🤹 Charades
One player acts out a word or title without speaking, and their team races to guess it before the timer runs out. Charades is a classic for good reason: it needs almost nothing, works for every age, and always ends in laughter.
What you need
Equipment: Word slips, a hat or bowl, a timer. Write 30 to 40 words on slips and put them in a hat: animals, jobs, films, actions and objects. Split into two teams, prepare a timer and a scoreboard, and clear a space to perform.
How to play Charades
- A player from Team A draws a slip. Only they see it.
- Start a 60-second timer.
- The player acts out the word using movement only: no talking, no sounds and no writing letters in the air.
- Classic signals are allowed: fingers for the number of words, cranking a camera for a film, opening hands like a book for a book title, tugging an ear for "sounds like".
- Their team guesses out loud. If they get it, the player draws a new slip and keeps going in the same minute.
- The other team stays completely silent. Anyone who gives hints loses that round.
- When the minute is up, count how many slips the team solved.
- Any unsolved slip goes back into the hat.
Scoring and wrapping up
Scoring: Each word guessed: 1 point for the team and 1 for the performer. Guessed in under 10 seconds: 2 points. Breaking the rules: minus 1 point.
To finish: Play until everyone has performed at least twice, then add up the points. A fun finish: one word that the whole group acts out together.
By age
- Ages 6-8: animals and simple actions only, with the adult helping the guessers.
- Ages 9-12: jobs, films and more complicated situations.
- Ages 13+: whole phrases, sayings and book titles.
Variations
- Big group: two teams with a stopwatch. Each team guesses only its own performer, and you count how many slips they get through in three minutes.
- Capy twist: one in every five turns must be acted out in extreme slow motion.
- Pairs charades: two players act out the same word together without talking to each other.
Tips for the adult in charge
- Make two piles, easy and hard, so you can match the slip to the player and never leave anyone stuck.
- Teach the hand signals before you start and practice them once together.
🖨️ Printable charades word cards for kids
Cut out the cards, fold them and put them in a hat. Split into easy and hard piles if your ages are mixed.
- Elephant
- Monkey
- Penguin
- Kangaroo
- Snake
- Chicken
- Brushing your teeth
- Riding a bike
- Swimming
- Building a snowman
- Eating spaghetti
- Flying a kite
- Firefighter
- Doctor
- Chef
- Astronaut
- Hairdresser
- Soccer player
- Umbrella
- Telephone
- Guitar
- Camera
- Superhero
- Robot
Questions and answers
What are the hand signals in charades?
Hold up fingers for the number of words, tap your forearm with fingers for syllables, crank an old movie camera for a film, open your hands like a book for a book, and tug your ear for "sounds like".
What are good charades words for kids?
Things they can act out easily: animals like an elephant or a monkey, actions like brushing teeth, jobs like a firefighter, and objects like an umbrella.
How many people do you need for charades?
At least four, so you can have two teams of two. It works with up to 20.