rhyme.

First team to seven points wins. Or play a fixed number of rounds (five to seven total) and total points across all rounds. Hand the team prize — small gift bags for everyone on the winning side — and the MVP prize to whoever drew the biggest laugh of the night with a single guess or wild description. The room knows who that was. The whole Catchphrase baby shower game runs about fifteen to twenty minutes for a circle of twelve to sixteen players. After the prize, transition into cake or the next thing on your shower timeline.

A hand lifting a clothespin off another guest's shirt — the steal moment in Catchphrase: Baby Edition — The moment of the steal — someone slipped, someone caught it, pin changes hands.

Variations to try

Pregnancy-only custom deck. Skip the original Catchphrase deck entirely. Use only pregnancy, labor, and newborn-care terms — colostrum, contractions, latching, mucous plug, swaddle, postpartum. Educational and chaotic. Best for a friend-group shower without grandparents who might find some terms uncomfortable.
No-talk gesture round. Force gestures and sounds only for one round. No words at all. Hardest version of Catchphrase baby shower and the funniest version because guests panic when they can't shout.
Phone-app version (no physical timer). Use a Catchphrase-style phone app instead of the original physical game. Less expensive, more portable, easier to add custom decks. Best for hosts who already have one in their App Store recents.
Speed round (30-second timer). Force the timer to its shortest setting. Players have a few seconds at most to describe each word before the buzz. Brutal but funny — most words don't get guessed and the points stay close.
Pair with [[baby-shower-heads-up]] or [[baby-charades]]. Three performance-based games in one block. Different mechanics, same kind of laughs. Forty-minute games block — Catchphrase first as the fast warm-up, charades and Heads Up later for variety.

Pro tips from hosts who've actually run this

Use the timer's long-range mode if available. Guests get used to the rhythm and let their guard down — and the buzz catches more people mid-clue.
Mix difficulty in the deck. All-easy means rounds end in five seconds. Mix easy, medium, and hard for real game tension.
Sit teams in interleaved patterns so the device makes a full lap around the circle each round. Otherwise the same two teammates get every clue.
Custom baby cards on top of the standard Catchphrase deck make the game feel shower-specific instead of generic.
Have a phone-app backup ready in case the physical Catchphrase device runs out of battery mid-round.
Designate one non-player as the word-judge. Without one, every team self-polices and arguments over fouls fill the round.
Pair with [[baby-shower-heads-up]] for back-to-back fast-paced word games — same energy, different mechanics.

Common mistakes to avoid

Seating teams in blocks instead of alternating. If team A is all on one couch and team B is all on the other, the device doesn't travel and the game doesn't work.
Forgetting to add custom baby words. Without shower-specific cards, the game feels like a generic Catchphrase round and not a Catchphrase: Baby Edition.
Skipping the word-judge. Without one, teams self-police badly and arguments about "did she say the word?" derail the round.
Running on a phone without a charger nearby. App versions drain battery fast, and a dead phone mid-round kills the energy.
Picking a vague prize. "A small surprise" generates zero competitive energy. Name the prize when you start.

Best prize for this game

Two-tier prize structure works best for Catchphrase: Baby Edition. Team prize: small gift bags ($10 each from Target) for every player on the winning team — fill them with a $5 Starbucks card, mini Hershey's bars, and a small Bath & Body Works hand sanitizer. MVP solo prize: a $25 Trader Joe's gift card, a Yankee Candle classic, or a Bath & Body Works lotion-soap duo ($25) for the funniest single moment of the night. Display both prizes visibly from the start so guests see what they're playing for.

→ More baby shower prize ideas, by budget

Our verdict

Catchphrase: Baby Edition adapts to any group size, runs itself once the timer starts, and the unpredictable buzz is the source of all the drama — guests panic when the device dies in their hands.

Catchphrase: Baby Edition — FAQ

What's the difference between Heads Up and Catchphrase: Baby Edition?

Heads Up: the guesser sees nothing, the team describes for them. Catchphrase: Baby Edition: the describer sees the word, the team races to guess before the unpredictable timer hands the device off. Different mechanics — both fast-paced. Many hosts run both back-to-back for a longer performance-games block.

Can I just use the original Catchphrase deck for the baby shower version?

Yes — but adding twenty custom baby-themed cards on top makes Catchphrase: Baby Edition feel shower-specific instead of generic. Write the custom cards on index cards from Walmart ($3 for 100) and shuffle them in with the original deck.

How long does the Catchphrase baby shower game take?

About fifteen to twenty minutes for first-to-seven points with twelve to sixteen players. Plan it as a mid-shower round when energy is high. Skip running it as your opener — the format works better when guests are already warmed up.

Does Catchphrase: Baby Edition work for big groups?

Yes — best for ten to twenty players in two alternating teams. Smaller groups (under ten) lack the team-vs-team energy. Bigger groups (over twenty) can run three teams instead of two, with the device circulating across all three.

Is there a Catchphrase phone app?

Yes — search "Catchphrase" on your phone's app store. The official Hasbro app and several knockoffs are available. Free and paid versions both work. The paid versions usually add custom-deck support which makes Catchphrase: Baby Edition setup easier.

Can Catchphrase: Baby Edition run on Zoom?

Not cleanly — the game depends on the device physically passing between players. On a Zoom shower, swap to [[baby-charades]] or [[whats-in-your-phone]] which work natively over video. Catchphrase: Baby Edition is an in-person game by design.

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About the author

Best Baby Shower Games Editorial Team — Party planners, parents & writers. We’re a small team of party planners and parents who’ve hosted — and been guests at — dozens of baby showers. Every game here is sorted by what actually lands in a real room, not by what just looks cute on a Pinterest board.