- Players4 or more players, in teams
- Play time20 to 40 minutes
- DifficultyBeginner friendly
- OriginFrance, 18th century, from a literary word-guessing tradition later adapted into silent acting
- You'll needSmall slips of paper, a pen, a container to hold the folded slips, and a timer.
Overview
Charades is a team party game in which one player silently acts out a word or phrase using only gestures, while their teammates race the clock to guess it correctly. With no speaking, writing, or pointing at objects in the room allowed, the game turns communication into a physical puzzle, and it reliably produces some of the more memorable, laughter-filled moments at a family gathering or party.
The word "charades" comes from a French tradition of literary riddles and wordplay games that dates back to the 18th century, which was gradually transformed in England and America into the purely physical acting game played today. Its total lack of required equipment beyond paper and a pen has helped it remain a reliable go-to game for any size of group.
What You Need
You need small slips of paper, a pen, a container such as a bowl or hat to hold the folded slips, and a way to time each round, such as a phone timer or an hourglass.
Setup
Divide the group into two or more teams. Each player writes down a handful of words or phrases (movies, books, phrases, or any agreed category) on individual slips of paper, folds them, and places them into a shared container. Teams take turns sending one player up to act, drawing slips from the container without looking.
How to Play
The acting player draws one slip, reads it silently, and then has a set amount of time — commonly one to two minutes — to act it out using only gestures, expressions, and movement, without speaking, mouthing words, writing letters in the air, or pointing at real objects. Their own team calls out guesses freely during that time. A widely used set of hand signals helps convey structure: holding up fingers for the number of words in the phrase, tugging an earlobe to indicate a word sounds like another word, chopping a hand against an arm to mark syllable breaks, and cupping a hand behind an ear to signal "sounds like." If the team guesses correctly before time runs out, they score a point (or keep the slip); if time expires, the slip typically goes back into the pool or aside for the next team.
How to Win
Play continues with teams alternating turns until either every slip has been used or a target score or time limit is reached. The team with the most correctly guessed slips, or the most points, wins the game.
Tips
- Agree on a shared set of hand signals before playing, especially the 'number of words' and 'sounds like' gestures.
- Start with the easiest, most physical part of a phrase to build early momentum for your team.
- Break long phrases into pieces and signal how many pieces you're acting out.
- Watch your teammates' guesses closely — a near-miss often just needs a small clarifying gesture.
- Choose a mix of easy and challenging entries when writing slips, so no team is stuck too long.
Common Mistakes
- Writing overly obscure or unfair phrases that are nearly impossible to act out.
- Accidentally mouthing words or letters, which is not allowed under standard rules.
- Panicking and abandoning a signal partway through instead of building on it.
- Letting one player dominate every round instead of rotating who acts.
Variations
Reverse charades has the entire team act out the same phrase together while one player guesses. Categories-only charades restricts every slip to a single theme, such as movie titles or famous people. A "Pictionary hybrid" swaps acting for drawing while keeping the same team-guessing structure and timing. Elimination-style charades removes a team from the game entirely after a set number of failed rounds, which raises the stakes considerably for larger groups. Some hosts also run a "telephone charades" version, where a phrase is acted out, guessed, then re-acted by the next player in a chain, and the group compares the final guess to the original phrase for laughs.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, standard charades rules prohibit speaking, humming, or any verbal sound; communication is limited entirely to physical gesture and expression.
Most groups either let the next team attempt to steal the answer for a bonus point, or simply return the slip to the container for a later round.
There's no single official list, but certain signals — like counting words on your fingers or tugging an ear for 'sounds like' — are widely recognized enough that most new players pick them up in the first round or two.