Online Drawing Games With Friends: Free Pictionary Online, Games Like skribbl.io, and 60+ Words to Draw

By The Rondovo team · Published August 15, 2026 · Updated October 11, 2026 · 13 min read

The best online drawing games with friends are free and run in a browser: skribbl.io for classic one draws, everyone guesses; Gartic Phone for telephone-style chains; Drawasaurus for a quick private room. If you are all in one room with a TV, Drawful 2 is the best-known paid option, and our own drawing games (Scrawl, Spindoodle, Chain Sketch and Doodle Recall) are free and join with a four letter code.

You can also play Pictionary online free with nothing but a link. Or skip the screens entirely and play it at home with paper and a timer. Both are below, along with a word list you can use tonight.

In short

• One draws, the rest guess: skribbl.io (up to 20 players in a private room), Drawasaurus, or Scrawl if you want it on a TV.
• Draw, guess, pass it on: Gartic Phone online, or Chain Sketch when you are in the same room.
• In person with a TV and one paid copy: Drawful 2 ($9.99 as of October 2026, 3 to 8 players).
• No screens at all: home Pictionary with paper, a bowl of words and a 60 second timer. Rules and 90 words below.
• Something new: Spindoodle (the paper spins while you draw) and Doodle Recall (draw fast, then name your own scribbles from memory).

What are online drawing games?

Online drawing games are party games where you sketch on a screen and other players guess, caption or vote on what you drew. Most follow one of three patterns:

1. Draw and guess. One person draws a secret word while everyone else types guesses. Faster guesses score more. This is Pictionary online, and skribbl.io made it famous.
2. Telephone. Everyone writes a phrase, the next person draws it, the next describes the drawing, and so on. Nobody wins; you watch the chains fall apart at the end. Gartic Phone is the big one.
3. Bluff and vote. Everyone draws a strange prompt, the others invent fake titles for it, and players try to pick the real one. Drawful works this way.

Knowing which pattern you want narrows the choice fast. Draw and guess is competitive and works with 4 to 10 people. Telephone is pure comedy and gets better with more players. Bluffing suits a group that likes to talk.

The best online drawing games with friends, compared

We checked each game's own site in October 2026. Prices and player counts change, so treat these as a snapshot.

A few honest notes on the table:

• skribbl.io has the most settings. The host picks draw time (15 to 240 seconds), 2 to 10 rounds, how many word choices the drawer gets, how many letter hints appear, and three modes (Normal, Hidden and Combination). Custom words can be mixed in or used on their own, which is the easiest way to make an inside joke edition; our skribbl.io word lists are ready to paste.
• Gartic Phone tells you up front to get everyone on a voice call first. It has many task flows beyond the default (drawing only, animation, single sentence and more). With very big lobbies a single game takes a long time, because the chain has to pass through everyone.
• Drawful 2 is from Jackbox Games. Only the host buys it. Everyone else joins in a phone browser, and Jackbox lists an audience capacity of 10,000, which is why streamers use it. It is rated M (17+) by the ESRB, though it has a family friendly setting. For remote play, the host has to stream their screen on a call.
• Pictionary in the box still has things software does not: a big shared board, a sand timer, and the All Play cards where every team races on the same word.
• Rondovo's drawing games top out at 16 players, fewer than skribbl.io or Gartic Phone, and there are no public rooms with strangers. They are built for people you know, sitting together or on a call.

If you are choosing between Jackbox titles more widely, our guide to games like Jackbox compares the free options in more depth. For drawing as one part of a bigger night, see our party games list.

Games like skribbl.io

skribbl.io is the reference point for draw and guess online, so most people searching for an alternative want the same loop with one thing changed. Here is what each one changes.

Drawasaurus

Closest to skribbl.io in feel. Free, and it runs in any modern browser. The lobby lists every public room with how many players are in it, so you can drop into a game with strangers in seconds, or create a private room and send the link to your friends.

Drawize

Another free browser game in the same style. You can join a live public game or create a private room and share its code, with no sign-up either way.

Scrawl (Rondovo)

The same one draws, everyone guesses loop, built for a living room. The drawer chooses one of three words and draws on their own screen while the drawing appears live on everyone else's screen, and on the TV if you have added one. Guessers type on their own screens. The first correct guess scores 10, then 8, 6 and 4, and every later correct guess earns 3. The drawer earns 10 for each player who gets it, so a clear drawing pays more than a clever one. You can save the drawings at the end.

Spindoodle (Rondovo)

Spindoodle keeps the Scrawl scoring but puts your drawing on a round sheet of paper that spins under your pen. It starts slowly and speeds up as the clock runs down, so straight lines become spirals. When the answer is revealed the paper stops the right way up and everyone sees what you were actually trying to draw. It suits groups who have played skribbl.io a hundred times.

Gartic Phone alternatives

Gartic Phone is the telephone game: write, draw, describe, repeat, then watch the results. It is free and very good online. People look for alternatives for two reasons: they are in the same room and want the reveal on a big screen, or the group has played it so often they want a different shape of game. Our full guide to Gartic Phone alternatives compares nine; here are the short versions.

Chain Sketch (Rondovo)

Chain Sketch is a telephone game for 4 to 12 players. You pick a secret word for your book, then draw or guess whatever page is handed to you and pass it on until the book comes home. With an even number of players you draw your own word first; with an odd number your neighbour does. You only ever see the page just before yours. At the end every book is replayed page by page (on the TV if you have one, otherwise on everyone's own screen), ending on the last guess against the word. Each owner picks a favourite drawing and guess in their book, a point to each, and scores a point when the last guess matches. Three rounds make a game, so there is a winner, but the replay is still the best bit. You can save your book from your results screen.

Drawful 2

Not a telephone game, but it scratches the same itch: strange prompts, bad drawings and a lot of people explaining what they meant. Worth the $9.99 if your group plays together often and has a TV.

Doodle Recall (Rondovo)

A different idea altogether. In Doodle Recall, everyone gets the same word at the same time and draws it against the clock, with nobody seeing anyone else's drawing. After the last word you get your own drawings back, numbered, with the words hidden, and you have to name each one from memory. A point for each one you get right. It sounds easy until you are staring at your own squiggle from six words ago. It plays with as few as 2 people and takes about 8 minutes, which makes it a good opener.

How to play Pictionary at home with no kit

You do not need the box. You need paper (or a whiteboard), a pen for each team, a bowl, and a timer on any device.

Setup (5 minutes)

1. Split into two teams of two to four. With three people, form two teams of one and two, and let one person draw for both.
2. Write words on slips and fold them into the bowl. Use the lists below, or let each team write ten words for the other team.
3. Pick a target: first team to 10 points, or the most points after 30 minutes.

A turn

1. One player from the team draws a slip and looks at it alone.
2. Start the 60 second timer. The drawer sketches while teammates shout guesses.
3. A correct guess before time is up wins the point. Pass the pen to the next teammate and the turn moves to the other team.

What the drawer cannot do

The classic rules are strict, and they keep the game fair:

• No letters or numbers in the drawing.
• No talking, mouthing or gestures. Nodding at a close guess is usually allowed at home, so agree on that first.
• No secret signals. The classic rules sheet specifically bans dashes for the number of letters and drawing an ear to mean "sounds like".

House rules worth trying

• All play. Every tenth slip, both teams' drawers draw the same word at once. First team to shout it wins the point and goes next.
• Steal. If time runs out, the other team gets one guess to steal the point.
• Kids' handicap. Younger players get 90 seconds, or can use one gesture per turn.

Words to draw: Pictionary word list by difficulty

We wrote these for this page. Easy words are single objects a seven year old can draw. Medium words need a little scene. Hard words are ideas, phrases or things that look like other things.

Easy (25 words)

1. Umbrella
2. Snail
3. Kite
4. Toothbrush
5. Cactus
6. Ladder
7. Volcano
8. Lollipop
9. Spider web
10. Rocket
11. Mushroom
12. Glasses
13. Anchor
14. Sandwich
15. Rainbow
16. Igloo
17. Octopus
18. Key
19. Bicycle
20. Candle
21. Sock
22. Penguin
23. Tent
24. Moon
25. Teapot

Medium (25 words)

1. Lighthouse
2. Haircut
3. Fire drill
4. Scarecrow
5. Treasure map
6. Shipwreck
7. Bedtime story
8. Parachute
9. Roller coaster
10. Waterfall
11. Pillow fight
12. Car wash
13. Puppet show
14. Hot air balloon
15. Bubble bath
16. Escalator
17. Sunburn
18. Fishing trip
19. Haunted house
20. Stage fright
21. Treehouse
22. Picnic
23. Ice skating
24. Snoring
25. Magician

Hard (25 words)

1. Jet lag
2. Gravity
3. Daydream
4. Homesick
5. Echo
6. Traffic jam
7. Brainstorm
8. Time travel
9. Allergy
10. Overtime
11. Second hand
12. Peer pressure
13. Shortcut
14. Gossip
15. Rush hour
16. Breaking news
17. Lost and found
18. Rumour
19. Deadline
20. Wishful thinking
21. Hibernation
22. Nightmare
23. Generation gap
24. Comeback
25. Small talk

Themed set: a holiday away (15 words)

Good for a summer party or a family that just got back from a trip.

1. Passport
2. Suitcase
3. Sandcastle
4. Postcard
5. Snorkel
6. Sun lounger
7. Ferry
8. Room service
9. Missed flight
10. Souvenir
11. Map reading
12. Flip-flops
13. Campfire
14. Seasick
15. Hotel pool

Need more? Our Pictionary words list has 373 by difficulty and theme, and our Christmas party games page has a Christmas set.

How to draw faster

Most drawing game turns are lost in the first ten seconds, not the last. These help.

• Draw the category first. A rectangle with a play button says "film". A plate says "food". Guessers then search the right part of their brain.
• Start with the shape everyone knows. For "lighthouse", the tall striped tower comes before the sea and the beam. Detail can wait.
• Draw big and simple. Fill the space. Stick figures are fine. Shading wastes time.
• Use arrows and circles. Circle the part that matters ("this one!"). An arrow from a sun to a sad face reads as "sunburn".
• Split hard words into pictures. For "homesick", draw a house and a person being ill. For "brainstorm", a brain with a cloud and rain. This is fair play: you are drawing two things, not using a secret code.
• Cross things out. A big X over a cat next to a dog tells guessers they are close but wrong. (On paper, the classic rules say an X can never stand for a letter.)
• Give up on a bad start. In a 60 second turn, if nobody is close after 20 seconds, wipe and try a different angle.

Online, use the tools sparingly. Every colour change costs a second or two, and one colour is usually enough.

How to guess better

• Say everything out loud (or type it, online). The drawer cannot tell you that you are warm unless you say something.
• Name the category, then narrow. "Animal. Sea animal. Octopus." is faster than waiting for the full drawing.
• Use the letter hints. Online games like skribbl.io show the word's length as blanks. A seven letter blank rules out a lot.
• Try word forms. If "skate" is not taking, try "skating", "skater", "ice skating". Some online games only accept the exact word.
• Watch the drawer, not just the drawing. What they draw first is usually the most important part.

What to play when

• Four friends, online, after dinner: skribbl.io private room, 80 second turns, 3 rounds.
• Eight or more on a call who mostly want to laugh: Gartic Phone.
• Family at a table with no screens: home Pictionary with the easy list, then medium.
• Party with a TV and a dozen people: Scrawl for two rounds, then Chain Sketch. Our list of party games for large groups has more for bigger crowds.
• Group that has played every drawing game: Spindoodle, then Doodle Recall as a tiebreaker.
• No console, just a smart TV: see TV games without a console for how to get any browser game on the big screen.

Questions people ask

Is there a free Pictionary online?

Yes. skribbl.io, Drawasaurus and Drawize are free browser versions of draw and guess, and none needs an account. Rondovo's Scrawl is free too: everyone sees the drawing on their own screen, and on a TV if you add one. The official Pictionary name belongs to Mattel's board game, so online versions use other names.

What is the best game like skribbl.io?

For the same experience with fewer settings, Drawasaurus. For a group in one room with a TV, Scrawl. For a twist on the format, Spindoodle or Gartic Phone.

How many people can play skribbl.io?

A private skribbl.io room can be set for 2 to 20 players, as of October 2026. Public rooms fill with strangers.

Is Drawful free?

No. Drawful 2 costs $9.99 on Jackbox Games' own store and on the major consoles and PC stores as of October 2026, with frequent sales. Only the host needs a copy; players join free on their phones.

Can you play Gartic Phone in person?

Yes. Everyone opens the game on their own phone or laptop and joins the same room. It is designed for a voice call, so in person you just skip the call. If you want the end replay on a TV in the same room, Chain Sketch does that when you add a TV to the room.

What is a good drawing game for kids?

Home Pictionary with the easy list above, or a private room in any online game so you control who joins and which words appear. Public rooms on free sites can have rude drawings and chat, so younger kids are better off in private rooms.

Draw something tonight

Every game here is a good night in. If your group is together, or on a call, and you want to try ours, open Scrawl, share the four letter code, and start drawing as soon as everyone is in. It is free, and guests do not need an account or a download. On a video call, everyone picks "Just this screen" and sees the drawing on their own device, so nobody has to share a screen.

skribbl.io, Gartic Phone, Gartic, Drawful, Jackbox Games, Pictionary, Mattel, Drawasaurus, Drawize and ESRB are trademarks of their owners. Rondovo is not affiliated with them.