🎵 Guess the Song
One player gets a secret song and has to get their team to name it by humming, using just three words from the lyrics, or describing it in emojis. It is loud, silly and gets everyone singing by the end. It works for kids' parties, family evenings and mixed-age groups.
What you need
Equipment: A list of 15 to 20 well-known songs, paper for the score. Prepare a list of 15 to 20 songs your group knows, such as nursery rhymes, holiday songs and current hits. Split into two teams and set up a scoreboard.
How to play Guess the Song
- A player from Team A comes to the host and is quietly shown a song.
- The host announces the method: hum, three words or emojis.
- Hum: the player hums the tune with no words at all.
- Three words: the player says exactly three words from the song, but not from the title or the main chorus line.
- Emojis: the player describes the song in emojis, by naming them out loud or drawing them on a board.
- Their team has 30 seconds to guess the title.
- If they do not get it, the other team gets one chance to steal.
- Switch to a player from the other team and keep alternating.
Scoring and wrapping up
Scoring: Correct guess in time: 2 points. Guess in under 5 seconds: 3 points. Successful steal by the other team: 1 point.
To finish: Add up the points after 12 songs. Finish by playing the winning team's favorite song and singing it together.
By age
- Ages 6-9: stick to nursery rhymes and songs from kids' films, and use humming only.
- Ages 10-13: add current pop hits and the three-words method.
- Teens and adults: throw in throwback hits from the parents' era for a nostalgia round.
Variations
- Big group: play with three or four teams and let everyone write their guess on a whiteboard, so all teams can score at once.
- Capy twist: Capy's round. The song must be hummed while doing a silly action, such as hopping on one foot or holding your nose.
- Reverse round: the team picks a song and the host has to hum it.
Tips for the adult in charge
- The moment someone guesses, have everyone sing the first line together. It is the best part of the game.
- Show the song on a card or a phone screen rather than whispering it, so nobody mishears.
Safety
Humming and short snippets only. You do not need to play full recordings.
🖨️ Printable guess the song cards
Cut out the cards, shuffle them and hand one secretly to each performer.
- Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
- Happy Birthday to You
- Old MacDonald Had a Farm
- The Wheels on the Bus
- Row, Row, Row Your Boat
- Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
- If You're Happy and You Know It
- Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
- Jingle Bells
- The Itsy Bitsy Spider
- London Bridge Is Falling Down
- Mary Had a Little Lamb
- Five Little Monkeys
- The Hokey Pokey
- Humpty Dumpty
- Hickory Dickory Dock
- The Alphabet Song
- Bingo (There Was a Farmer Had a Dog)
- She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain
- Yankee Doodle
- Rock-a-Bye Baby
- Pop Goes the Weasel
Questions and answers
What songs work best for a guess the song game with kids?
Songs everyone has sung many times: nursery rhymes, birthday and holiday songs, and the big songs from popular kids' films.
Can we play guess the song without music?
Yes. This version needs no speaker at all. Players hum, give three words, or describe the song in emojis.
How do you make guess the song harder?
Ban the title and chorus words, cut the time to 15 seconds, or ask players to hum the song slower or faster than normal.