🎉 Drawing games

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You don't need artistic talent to enjoy drawing games. You just need to be ready to laugh at the result. This collection has ideas for art teachers, preschool staff and birthday party hosts.

Drawing games are great for kids who don't like speaking in front of everyone, because the page speaks for them. They work on a rainy day, in a quiet corner at a party or as a warm-up at a club, and all you need is paper and markers. The key is to pick a game where the funny result is part of the fun: drawing with your eyes closed, a drawing chain where each player adds a part without seeing the last, or drawing a random topic. That way even the kid who is sure they 'can't draw' has a great time.

Practical tip: limit each drawing to a minute or two with a timer. Short time takes away the pressure to draw something 'nice' and keeps the pace fast and funny.

Our top picks

🙈 Blind Drawing: Eyes closed and one instruction, like 'draw a house with two windows and a tree'. The gallery at the end is half the fun.
🖊️ Drawing Telephone: Telephone with pictures: the word passes from drawing to drawing until it becomes something else entirely.
✏️ Describe and Draw: A communication game in pairs. One describes shapes and positions, the other tries to draw it without looking.
🧟 Fold-and-Draw Monsters: A page folded in three: head, body and legs drawn by three different players.
🖍️ Drawing Chain: Everyone draws, passes and adds. The finished pictures are always a surprise.

All 5 games

Describe and DrawAges 6+ · 2-20 players · 10-15 min Drawing ChainAges 6+ · 4-20 players · 10-15 min Blind DrawingAges 6+ · 4-20 players · 10-15 min Drawing TelephoneAges 7+ · 6-20 players · 10-15 min Fold-and-Draw MonstersAges 5+ · 4-20 players · 10-15 min

Questions and answers

Do I need special supplies for drawing games?

No. A sheet of paper and a marker or pencil per player is enough for most games. A whiteboard is handy when you want the whole group to watch a drawing live.

How do I play drawing games with preschoolers?

Choose simple, familiar topics like animals or fruit, skip the scoring, and show all the drawings at the end as a little art show.

How do I run drawing games with a large group?

Split into groups of four to six and give each group a stack of paper. In Drawing Chain and Drawing Telephone all the groups play at once, and the leader just gives topics and keeps time.