Tech Taboo 🎯

Tech Taboo is a lightweight, open-source browser game inspired by the classic Taboo game. The goal is simple: explain a technical concept without using common buzzwords.

It’s designed for JavaScript meetups, team learning sessions, onboarding, and interview prep — anywhere clarity of understanding matters more than memorization.

👉 Live demo: https://recursivezero.github.io/taboo

---

How the Game Works

• One player explains the term shown on screen
• A list of forbidden words is visible
• The audience tries to guess the term
• If a forbidden word is spoken → skip the card
• A timer and buzzer keep the pace fast
• Keyboard shortcuts and mobile support included

The game encourages explaining ideas clearly, without relying on buzzwords.

---

Features

• 🧠 Concept-first learning (no buzzwords)
• ⏱ Timer with buzzer (mute supported)
• ⌨️ Keyboard shortcuts
• 📱 Mobile-friendly UI
• 🌗 Dark / Light theme
• 📦 JSON-based decks (easy to extend)
• 🚀 Fully static, no backend required

---

Tech Stack (Intentionally Minimal)

• HTML – semantic markup
• CSS – responsive layout, animations, theming
• Alpine.js – lightweight state management
• GitHub Pages – hosting

No build tools. No framework lock-in. No backend.

---

Screenshots

Home Page

• Rules
• Select Deck
• Select Timer

Game Page

• Header --> Home | Timer | Settings
• Main --> Forbidden Word List | Main Term in center of the page
• Footer -> Prev | Deck Name | Next

Mobile View

Project Structure

└── taboo/
    ├── CHANGELOG.md
    ├── LICENSE
    ├── README.md
    ├── assets/
    │   ├── decks/
    │   │   ├── css.json
    │   │   ├── html.json
    │   │   ├── index.json
    │   │   ├── javascript.json
    │   │   ├── react.json
    │   │   └── web.json
    │   ├── hint.svg
    │   ├── screenshots/
    │   │   ├── home.png
    │   │   └── game.png
    │   ├── sounds/
    │   │   └── buzzer.mp3
    │   └── styles/
    │       ├── rules.css
    │       └── taboo.css
    ├── index.html
    ├── js/
    │   └── taboo.js
    ├── partials/
    │   ├── footer.html
    │   └── header.html
    ├── taboo.code-workspace
    └── taboo.html

---

Deck Format

Decks are simple JSON files.

Example:

{
  "name": "JavaScript Basics",
  "cards": [
    {
      "term": "Closure",
      "forbidden": ["function", "scope", "variable", "lexical"]
    },
    {
      "term": "Promise",
      "forbidden": ["async", "await", "then", "callback"]
    }
  ]
}

To add a new deck

1. Create a new JSON file in decks/

2. Add it to decks/index.json

3. Reload the app

No code changes needed.

---

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key Action

• ← / → Previous / Next card
• A Toggle audience mode
• S Shuffle deck
• T Start / restart timer
• M Mute / unmute buzzer

---

Why This Project Exists

In many tech discussions, people know the terminology but struggle to explain the underlying idea. Tech Taboo is a small experiment to encourage clear thinking, simple explanations, and better communication.

It was built in about 5–6 hours as a focused learning-in-public project.

---

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Some ideas you could explore:

• New decks (frontend, backend, system design, etc.)

• Team scoring mode

• Swipe-only navigation for mobile

• Accessibility improvements

• Visual timer indicators

Feel free to fork, experiment, and adapt it for your use case.

---

License

MIT License Use it, modify it, and share it freely.

---