Spindoodle: Spinning Paper Drawing and Guessing Game
Draw the word on a round sheet of paper that spins under your pen. Everyone else guesses on their own screen.
Party · 3 to 16 players · about 10 minutes · free to host, nothing to download, TV optional
About the game
Drawing a cat is easy. Drawing one on a sheet of paper that keeps turning under your pen is not, and that is the whole joke of Spindoodle. The round paper starts slowly, one full turn every 20 seconds, and speeds up until it spins once every 4 seconds as the clock runs out. Lines you draw slowly come out curly.
It suits 3 to 16 players and a game runs about 10 minutes, with 5 to 10 the sweet spot. A TV turns the spinning sheet into a show for the whole room, but it plays fine without one: everyone picks “Just this screen”, which is also the way to play on a video call.
How to play
- When it is your turn, choose one of three words and draw it on the round paper on your screen. The paper spins while you draw, slowly at first, then faster as the clock runs down. Everyone watches it spin.
- Everyone else types guesses on their own screen. Correct guesses score 10, 8, 6, then 4 points in arrival order; later correct guesses earn 3. The drawer earns 10 points for each player who gets it.
- The answer appears when everyone has guessed or time runs out, and the paper stops the right way up so everyone sees what the curly drawing really was. Everyone draws once per round. Highest total after the last round wins.
Open a room for Spindoodle. No app, no accounts, free to host.
Tips to play well
- Draw fast, in short strokes. A long, slow line gets bent by the turning paper, while a quick dab lands roughly where you aimed.
- Get the main shape down early, while the paper is still slow. The last seconds spin fastest, so save them for one small detail or nothing at all.
- If your pen goes past the edge, the line runs along the rim instead of off the paper. Use the rim as a ready-made circle for a sun, a plate or a clock face.
- Scoring is the same as Scrawl: 10, 8, 6 and 4 for the first four right answers, 3 after that, and 10 to the drawer for each player who gets it. Wrong guesses cost nothing, so keep typing.
Host settings
- Seconds to draw: 30 to 120 seconds in steps of 10, default 60. The paper speeds up across the whole clock, so a longer turn means a gentler build to the fastest spin.
- Rounds: From 1 to 5, and everyone draws once per round. The default is 2, or 1 when 8 or more are playing.
- Words: Easy, Medium, Hard or Mixed (the default), from the same word list as Scrawl.
Questions people ask
Does the paper spin for the guessers too?
Yes. Everyone watches the same sheet turn, on the TV or on their own screen. At the reveal it stops the right way up, and the gallery at the end shows every drawing upright.
What if spinning things make me feel queasy?
If your device is set to reduce motion, the paper turns at 40 percent of the normal speed on your screen. It never stops completely, because the spin is the game.
How is it different from Scrawl?
Same words, timers, scoring and bots. The only change is the round, spinning paper, which makes the drawings worse and the guessing funnier.
Can we add computer players?
Yes, the host can add bots. Their doodles are shrunk to fit the round sheet and curl as it turns, just like a person’s do.
Similar games
- Scrawl: Draw on your screen, it appears on the TV, everyone else guesses on theirs. 3 to 16 players, about 15 minutes.
- Doodle Recall: Everyone draws the same words against the clock. Then name your own drawings from memory. 2 to 16 players, about 8 minutes.
- Chain Sketch: Pick a secret word, draw, guess, pass it on. Every book comes home and the TV replays it. 4 to 12 players, about 30 minutes.
Guides
- 373 Pictionary Words and Ideas for Kids and Adults, by Difficulty and Theme (Plus a Dice Generator): 373 original Pictionary words and ideas by difficulty and theme, how to play with paper and a pen, and a way to pick random words with two dice.
- skribbl.io Word Lists: 600 Custom Words Ready to Paste, by Theme: 15 skribbl.io custom word lists of 40 words each, comma separated and ready to paste: funny, kids, adults, office, hard and more, plus setup tips.
- Online Drawing Games With Friends: Free Pictionary Online, Games Like skribbl.io, and 60+ Words to Draw: The best online drawing games with friends compared (skribbl.io, Gartic Phone, Drawful 2 and more), plus home Pictionary rules and 60+ words to draw.
- Party Games: 62 of the Best Party Games for Any Group, Room and Mood (With a Chooser): 62 of the best party games, sorted by group size, energy, setting and props, each with players, time, what you need and how to play.