Play Charades: Rules, Tips, and Ideas to Level Up Game Night

Charades is that one party game practically everyone knows, yet it still surprises you every time with how much fun it can be.

It’s simple, requires no fancy setup, and gets everyone up and interacting.

It’s chaotic, it’s hilarious, and it’s always a crowd-pleaser.

Ready to dive in?

Let me walk you through how to play, add some tips, and even throw in a few fun twists to shake things up.

Start with the Basics: Setting Up Charades

Before you get to the good part (aka the flailing and laughing), you need to actually set the stage. Here’s how to do it.

Divide Into Two Teams

First up, split your players evenly into two teams.

Got a natural clown in the group? Balance out their energy by spreading similarly extroverted or experienced folks across teams.

For this specific reason, I’m almost NEVER on the same charades team as much husband. Way too much energy from the both of us, and we end up dominating the whole game, lol.

And because this is charades, each team should grab spots on opposite sides of the room.

Why? To prevent the sneaky peeky over your shoulder at clues—because no one likes a cheater.

Write Down Words or Phrases

Every player secretly writes down one word or phrase on a folded slip of paper. And it’s totally okay to have

The categories can be whatever you want (I’ve got some funny ideas further down), but classic ones include:

• Books
• Songs
• Movies
• TV shows
• Famous quotes

After everyone scribbles a choice, one player from each team collects the slips and swaps them with the opposing team.

For sure, mixing the ideas keeps it random and makes the game more exciting.

How to Play Charades: Rules and Flow

1. Who Starts First?

Decide which team goes first. Flip a coin, draw straws—fight for it if you must (I kid, ahem… sort of).

The chosen team then nominates its first brave actor.

2. Set the Timer

You’ll need a timer for each round.

One to two minutes is usually the sweet spot, but tweak it based on how much time you want.

Use your phone, a basic stopwatch, or whoever’s best at counting “one-Mississippi.” They can keep time.

3. Draw and Mime

Alright, this is where the action starts. The actor grabs a random slip of paper from the bunch and—no hesitation!—starts acting it out.

No talking. No sound effects. You think silently pretending to turn a wrench while your team shouts “pirate” is frustrating? Correct. That’s the fun part.

A few extra rules:

• You can use hand signals and exaggerated gestures, but visible words or objects from the room can’t be used.
• Want to indicate “sounds like”? Cup your ear.
• Acting is unlimited within the time, and the team can shout a million guesses. Just get the right one before time’s up.

If your team guesses correctly before the timer ends, congrats—you earn one point.

If not, the round ends and the other team steps up.

Keep rotating players until all clues are acted out, and then do the math to declare a winner. Or just laugh because no one was keeping score anyway.

Three Ways to Adapt the Game

Not satisfied with standard charades? Let’s remix it.

1. Category-Specific Charades: Limit clues to niches like horror films, ’90s boy bands, or inside jokes.
2. Speed-Round Charades: Each team has 60 seconds to guess as many words as possible. No limit on slips per turn.
3. Reverse Charades: Flip the script. One person guesses, and the entire team acts out the clue. Trust me, it’s chaotic in the best way.

50 Funny Charades Words for Endless Laughs

Here’s some inspiration to kick off the funniest game night ever:

1. Dancing shark
2. Baby Yoda
3. Electric slide
4. Moonwalk
5. TikTok dance
6. Juggling cats
7. Donald Duck
8. Eating spaghetti
9. Lost sock
10. Zombie ballerina
11. Karate kid
12. Microphone drop
13. Banana peel
14. Escape room
15. Clown car
16. Camping trip disaster
17. Snoring grandma
18. Bursting a balloon
19. Rap battle
20. Ice skating fail
21. Invisible box mime
22. Scuba diving
23. The robot dance
24. Laser tag
25. Serenading neighbor
26. Pancake flipping
27. Trampoline mishap
28. Cactus hugger
29. Snowball fight
30. Pirate duel
31. Baseball pitch
32. Superhero landing
33. Traffic cop
34. Mad scientist
35. Arm wrestling
36. Broadway musical
37. Popcorn machine
38. Jump rope
39. Tango partner
40. Water balloon toss
41. Cookie thief
42. Mischievous elf
43. Treasure map
44. Alien invasion
45. Group selfie
46. Evil twin
47. Secret handshake
48. Karaoke night cringe
49. Tornado twister
50. Safari tour

If You Like Charades, You’ll Also Like

If you’re viewing this on a mobile device, put your finger on the table below and swipe to the left (or right) to see the full table.

Game	Objective	How it Works
Telephone Pictionary	Guess what others draw or write	Players alternate between writing phrases and sketching them.
Heads Up	Guess the word held above your head	Teammates shout hints while you guess the word on the card you’re holding.
Scattergories	Create unique answers in set topics	Players race to come up with words in categories starting with designated letters.

For more variety to spice up game nights (or parties), check out this ultimate list of party game ideas.

Why Everyone Should Play Charades

Need a reason? I’ll give you plenty.

• Team Building: It forces everyone to think creatively together. It’s perfect for breaking the ice.
• Affordable Fun: You just need scraps of paper and your imagination—no pricey board games or setups here.
• All Ages Welcome: Modify the clues for kids, adults, or even the family pet. Okay, no promises about the pet part, but you get the idea.

It’s tailor-made for big groups, family reunions, or even a quiet Friday night that could use some chaos.

So there you go, your next game night is officially sorted!

Doesn’t matter you’re all about strategy or just here to laugh at Uncle Bob pretending to be a “dancing giraffe,” charades won’t let you down.

And don’t forget the snacks. Snacks are ALWAYS good.