Free Charades
Game Generator

One phone, the whole room plays. Pass it to the actor — everyone else guesses out loud. So easy!

30, 60, or 90 seconds. Visual ring counts down. Turns red when time's almost up — the pressure is real! 😅

No pen and paper needed! We track every team's score automatically after each turn.

Inside jokes, friends' names, your dog's name — add custom words to make it personal and hilarious!

No install, no signup, no weekly subscription. Just open the site and play. That's it!

Every word is actually actable! No "bathroom scale" nonsense. Only fun, playable words and phrases.

Family night, office party, bachelorette, kids birthday, Christmas — there's a perfect category for every event!

Too hard? Skip it! Skipped words don't count against you. Move to the next word and keep the energy going!

After each turn, see every word — which ones you got, which ones you skipped. Perfect for bragging rights! 😂

One player acts out a word or phrase without speaking. Their team shouts guesses. Every correct guess before the timer runs out is one point.

The actor cannot speak, whisper, hum, or make sound effects. Clapping and finger-snapping are usually banned too, unless your group agrees otherwise.

No drawing letters in the air and no mouthing the word. Acting it out is the whole challenge.

Pointing at a real lamp to get “lamp” is too easy. Most groups allow pointing at people or body parts, but not at things in the room.

Each turn lasts a set time — 60 seconds is the classic choice. Our generator lets you pick 30, 60, or 90 seconds and counts down on screen.

Teams alternate. Inside each team, the actor role rotates so everyone gets a turn in the spotlight.

One point per word guessed. Skipped words do not cost points in our generator. After the agreed number of rounds, the team with the most points wins.

Hold up fingers to show how many words are in the title or phrase.

Hold up fingers again to show which word you are acting, such as two fingers for the second word.

Lay fingers on your forearm to show how many syllables a word has.

Cup a hand behind your ear, then act out a word that rhymes with the one you want.

Pretend to crank an old-fashioned film camera beside your head.

Put your palms together, then open them like a book.

Draw a rectangle in the air with both index fingers.

Pretend to sing with your hand out, like a performer on stage.

Pretend to pull open a theater curtain.

Pinch your thumb and finger close together for short words like “a,” “the,” or “of.”

Tap your nose and point at the person who just guessed it right.

Sweep your arms in a big circle to show you are acting out the entire phrase at once.

See every common signal with tips in our guide to charades hand signals, or read the complete how to play charades guide.

Use any video app your group already has. Ask everyone to switch to gallery view so they can see the actor clearly.

The actor opens this page on their phone, picks a category, and keeps the phone out of camera view. The word only shows on their screen.

Have the host pin or spotlight the actor so their video fills everyone’s screen.

Act from far enough away that your head, arms, and upper body are all in the frame. Good lighting in front of you helps a lot.

Guessers can unmute and shout, or type guesses in the chat if the group is big and the call gets noisy.

Pick a host to track points. Or let each team’s actor use the built-in score tracker in our generator.

Our full guide to virtual charades on Zoom covers big groups, breakout rooms, and team scoring.

Two to four teams, a big category like Movies or Mixed Bag, and 60-second turns. Need team ideas? Try our list of charades team names.

Pick Kids, Animals, or Disney so the youngest players can join in. Our family charades guide has more ideas for mixed ages.

Charades builds vocabulary and gets kids moving. Use Animals or Actions for younger grades and add your own spelling words with custom words. See our classroom charades guide.

Use the Office Party category for laughs that stay work-friendly. It works as a quick icebreaker before a meeting, too. More in office party charades.

Passengers act out words using only their hands and faces while staying buckled in. The driver guesses but never acts. See our road trip charades rules.

Switch to the Christmas or Halloween category for seasonal fun. Browse more holiday charades ideas.

With 20 or more people, split into four teams and keep turns short. Our guide to charades for large groups explains how.

Skip teams: one person acts, the other guesses, then swap and compare totals. Full rules in charades for two players.

Start with easy, silly words and let shy players act in pairs. Read charades for shy people for more tips.

Show the number of words first, then act the easiest word. Your team can often guess the rest from one clue.

Big moves are easier to read than tiny ones. Stand where everyone can see you.

If one idea is not working after ten seconds, switch tactics. Act what the thing does instead of what it looks like.

Stuck on a hard word? Skip it. In our generator a skip costs nothing, and momentum matters more than one word.

Shout every idea, even wrong ones. The actor can nod or point when you get close.

Add custom words like friends’ names, family jokes, or your pet’s name. Those turns get the biggest laughs.

Open Charades Game Generator in any browser, choose your teams and a category, and press play. The actor sees the word on screen, acts it out without talking, and their team guesses before the timer runs out. Scores are tracked for you.

Yes. Everyone joins one call, the actor opens the generator on their own phone so only they see the word, and the host pins the actor’s video. Guessers shout answers or type them in the chat.

You can play with just two people, but charades is most fun with four or more. Our generator supports 2 to 4 teams, and big groups can simply make bigger teams.

Yes. It is free to play, with no app to download and no signup.

Most games last 20 to 45 minutes. With 60-second turns, each turn takes about a minute plus a short break to pass the phone, so you can decide how long to play by choosing how many rounds you want.

The actor cannot talk, make sounds, spell, mouth words, or point at objects. They use gestures and acting to get their team to say the exact word or phrase before time runs out. Each correct guess is one point.

The actor cannot. Guessers can talk as much as they like, and they should — calling out every idea helps the actor steer the team toward the answer.

Skip it. In our generator, skipped words do not count against your team, so you can move straight to the next one.

Yes. Pick the Kids, Animals, or Disney category, use longer turns, and let younger kids act with a partner. Our charades rules for kids guide has simple steps for little ones.

No. Charades Game Generator runs in your phone’s web browser, so you can start a game in seconds without installing anything.