Speak Out hit the market in 2016 and became a viral phenomenon almost overnight — a plastic dental retractor, a deck of phrases, and a sand timer. The joke writes itself: try to say "pelicans love pollywog falafels" while your mouth is held wide open. Ten years later it's still on shelves, but a lot of people have moved on for very specific reasons.
If you've been searching for "Speak Out alternatives," it usually comes down to one of these complaints:
- The mouthpieces are uncomfortable. Even the soft-grade plastic is a lot to ask of a willing volunteer.
- Hygiene is awkward. Even with one mouthpiece per player, sharing dental-retractor-shaped objects at a party isn't everyone's idea of fun.
- The official age rating is 16+. The Family Edition exists, but the standard Speak Out box rules kids out of game night.
- Dental work and braces are a no-go. If anyone at the table has aligners, retainers, or recent dental work, they're sitting it out.
- The joke gets old. The "can't pronounce things" gag is one-note. After 20 rounds, it stops surprising people.
The good news: the underlying comedy mechanic — watching a willing person fail at something simple — is bigger than a piece of plastic. Below are seven party games that hit the same nerve as Speak Out without forcing your guests to wear a dental retractor. Some keep the "can't communicate" hook with a different prop. Some abandon the prop entirely and find a different way to make adults look ridiculous. All of them are family-game-night tested.
1. Watch Ya' Mouth (Family Edition)
Players: 4-10 · Ages: 8+ · Price: ~$20
Watch Ya' Mouth is the closest thing to Speak Out you'll find — mostly because it came first. The viral video that inspired Hasbro to make Speak Out was originally a Watch Ya' Mouth promo by Joe Santagato. Same mouthpiece, same gameplay loop: wear it, say a phrase, your team guesses.
So why pick this over Speak Out? Two reasons. First, the Family Edition is rated 8+, which immediately fixes the biggest Speak Out complaint — you can actually play with kids. Second, the phrase deck is written tighter; fewer cards make you go "what was that even supposed to be?" and more cards land cleanly.
Best for: Households that want the exact Speak Out experience but with kids at the table.
Skip if: The mouthpiece itself was the problem — this game has the same one.
2. Game Mashups: Taboo Speak Out
Players: 4+ · Ages: 13+ · Price: ~$20
Hasbro's own evolution of Speak Out, which combines it with Taboo. You wear the mouthpiece, but instead of just reading silly phrases, you're trying to make your team guess a target word without saying five forbidden related words. The mouthpiece adds the slurring layer; Taboo adds the strategy layer.
This is the play to pick if your group thought regular Speak Out was too easy or too random. The Taboo constraint forces players to think creatively, not just read text aloud, so the game has more depth across multiple plays.
Best for: Groups that played Speak Out and want a harder version with more strategy.
Skip if: You wanted to get away from the mouthpiece, not double down on it.
3. Snort Funny
Players: 4-8 · Ages: 8+ · Price: $19.99
If the mouthpiece itself was the issue, Snort Funny swaps it for something more wearable: a soft squeaker pig snout that straps over your nose. The comedy loop is similar — wear the silly thing, do a challenge from a card, try not to laugh — but the prop is on the outside of your face, so no hygiene concerns, no dental compatibility issues, no kid age limit.
The challenges themselves are different in tone. Speak Out is built around the joke of not being able to speak clearly. Snort Funny is built around the joke of doing absurd things while looking like a pig — impersonations, fake opera singing, charade-style prompts. The snout squeaks when you breathe heavily, which adds a second comedy beat on top of the first one. It's the version of this game that works at family game night without anyone tapping out.
Best for: Mixed-age groups, families with kids 8+, anyone who's done with the dental-retractor format. See the full product page →
Skip if: You specifically wanted the "can't speak clearly" joke as the central mechanic.
4. Reverse Charades
Players: 6+ (best with 8-12) · Ages: 6+ · Price: ~$25
Same comedic premise — someone has to make their team understand them — but with the math flipped. In regular charades, one person acts and the team guesses. In Reverse Charades, the whole team acts at once and one person tries to guess what they're doing. Same payoff (laughing at people doing something dumb), no props in mouth.
Reverse Charades scales differently than Speak Out. It's better with bigger groups (8-12 people), which makes it a good pick for office parties, larger family gatherings, or holiday dinners. The lower age rating (6+) is real — even small kids understand "act this out with everyone else."
Best for: Large groups, holiday parties, anywhere with mixed ages including young kids.
Skip if: Your group is under 6 people — Reverse Charades feels thin without a crowd.
5. Telestrations
Players: 4-8 · Ages: 12+ (party edition); 8+ (kids) · Price: ~$25-30
Telestrations is "telephone but with drawing." Each player has a small whiteboard sketchbook. You draw a prompt, pass it to the next player who has to guess what you drew (in words), then the next player draws their guess, and so on. By the time the sketchbook comes back to you, your original word "narwhal" has become a picture of a man with a sword for a face.
It's a completely different mechanic from Speak Out, but it lands the same emotional beat: the gap between what someone tried to communicate and what landed. Telestrations also has a lower barrier — nobody has to perform, nobody has to read aloud, nobody has to wear anything weird. Quieter players who hated Speak Out love this one.
Best for: Mixed groups with introverts, drawing-friendly players, longer game nights (45-60 minutes).
Skip if: You wanted physical, loud, chaotic laughter — Telestrations is funnier in pauses than in real time.
6. Throw Throw Burrito
Players: 2-6 · Ages: 7+ · Price: ~$25
From the team that made Exploding Kittens. Throw Throw Burrito is a card-matching game where, at random moments, players have to drop the cards and throw soft foam burritos at each other. It's the chaos-energy cousin of Speak Out — same "adults doing something dumb in front of each other" payoff, no mouthpiece, plenty of yelling.
Throw Throw Burrito has the lowest "convince the room to play" cost on this list. People see soft foam burritos and laugh before the rules are explained. Setup is fast. It also scales down well — it actually works with 2 players, which Speak Out and Watch Ya' Mouth don't.
Best for: Smaller groups (2-6), households with kids 7+, anyone who wants physical chaos instead of verbal chaos.
Skip if: Your space is full of breakables or you have downstairs neighbors with a low noise tolerance.
7. Hearing Things
Players: 4-20 · Ages: 14+ · Price: ~$25
Hearing Things is the closest mechanical match to Speak Out without the mouthpiece. Players wear noise-cancelling headphones that play loud music, and have to try to lip-read what their teammate is saying. The communication-impaired hook is identical to Speak Out — just moved from the mouth to the ears.
It's a great pick if the core idea of Speak Out (one player struggling to communicate something simple) was what you liked, and the dental-retractor was just the implementation. Hygiene fixed, dental concerns fixed, but the comedy mechanic preserved. The 14+ age rating is mostly about phrase content, not the headphones themselves.
Best for: Adult game nights, office parties, groups that loved the "struggling to communicate" specifically.
Skip if: Younger kids will be playing, or your group includes someone with hearing sensitivity.
Quick comparison
| Game | Players | Ages | Mouth prop? | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watch Ya' Mouth Family Edition | 4-10 | 8+ | Yes (mouthpiece) | ~$20 |
| Game Mashups Taboo Speak Out | 4+ | 13+ | Yes (mouthpiece) | ~$20 |
| Snort Funny | 4-8 | 8+ | No (pig snout) | $19.99 |
| Reverse Charades | 6+ | 6+ | No | ~$25 |
| Telestrations | 4-8 | 12+ | No | ~$25-30 |
| Throw Throw Burrito | 2-6 | 7+ | No | ~$25 |
| Hearing Things | 4-20 | 14+ | No (headphones) | ~$25 |
Quick-pick guide
- Want the exact Speak Out experience but with kids? Watch Ya' Mouth Family Edition.
- Loved the mouthpiece but want more depth? Game Mashups Taboo Speak Out.
- Hated the mouthpiece but loved the silly-prop comedy? Snort Funny.
- Hosting 10+ people at a holiday party? Reverse Charades.
- Have a quieter group that won't perform in front of others? Telestrations.
- Want chaos and physical laughs? Throw Throw Burrito.
- Adult game night, want the "can't communicate" gag preserved? Hearing Things.
Common questions about Speak Out and its alternatives
Is Speak Out still being made in 2026?
Yes — Speak Out is still sold by Hasbro through major retailers (Amazon, Target, Walmart) at around $20. There are also several spin-offs still available, including the Family Edition (kid-friendly) and Game Mashups Taboo Speak Out (Taboo crossover).
What's the difference between Speak Out and Watch Ya' Mouth?
Mechanically they're nearly identical. Watch Ya' Mouth was the original concept by Joe Santagato; Hasbro licensed the mouthpiece idea and built Speak Out around it. The main practical difference: Watch Ya' Mouth has a Family Edition rated 8+, while standard Speak Out is rated 16+.
Can you play Speak Out with braces or aligners?
It's not recommended. The mouthpieces are designed to hold an open mouth wide, which can put pressure on braces, retainers, and dental work. If anyone at the table has orthodontics, look at non-mouthpiece alternatives like Snort Funny, Reverse Charades, or Hearing Things.
What's the best Speak Out alternative for younger kids?
For ages 6 and up, Reverse Charades is the easiest entry point — no props, no reading required. For 8+, Snort Funny or Watch Ya' Mouth Family Edition both work well. For 7+, Throw Throw Burrito's physical, low-rules format is a hit.
Are there hygiene concerns with mouthpiece party games?
Most mouthpiece games include enough mouthpieces for each player to have their own, and they're made of food-safe, easy-to-clean plastic. The bigger concerns are usually saliva on the table during play and reluctance from squeamish players — both of which are non-issues with the non-mouthpiece games on this list.
The honest summary
If you searched "Speak Out alternative" because you wanted something to replace it permanently, your best picks depend on what you actually missed about the original. The mouthpiece itself? You already know the answer — go non-mouthpiece. The struggling-to-communicate joke? Hearing Things keeps it. The wear-something-silly-and-do-a-challenge joke? Snort Funny moved that to the nose. Want chaos with kids at the table? Throw Throw Burrito or Reverse Charades.
All seven games on this list have been tested in real game-night settings. None of them are guaranteed to make every group laugh — that depends a lot on who's at the table — but each one offers a meaningfully different version of the same emotional payoff: watching willing volunteers fail at something simple, in front of friends, and not minding one bit.