“Sana, sana, colita de _________.” If you can fill in the blank, you’d probably be good at playing the game Yo Sabo.
Yo Sabo is a card game – that can also be played as a drinking game (drink responsibly!) – where players are asked to answer Spanish trivia and sometimes tap into their childhood to find answers.
“Share stories about growing up in a Latino household and learn difficult Spanish words?!” the game reads. “Yes, please! Add ‘Yo Sabo’ to your next game night, and let the fun begin!”
The game was created by Carlos Torres, a first-generation college student of Mexican descent. The Yo Sabo website explains that Torres was a “No Sabo” kid and wanted to improve his Spanish. “It was created to help people learn and remember those tricky Spanish words, but it soon evolved to a game that connected people to their Latino roots,” the website reads.
The cards in Yo Sabo are separated into four categories, “¡Prueba time!” “Chancla,” “¿Cómo se dice?” and “¿Cómo se dice?” with penalty words. For example, with “¡Prueba time!” one of the cards reads: “If you said, ‘I am bored’ when you were younger, what is the most likely response from your parents? Answer: “Pues ponte a limpiar.”
The “¿Cómo se dice?” cards ask players to translate English words into Spanish. For example, “desk” is “escritorio.” But don’t answer with any of the penalty words listed. For example, if you say “cintura” or “centoria” when asked to translate “century,” you lose. The correct answer is “siglo.”
Lastly, the “Chancla” cards either ask players random questions or challenge them to do something physical during the game. For example, one card reads: “¡Ay güey! You hear the door opening and remember that you forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer.” Another player must then drop ice cubes down your back. If you flinch, you lose.
Remember that Yo Sabo is also “abuelita-approved.”