Guide on How To Play Charades Like A Pro

If you’re looking for a fun and simple party game, you'd best learn how to play Charades. Why? Charades is one of the most iconic party games. It’s easy to play, requires no outside materials, and works well for groups of varying sizes, large or small. You can play in teams or one-on-one, in adult or kid groups. It’s also easy to play the game for as long or as short an amount of time as you’d like. All of these things make it the perfect game to play at a party, as an icebreaker game, in school, or at the office.

What are the signals for Charades? What are the rules for Charades points? We’ll be teaching you all of that and more in this comprehensive guide on how to play Charades. This article will guide you on how to play Charades in teams, whether you're hosting a group of kids in the classroom or you're a bunch of fun-hungry adults. Follow our step-by-step guide on how to play Charades to join in on the action. 

Jump to Section 

• How To Play Charades Step By Step
• What Are The Signals For Charades?
• What Are The Rules For Charade Points?
• How To Play Charades For Adults
• How To Play Charades For Kids
• How To Play Charades In Teams
• Charades Ideas

How To Play Charades Step By Step

The Charades rules are very easy to pick up and follow along with. They essentially consist of four easy steps:

1. First, choose a prompt.
2. Then, act it out.
3. Next, have players guess.
4. Finally, repeat each step.

It's pretty similar to the Pictionary rules, except you act the prompts out instead of drawing them. Let's go into a bit more detail on how to play Charades step by step, then you can split the fun party game up into four easy-to-follow parts for your guests. 

1. Choose a Prompt

A prompt is a word or idea that you're going to act out. Some prompts include animals, movie characters, historical figures, titles of books or films, a song name — the list is endless. You can choose a theme to follow or a genre. Or, you can just choose randomly each round. It's totally up to you.

To see who goes first, you can play a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors or draw lots. The person who goes first can either pick the prompt or decide on their own. Just make sure that they write it down so that you know they're not cheating. 

Tip: Instead of having to decide the prompt each round, create a deck of cards or strips of paper and write out a bunch of prompts beforehand. You can also use an online word generator or even Pictionary cards to get ideas. 

2. Act it Out

Whoever's turn it is to act out their prompt, it's their time to shine. They must act out their prompt without using words or sounds, only with body motions. They can’t use symbols or try to spell anything out; they just have to try and wordlessly act like the prompt they're portraying. That means no mouthing out sounds. We have some more signals a bit further on in this article, like "sounds like." So make sure to read on. 

Most games of Charades are done on a timer, so you have a limited time to act. Your set amount of time can be anywhere from ten seconds to a minute and beyond, whatever works best for your group. 

3. Get Players to Guess

Within the time frame, get the rest of the players to guess the prompt the person is trying to act out. Everyone can guess either one-on-one or in teams. Award points when people guess correctly if you're the competitive type. 

There are two ways to see who goes next. Either the person who guesses correctly goes next, or you can go in a circle while tallying up the points. The downside of the first choice is that there could be super dominant players who keep guessing the prompt, and no one else gets to go. This option is best for the more competitive players.

4. Repeat

Repeat the process, switching out the person acting each time. That’s all there is to it! Now you’re a pro on how to play Charades. But you probably want to become an expert, so read on. 

What Are The Signals For Charades?

In Charades, you can’t use numbers, letters or symbols. You have to act out the prompt, not spell it out. Players should use hand signals to indicate the number of words, syllables, or specific words within a phrase or title. Here's are some of the more common signals you can use:

General Signals:

• Number of Words: Hold up the corresponding number of fingers to indicate how many words are in the phrase. 
• Syllables: Place your fingers on your arm to represent the number of syllables in a word. Once the guesser understands how many syllables there are, you can show them which syllable you're acting out (if you're not acting out the entire word in one go). Think of something like "sunny," where you can either act out the word or you can break it into the first syllable "sun" and the second syllable "knee."
• Which Word: If acting out a multi-word phrase, hold up the corresponding finger to show which word you are acting out, similar to what was described above, but holding the finger up and not touching your arm. 
• Sounds Like: There are two ways to do this. Either cup your hand behind your ear or tug on your earlobe to indicate the word sounds like something else. 
• Close, but not quite: Roll your hand towards you to indicate the guesser is close. 
• Longer Version: Extend your arms to show the word is longer. 
• Shorter Version: Make a chopping motion with your hand or pull them closer together. 
• Correct: Touch your nose while pointing at the person who guessed correctly. 
• Incorrect: Wave your hand in a wide sweep to start over while shaking your head. 

Specific Word Signals:

• "A": Make a steeple with your index fingers. For smaller words like this, you can also pinch your pointing finger and thumb together to show that the word is tiny. 
• "The": Form a "T" with your fingers.
• "Or": Pretend to paddle a boat (oar).
• "That": Form a "T" with your fingers and then pretend to put on a hat.
• "I": Point to your eye.
• "On": Make your index finger jump onto the palm of your other hand.
• "Off": Make your index finger jump off the palm of your other hand.
• "Plural": Link your pinky fingers.
• "Past tense": Wave your hand over your shoulder behind you.
• "Future tense": Act as though you're throwing a baseball.

Category Signals:

• Person: Stand with hands on hips.
• Action/Verb: Run in place.
• Location: Make a circle with one hand and point to it.
• Book: Pretend to read a book.
• Song: Pretend to sing.
• Movie: Pretend to turn a movie reel.
• TV Show: Draw a rectangle in the air. 

Use your whole body, from head to toes. Create funny facial expressions, flail your arms around, walk around the space, whatever gets people to guess the thing you’re trying to act as. As the guessers get warmer or colder, you may want to hold up a thumbs-up, thumbs-down, or so-so sign to guide them on the right path. Get creative and have fun with all of the signals you can think of. There are so few rules on how to play Charades, so do what works for you and your group. And of course, if you have a bestie who also wants to learn how to play Charades, you can come up with your own signals in private.

What Are The Rules For Charade Points?

One of the most important Charades rules to follow when learning how to play Charades is the points system. When players guess the word correctly, they get a point. If you want, you can award more points the less time it takes players to guess. You can also create a system where players get points for acting whenever their prompt is correctly guessed.

Play up to as many points as you’d like, or play a certain number of rounds and award the person with the most points as the winner. It’s totally up to you, and there are so many different ways to play and keep score. The flexibility of the game is one of the reasons people ask so many questions when learning how to play Charades and are surprised by how simple it really is. 

How To Play Charades For Adults

Charades can be one of the most exciting party games for adults or a great ice breaker game during a corporate event due to how open-ended it is. The guidelines for how to play Charades for adults can be a bit different. You can play as normal, but you can also include some more adult prompts. It’s okay to get a bit risque when there are no children in the room.

Joke around a bit, use dark humor and have fun with it. Act out your friends' inside jokes, some NSFW adult jokes, your favorite characters from adult TV shows or whatever fits the tone best. For an added twist, you can turn it into a drinking game where, if you don’t guess the prompt in time, all players take a shot. The most important thing is to just have fun with it; there aren’t many strict rules for Charades, so it’s an easy game to modify to your liking.

How To Play Charades For Kids

Charades can be fun with adults, but it’s also a super fun, family-friendly game for audiences of all ages. This is a fun choice for a sleepover party or a kid's birthday party because it doesn’t require any setup time, and the rules are simple to follow. It’s very easy to learn how to play Charades for kids, and the process is largely the same.

Choose a family-friendly prompt to keep everyone on the same page, something like cartoon characters or zoo animals. You can switch the category each time to keep things fresh and new. Have each kid take turns acting out the prompts and guessing, just like normal Charades. This is such an easy game that’s great for family game nights, reunions, babysitting gigs and more. 

How To Play Charades In The Classroom

Charades is a great game to play at school, and you may be wondering how to play Charades in the classroom. Teachers can easily make this game fun and inclusive for the whole class. Allow each classmate to come up and act, drawing prompts out of a hat to keep things under control. If you want, you can tailor the prompts to whatever the class is currently learning for a fun study activity that gets kids engaged and keeps them up and moving. 

How To Play Charades In Teams

Teamwork is a valuable skill that fosters growth and learning. According to Yale University, understanding how to work effectively as part of a team is crucial to success, particularly when it comes to interacting with others at work and collaborating with colleagues. With teamwork being so crucial, you may want to incorporate it into games to help develop the skill. So, if you're wondering how to play Charades in teams, this team building game is actually quite simple for any size group.

When playing Charades in teams, have two players act out the prompt simultaneously. Then, have the players try to guess what the prompt is before the other team does. This encourages player collaboration and adds an extra competitive element that makes for some even more fun Charades ideas! 

You could also have both teams guess the prompt at the same time. Or, the second team can try to guess if the first team doesn't guess in time, so that the competing team can swipe points.

How To Play Charades With A Large Group

When learning how to play Charades with a large group, consider having multiple people act at the same time so everyone has a chance to participate. Players can work together to act out a scenario and get others to guess. You can also have separate games running simultaneously, as another way to give more people the chance to participate. Large group Charades games can get hectic, but they can also be just as fun, or even more so, than other games specifically designed for large group play.

Charades Ideas

Now that you understand all there is to know about the Charades instructions, you’ll probably want some ideas for prompts. Here are some of the best Charades ideas and prompts to try when you’re first learning how to play Charades. 

1. TV Show Characters

Act out your favorite TV show or movie characters. This is a difficult Charades prompt because you typically know characters by their famous lines. Without words, you’re left to describe these characters by mannerisms alone. It’s quite the challenge, but one of the most fun prompts to try. It can be the name of the show, the character's name or the actor that plays the character. 

2. Animals

Animals are a great entry-level topic when learning how to play Charades. They’re not the most difficult thing to act out, but not too easy so that there’s no challenge in guessing. This is the perfect sweet spot and is an excellent topic for kids' or adults' games of Charades, especially if you’re working with a group of newbies. Think about how easy "bird" is, so make it harder by making the prompt a specific species of bird like "African Gray Parrot" or even "Budgie."

3. Disney Princesses

Disney princesses are some of the most iconic characters on television and the big screen, but when put to the test, do you know how to act as them? What mannerisms identify each princess beyond their lines and physical appearances? This prompt is a great one for all of the Disney nerds out there, and you can even mix things up by making the prompt princesses, princes, major characters and villains. 

4. Household Appliances

How do you act as something that doesn’t move or speak? Household appliances can be quite a tough prompt to act out, and choosing this topic can make navigating how to play Charades a fun challenge. How do you act out a toaster, a vacuum or a lawnmower? You'll need show the object's function and how it's used instead of trying to act as the object itself. Put your acting skills to the test and really challenge yourself with this fun and engaging prompt. 

5. Famous Actors

Actors, classic or modern day, are a great option that also presents the challenge of learning how to act as someone without impersonating their voice or famous lines. This is a great Charades prompt and works especially well for adult groups. Consider thinking outside the box, too. Maybe the person's name sounds like something else and you can use the "sounds like" signal, for example, Johnny Carson can be broken into "John" (act out using the toilet, that should be fun), "knee," "car," and son/sun." If you get something like "Benedict Cumberbatch," you can try to act as Dr Strange or maybe "eggs benedict," "cummerbund," and "patch" (like an eyepatch). You can see how twisted this game can get. 

6. Historical Figures

Act out your best George Washington, Van Gogh or Anne Boleyn. This prompt is ideal for all history buffs who love tales of the Civil War or Ancient Egypt. It works well for adults, but is also a great classroom prompt for history teachers, who can use it to teach their class how to play Charades while giving a history lesson, making it more memorable than just a name on a sheet of paper. 

7. Memes and Trends

Memes and trends are one of the funniest prompts to try when learning how to play Charades. Charades is meant to be a game full of fun and laughter, and this prompt is the perfect example of that. Memes and trends are ever-growing, making this an ideal prompt that will work for ages and can be applied to any era. It pairs really with What Do You Meme? 

8. Sports and Activities

Sports and activities may be one of the easiest prompts to act out, making them a pretty fun choice when navigating how to play Charades for the first time. Sports are so centered around movement, and it's easy to act out dribbling a basketball, kicking a soccer ball, swimming and more. These prompts are fun and active while being relatively easy to guess. They’re the perfect prompts for a warm-up round while you’re getting into the flow of things, and they work great if you’re learning how to play Charades in teams.  

If you’re looking for a fun family night game or a great ice breaker for a corporate event, this is it. Charades is a very simple game that’s great to play and works great for all age groups. It’s one of the most fun games to play with friends, and once you’ve learned the rules, it’s simple to decide to play anytime.

We’ve gone through the steps to play Charades, and explained how to play Charades for kids and adults, as well as how to play Charades in teams. And we’ve provided some great Charades ideas and prompts to get you started. Learning how to play Charades may be fairly easy, but there are tons of nuances and different ways to play if you want to get creative with it and switch things up a little. However you end up playing, Charades is loads of fun and is a memory-making game filled with tons of laughter. So, why not give it a go? Be sure to try Charades at your next get-together. 

For even more great party ideas, check out other experiences happening on Classpop!