225 Charades Ideas for Adults and Kids, Sorted by Difficulty (Plus the Rules and Gestures)
By The Rondovo team · Published · Updated · 14 min read
The best charades ideas are things a person can show with their whole body in under a minute: animals with a habit, jobs with a tool, everyday situations that go slightly wrong. Below are 225 original charades ideas, split into easy, medium and hard, with separate lists for kids, funny ones for adults, festivals, and a forehead version where the guesser holds the word up instead of acting it.
The rules and the standard gestures come first, so a group that has never played can start in five minutes.
In short
- Easy charades (kids, warm-up rounds): animals and one-step actions, such as "a penguin sliding on its belly".
- Medium charades: jobs, sports and objects, where the actor has to mime a tool or a setting.
- Hard charades: phrases, situations with a twist and feelings, where the actor has to tell a little story.
- Funny charades for adults work best as small disasters: "losing a sock in the washing machine and finding it in your sleeve".
- Play in two teams, one minute per turn, one point per word. No speaking, no mouthing, no pointing at the real object.
How to play charades
Charades needs nothing but people. Two teams of three or more is the sweet spot, but it works with any group from four to twenty.
- Write the prompts. Use the lists below, or have each team write prompts on slips of paper for the other team. Fold them into a bowl or hat per team.
- Pick an actor. The actor draws a slip from the other team's bowl, reads it silently, and has one minute (a phone timer is fine) to get their own team to say it.
- Act without a sound. No talking, no mouthing words, no letters drawn in the air, no pointing at the actual thing in the room. Gestures, faces and movement only.
- Guess out loud. The actor's team shouts guesses. The other team stays quiet and keeps time.
- Score. One point for a correct answer in time. Teams alternate, and the actor rotates so everyone acts. Most points after an agreed number of rounds wins.
Two house rules that make it fairer: the guessing team must say the exact wording for phrases (close enough for single words), and an actor may pass once per turn if they draw something they genuinely don't know.
Standard charades gestures
These signals are shared across most households and save a lot of flailing. Agree on them before the first turn.
| What you want to say | Common gesture |
|---|---|
| It is a film | Crank an old film camera beside your head with one hand |
| It is a book | Open your two palms like a book |
| It is a song | Open your mouth as if singing, hand out like an opera singer |
| It is a TV show | Draw a rectangle in the air with two fingers |
| It is a phrase or saying | Make quote marks with your fingers |
| Number of words | Hold up that many fingers |
| Which word you are acting | Hold up fingers again (second word: two fingers) |
| Number of syllables | Lay that many fingers on your forearm |
| Sounds like | Cup a hand behind your ear |
| Small word (a, the, of) | Hold thumb and finger close together |
| Longer or plural | Pull your hands apart, like stretching gum |
| Shorter | Push your hands together |
| Right, keep going | Tap your nose and point at the person who said it |
| The whole idea | Sweep your arms in a big circle |
Our advice: skip the syllable signals with kids and with mixed groups. They slow the game down, and acting the whole idea is funnier to watch.
Easy charades ideas for kids
Everything here is a single action or an animal with one obvious habit. Good for ages five and up and for warming up an adult group.
Animals with a habit
- A penguin sliding on its belly
- A dog that has just been told "walk"
- A cat knocking a cup off a table
- A kangaroo with a heavy pocket
- A frog catching a fly with its tongue
- A crab walking sideways to the beach
- An elephant spraying water with its trunk
- A chicken pecking for corn
- A monkey peeling a banana
- A snake that smells something tasty
- An owl turning its head all the way round
- A giraffe eating from the top of a tree
- A bear scratching its back on a tree
- A fish that has jumped out of its bowl
- A bird building a nest
- A horse that will not jump the fence
- A sloth that is very late
- A bee that cannot find the flower
- A puppy meeting snow for the first time
- A tortoise winning a race
Everyday actions
- Blowing up a balloon that pops
- Putting on wellies that are too small
- Brushing a dog that does not want brushing
- Eating spaghetti that will not stay on the fork
- Building a sandcastle before the tide comes in
- Jumping in a muddy puddle
- Licking an ice lolly that is melting fast
- Brushing your teeth with a fizzy toothpaste
- Flying a kite on a windy day
- Carrying too many shopping bags
- Opening a present you do not like, politely
- Getting dressed in the dark
- Hiccupping in a quiet library
- Riding a bike with no hands, then wobbling
- Climbing a ladder that is too wobbly
- Watering a plant that grows very fast
- Being tickled
- Chasing a bubble
- Waking up and seeing it has snowed
- Hiding during hide and seek and needing to sneeze
Medium charades ideas
Here the actor has to show a tool, a place or a routine. Good for teenagers, mixed families and the second hour of a party.
Jobs
- Dentist with a nervous patient
- Pizza chef spinning the dough
- Lifeguard spotting a swimmer in trouble
- Window cleaner on a tall building
- Orchestra conductor
- Hairdresser cutting a fringe too short
- Traffic police officer at a busy junction
- Beekeeper opening a hive
- Magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat
- Tightrope walker
- Deep sea diver
- Airline pilot landing in a storm
- Postal worker chased by a dog
- Lion tamer
- Ballet teacher
- Sports referee showing a red card
- Surgeon asking for tools
- Farmer milking a cow
- Firefighter sliding down the pole
- Painter on a ladder who drops the brush
Sports and hobbies
- Weightlifting the heaviest bar in the gym
- Ice skating for the first time
- Fishing and catching an old boot
- Rowing a boat against the current
- Bowling and missing every pin
- Surfing a huge wave
- Rock climbing
- Archery
- Playing the drums at a concert
- Knitting a scarf that gets too long
- Gardening and finding a worm
- Yoga in a very small room
- Playing table tennis very fast
- Doing a jigsaw with one piece missing
- Skiing down a steep slope
- Taking a selfie with a view behind you
- Baking bread and kneading the dough
- Juggling three eggs
- Skipping rope
- Golf, and the ball goes into the pond
Objects
- An umbrella turning inside out
- A toaster
- A washing machine on spin
- A vacuum cleaner that eats a sock
- A telescope
- A pair of scissors
- An alarm clock
- A rocking chair
- A sprinkler on the lawn
- A wind-up toy that runs out
- A revolving door
- A camera with a flash
- A ceiling fan
- A jack-in-the-box
- A lawnmower that will not start
Hard charades ideas
These need a small story. The actor has to set the scene before the punchline lands, so give hard rounds 90 seconds.
Situations with a twist
- Realising you have been on mute for the whole meeting
- Trying to fold a fitted sheet
- Assembling flat-pack furniture with one screw left over
- Walking into a glass door
- Waiting for the toast to pop
- Forgetting someone's name while introducing them
- Getting the last seat on a bus, then giving it away
- Stepping on a toy brick in bare feet
- Locking yourself out in your pyjamas
- Carrying a tray of full glasses up the stairs
- Losing your car in a huge car park
- Opening a jar that will not open
- Holding the door for someone who is very far away
- Waving at someone who was waving at the person behind you
- A shopping trolley with one bad wheel
- Walking a very strong dog
- Being stuck in a lift with a stranger
- Trying to find the end of the sticky tape
- A seagull stealing your chips
- Smelling something bad in the fridge
- Falling asleep in a cinema and waking up during the loud bit
- A stage actor forgetting their line
- Untangling headphone wires
- Trying not to laugh at a serious moment
- Being the only one who did not know it was fancy dress
Feelings and ideas
- Jealousy
- Stage fright
- Homesick
- Daydreaming
- Brain freeze
- Déjà vu
- Pins and needles
- Being hangry
- Second thoughts
- Butterflies in your stomach
Sayings and phrases
- Raining cats and dogs
- Break a leg
- Spill the beans
- Let the cat out of the bag
- Over the moon
- Bite off more than you can chew
- A piece of cake
- Hit the hay
- Cold feet
- On thin ice
- Walking on eggshells
- The elephant in the room
- Cry over spilt milk
- Back to square one
- When pigs fly
Funny charades ideas for adults
Small disasters and very specific moments. These get the biggest laughs because everyone has lived them.
- Pretending to know the wine you are tasting
- Reading the terms and conditions, all of them
- Finding a forgotten note in last winter's coat
- Your sock slowly slipping off inside your shoe
- Parallel parking while people watch
- The last person in the office kitchen, deciding whether to wash the mugs
- Sneezing while holding a full cup of coffee
- Getting into a cold swimming pool very slowly
- Following a recipe that needs a pan you do not own
- Waiting for an important email and refreshing every two seconds
- A wedding guest who does not know the dance
- Trying to look busy when the boss walks past
- Eating something too hot and pretending it is fine
- Assembling a tent in the rain
- Losing a sock in the washing machine and finding it in your sleeve
- Pretending to understand the football conversation
- A dentist asking you a question with their hands in your mouth
- Tiptoeing home late past the creaky stair
- A self-checkout machine saying there is an unexpected item
- Explaining a meme to your parents
- Being the first person at a party
- Taking a group photo where nobody is ready
- Accidentally liking an old photo while scrolling
- Doing a fancy handshake with someone who wanted a hug
- Carrying a sofa round a tight corner
Festival and holiday charades ideas
Seasonal prompts for a themed night. Mix them into the main bowl or play a holiday-only round.
- Carving a pumpkin (Halloween)
- Trick or treating at a house that gives out toothbrushes
- A mummy whose bandage is unravelling
- A vampire who hates garlic bread
- Lighting diyas along a windowsill (Diwali)
- Drawing rangoli on the doorstep
- Bursting crackers and covering your ears
- Decorating a tree and finding the lights tangled (Christmas)
- Wrapping a present that is a bicycle
- Building a snowman whose head keeps falling off
- Counting down to midnight (New Year's Eve)
- Making a resolution and breaking it the same day
- Hunting for chocolate eggs in the garden (Easter)
- Watching fireworks from a hill
- Throwing coloured powder (Holi)
- Eating a big family dinner and needing a nap
- Sending a valentine card to the wrong person
- Dragon dance at a lunar new year parade
- Lighting a candle on each night (Hanukkah)
- Breaking a fast at sunset (Eid)
Film and TV charades without the titles
Acting real film titles works, but it turns charades into a trivia test, and kids lose out. Our favourite alternative is film types and famous film moments, described generically. Everyone knows them, nobody needs to have seen a particular movie. If your group does want real titles, our dumb charades movie names list has hundreds, sorted by difficulty.
- A shark film where someone sees a fin
- A heist where they crawl under the laser beams
- A superhero discovering their powers
- A space film where the oxygen is running out
- A zombie film, from the zombie's side
- A romantic comedy running through an airport
- A cowboy duel at noon
- A pirate walking the plank
- A horror film where someone goes into the basement alone
- A spy film with a gadget watch
- A dinosaur park where the fences fail
- A sports film's slow-motion winning moment
- A disaster film where the wave is coming
- A wizard school's first lesson
- A detective revealing who did it
Forehead charades ("heads up" style)
This version flips the roles. The guesser holds a word up to their forehead without looking, and the group acts it out, describes it or hums it until the guesser says it. Turns are usually 60 to 90 seconds, and the guesser tries to get as many words as possible.
The well-known app for this is Heads Up! from Warner Bros., a paid app on the App Store (around $1.99 in the US as of October 2026); Netflix members also get a separate Netflix Edition. You can play it for free with sticky notes or paper and a hat: write a word, stick it on the guesser's forehead, start a timer. Our guide to playing heads up online covers the app versions and the free ones.
These words work well because the group can act them or describe them:
- Dragon
- Volcano
- Astronaut
- Snowball fight
- Rollercoaster
- Haunted house
- Birthday cake
- Mermaid
- Robot dance
- Tornado
- Treasure map
- Sandcastle
- Skeleton
- Lighthouse
- Wedding cake
- Campfire
- Kangaroo
- Desert island
- Hot air balloon
- Tightrope walker
How to make charades harder (or easier)
Most groups settle on one difficulty and get bored after twenty minutes. Changing a rule each round keeps it fresh.
- Speed round: 30 seconds per turn, as many words as possible from the bowl.
- One word only: the actor may use just one body part (hands only, or face only).
- Team charades: two actors act the same prompt together without talking to each other.
- Opponents choose: the other team picks the prompt for your actor, which is the most fun way to play when the teams know each other well.
- For little kids: no timer, allow sounds (animal noises are half the fun), and let them whisper the prompt to a grown-up first.
- For mixed ages: pair a child with an adult as acting partners.
Playing charades online or on a TV
On a video call, charades works as long as the actor stands back so their whole body is in frame, and the prompt reaches the actor privately (a direct message from the host is the usual trick). The awkward part is keeping prompts secret and the score straight.
That is the job we built Act It Out for. It is our own take on charades: two teams, and the other team suggests and votes on the first word your actor gets each turn, so you can type in any idea from the lists above. Only the actor's screen shows it. The actor marks each correct guess or skips, turns are 60 seconds by default (the host can set 45 to 120), and each team gets three turns by default. The rest of the turn, or all of it if nobody suggests a word, comes from our own deck of 120, with up to three skips a turn. It plays with 4 to 16 people, no download, and a TV is optional. On a video call, everyone opens the room on their own device and picks "Just this screen"; the actor stays on camera for the call as usual.
For the forehead version, Face Up turns any screen into the card. You hold your screen facing the group, they give clues, and you tilt or tap to mark a correct guess or a pass. There are five decks (animals, food, famous jobs, films and shows, or everything), turns default to 90 seconds, and it plays with 3 to 12 people. Rondovo is free, and nobody needs to sign up to join.
If your group would rather talk than act, the next step is a describing game: see our guide on how to play Taboo and our game Hush. For drawing instead of acting, Scrawl is our take on draw and guess. More ideas by occasion are in family game night ideas, party games for large groups and our main party games guide.
Questions people ask
What are good charades ideas for adults?
Specific everyday disasters work best for adults: parallel parking while people watch, folding a fitted sheet, being the first to arrive at a party. They are funny because everyone recognises them, and they need acting rather than trivia. Sayings such as "walking on eggshells" make a good hard round.
What are easy charades for kids?
Animals with one habit (a penguin sliding, a frog catching a fly) and single actions (jumping in a puddle, blowing up a balloon). Skip the syllable gestures, drop the timer for under-sevens and let them make animal noises.
Can you make sounds in charades?
In standard charades, no: the actor stays silent and may not mouth words. Many families allow sound effects with young children. Agree before you start.
How many people do you need for charades?
Four is the practical minimum, two teams of two. It is best with six to twelve. With twenty or more, split into several games or play team against team with a new actor every turn.
How long should a charades turn be?
One minute for single words and easy prompts, 90 seconds for phrases and situations. In a speed round, give 30 seconds and let the actor go through as many slips as they can.
What is the forehead charades game called?
It is usually called "heads up", after the Heads Up! app, and some families call it "the sticky note game". The guesser holds the word on their forehead and the group acts or describes it.
Heads Up!, Warner Bros., Netflix and App Store are trademarks of their owners. Rondovo is not affiliated with them.