Charades

Players and equipment

Four or more, in two or more teams — uneven teams are fine. Nothing but the phones: every word the game deals is on the app, and the clock runs on it.

Turns run on the turn timer. A minute is the usual allowance; the host can change it from the Host tab.

The deal

The words come from a pack, or the table writes them. With a pack, nobody writes anything and the game starts when the host says.

With our own words, everyone writes five in secret — things to act, sayings, films, the harder the better — and you write for the other team: a team is never dealt a word one of its own members wrote. If the teams are different sizes each team's words are cut to the smallest team's count when the game starts, so every team faces the same number, and the host's screen says how many were set aside.

A word goes in once. If two players write the same word the later copy is dropped and the first stays.

Play

One player acts, their own team guesses, and the clock runs. Each word the team gets leaves the pile. A word you cannot get is skipped and goes to the bottom of the pile, so every other word comes round before it does. When the bell goes, the word on screen goes back and the next team takes over.

Act it out

No words, no sounds, no pointing at things in the room. Everything else is allowed: the number of words on your fingers, a hand to your ear for sounds-like, a box drawn in the air for a film.

The turn passes from team to team in order, and within a team to whoever has acted least, so everybody gets the same number of goes. With our own words each team has its own pile — the words the others wrote — and a team whose pile runs out sits out until the round ends.

Scoring

A word guessed

1

One point for the acting team

A word skipped

0

Back in the pile, no penalty

The Play tab keeps the tally as it happens: a column per team and the match total.

A worked match

Four players in two pairs: Alice and Cara are Dog, Ben and Dev are Fox, and the pack deals twenty words.

Alice, Dog

4

Four guessed, one skipped

Ben, Fox

3

Three guessed; the word on screen at the bell goes back

Cara, Dog

5

Five guessed, including the one Alice skipped

Dev, Fox

4

Four guessed

Alice, Dog

4

The last four, and the pile is empty with time to spare

Match

20

Dog 13, Fox 7

Dog wins by six words. The next match deals twenty fresh words from the pack.

Ending

The match ends when every word has been guessed. Most words wins; a tie is shared. End match files the result, and the next match deals again.

Words worth writing

Write for the other team, because that is who gets them. A word that can be mimed in one movement is a gift; a word with no shape to it — an idea, a feeling — is a lost minute. Films and sayings are the sweet spot: hard to get in one go, easy once the first word lands.

Acting under the clock

Give the shape first: how many words, which one you are doing, a category sign. Then act the easiest word, not the first. If the guesses are close, nod and keep going; if they are wrong, shake your head once and change tack rather than repeating the same mime harder. A skip costs no points, only time — skip when you are stuck, not when the word is hard.

Guessing

Say everything. The actor cannot tell you what is wrong, only whether you are close, so a stream of guesses gives them something to nod at. Listen for the category sign and stick to it: a film clue answered with a song title is a wasted ten seconds.

The library or your own words

The default deals from the app's library — actions, objects, people, films, whatever the host ticks on the Host tab — so the game starts the moment the host presses Start. Our own words takes a minute of writing first and rewards a table that knows each other.

Longer turns

A minute suits a table that has played before. Ninety seconds is kinder to a first-time actor, and thirty makes a brutal short game.

Three or more teams

Six or more can play in three teams. The turn still goes round the teams in order, and with our own words each team's pile is the words the other two wrote.

What are the rules of charades?

One player acts out a word or phrase in silence and their team guesses it before the time runs out. No speaking, no sounds, no pointing at things in the room; hand signs for the number of words, a film or a sounds-like clue are allowed. A point a word.

How do you play charades on your phone?

Every player opens the table on their own phone. The words come from a pack, or everyone types some in secret; the app deals a word to the actor's phone, runs the clock and keeps the score, and nobody else sees the word until it is guessed.

Can you make noises in charades?

No. Charades is silent: no words, no humming, no sound effects. Some tables allow a snap of the fingers for "close" — agree it before you start.

How long is a turn?

A minute is the usual allowance and the default here; the host can change it on the Host tab. The same allowance applies to every turn in the match.

How do you sign a film in charades?

Draw a box in the air with both hands, then hold up fingers for the number of words in the title, then hold up fingers again for which word you are about to act.

What happens with uneven teams?

The turn goes round the teams in order and, within a team, to whoever has acted least, so a smaller team's players act more often. With our own words the bigger team's words are trimmed so every team faces the same number.