Emoji Charades: 60 Emojis to Act Out (A Modern Twist)
Updated October 13, 2026
Charades for the Texting Generation
We communicate in emojis all day โ so why not act them out? Emoji charades is a fresh, modern spin on the classic game where players perform a popular emoji and their team guesses which one. It's a huge hit with teens, bridges the digital and physical worlds, and makes for a surprisingly hilarious phones-down party game.
This guide gives you 60 emoji charades ideas sorted by difficulty, plus how-to-act-it-out tips, fun variations, and a plan for any crowd. Time to bring your texting life to life!
How Emoji Charades Works
Instead of a movie or word, the actor gets an emoji to perform using only their face and body โ no sound, no spelling. Their team shouts out the emoji ("crying laughing!", "thumbs up!"). It's especially fun because so much of emoji meaning lives in facial expressions, which makes the acting wonderfully over-the-top.
Easy Emoji Charades
Classic emojis everyone uses daily:
๐ Crying laughing ยท ๐ Heart eyes ยท ๐ Thumbs up ยท ๐ญ Sobbing ยท ๐ Cool sunglasses ยท ๐ก Angry ยท ๐ค Thinking ยท ๐ด Sleeping ยท ๐ Eye roll ยท ๐ฑ Screaming ยท ๐ค Hugging ยท ๐ Yum ยท ๐ Waving ยท ๐คฆ Facepalm ยท ๐ฅณ Party
Medium Emoji Charades
Emojis that need a bit more creative acting:
๐คฏ Mind blown ยท ๐คข Nauseous ยท ๐ค Zipped lips ยท ๐ฅถ Freezing ยท ๐ฅต Hot/sweating ยท ๐คช Goofy ยท ๐ฌ Grimace ยท ๐ Praying/please ยท ๐คท Shrug ยท ๐ Smirk ยท ๐คซ Shush ยท ๐ค Nerd ยท ๐ Mischievous ยท ๐ซ Melting ยท ๐ฅน Holding back tears
Hard Emoji Charades
Trickier or object emojis for competitive crowds:
๐ฆ Unicorn ยท ๐ฎ Taco ยท ๐ Skull ยท ๐ฅ Fire ยท ๐ Rainbow ยท ๐ Peach ยท ๐ Party popper ยท ๐ป Ghost ยท ๐คก Clown ยท ๐ฆ Dinosaur ยท โฐ Alarm clock ยท ๐ช Boomerang ยท ๐ง Brain ยท ๐ซถ Heart hands ยท ๐ช๏ธ Tornado
Emoji Phrase Charades (For Texters)
Act out the emoji combos people actually text:
๐๐ (That's hilarious, agreed) ยท ๐๐ฅ (Looking amazing) ยท ๐๐ค (So annoyed) ยท ๐ด๐ค (So tired) ยท ๐ค๐ญ (Let me think) ยท ๐ฅณ๐ (Let's celebrate) ยท ๐ญโค๏ธ (Happy tears) ยท ๐คทโโ๏ธ๐คท (No idea) ยท ๐โ (Spilling the tea) ยท ๐๐ (Dead from laughing)
Bonus: Animal & Food Emoji Charades
Fifteen more single emojis to act out. Animals are great for little kids, and food emojis get surprisingly silly:
๐ Octopus ยท ๐ฆฉ Flamingo ยท ๐ง Penguin ยท ๐ฆ Kangaroo ยท ๐ Snake ยท ๐ฆ Crab ยท ๐ Monkey ยท ๐ฆ Giraffe ยท ๐ Spaghetti ยท ๐ฆ Ice cream cone ยท ๐ Watermelon ยท ๐ญ Hot dog ยท ๐ Pizza ยท ๐ฅจ Pretzel ยท ๐ฟ Popcorn
Emoji Movie, Song & Phrase Charades with Answers
This is the other way to play emoji charades: show (or text) an emoji clue, and players guess the movie, song, or saying it stands for. You can also hand the clue to an actor and have them perform it, charades style, while the team guesses. Answers are in the right-hand column, so cover it up if you're the one guessing!
Emoji Movie Charades
| Emoji clue | Answer |
|---|---|
| ๐ฆ๐ | The Lion King |
| โ๏ธ๐ธโ | Frozen |
| ๐ ๐ | Finding Nemo |
| ๐ค ๐งธ๐ | Toy Story |
| ๐๐ ๐ด | Up |
| ๐ท๏ธ๐ง | Spider-Man |
| ๐ฆ๐๏ธ | Jurassic Park |
| โก๐๐ง | Harry Potter |
| ๐๐จโ๐ณ | Ratatouille |
| ๐ผ๐ฅ | Kung Fu Panda |
| ๐โต๐ง | Moana |
| ๐ซ๐ญ | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory |
Want more film ideas to act out? Our movie charades words list has plenty.
Emoji Song Charades
| Emoji clue | Answer |
|---|---|
| โ๏ธ๐ | Here Comes the Sun |
| โญโจ | Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star |
| ๐๐๐ถ | Happy Birthday |
| ๐๐ง | Mary Had a Little Lamb |
| ๐ท๏ธ๐ง๏ธ | Itsy Bitsy Spider |
| ๐๐ | Jingle Bells |
| ๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ฃ | Row, Row, Row Your Boat |
| ๐โฌ๏ธ | Somewhere Over the Rainbow |
| ๐ก๐ข | Yellow Submarine |
| ๐๐ | Dancing Queen |
More music rounds live in our song charades guide.
Emoji Phrase & Idiom Charades
| Emoji clue | Answer |
|---|---|
| ๐ง๏ธ๐ฑ๐ถ | Raining cats and dogs |
| ๐๐ | The elephant in the room |
| ๐ง๐จ | Break the ice |
| โฐ๐ฐ | Time is money |
| ๐๐๏ธ | The apple of my eye |
| ๐ต๐ | Once in a blue moon |
| ๐ฑ๐ | Let the cat out of the bag |
| ๐ฅ๐งบ | Don't put all your eggs in one basket |
| ๐ฐ | A piece of cake |
| ๐ฆ๐ฌ | Butterflies in my stomach |
Christmas Emoji Charades
| Emoji clue | Answer |
|---|---|
| ๐ฆ๐ด๐ | Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer |
| ๐ ๐ท | Santa's sleigh |
| ๐ช๐ฅ | Cookies for Santa |
| ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฆ | Home Alone |
| โ๐ฉ | Frosty the Snowman |
| ๐โญ | Star on top of the tree |
For a full holiday game night, pair these with our Christmas movie charades.
Work & Office Emoji Charades
| Emoji clue | Answer |
|---|---|
| ๐๐ค | You're on mute |
| ๐ ๐ป | Working from home |
| โ๐ง | Coffee and morning emails |
| ๐ ๐ | Another meeting |
| ๐๐ | Office pizza party |
| โฐ๐ด | Monday morning |
That's 44 emoji puzzles with answers on top of the emojis above. Pick one category per round, or mix them for a wild-card round.
How to Act Out Tricky Emojis
It's all about the face plus one signature gesture. Coach your players with these:
| Emoji | How to Act It Out |
|---|---|
| ๐ Crying laughing | Slap your knee, point, wipe away tears while laughing |
| ๐คฏ Mind blown | Wide eyes, then "explode" your hands off your head |
| ๐ Eye roll | Big exaggerated eye roll with a sigh and head tilt |
| ๐คซ Shush | Finger to lips with a sneaky lean-in |
| ๐ฆ Unicorn | A horn on your forehead, prance gracefully |
| ๐ฅ Fire | Flicker your fingers upward like flames |
| ๐ Skull | Cross your eyes, tongue out, go limp ("I'm dead") |
| ๐คท Shrug | Palms up, shoulders to ears, clueless face |
| ๐ฅถ Freezing | Shiver, hug yourself, chatter your teeth |
| ๐คก Clown | Honk a nose, big floppy smile, goofy walk |
Pro tip: Emoji charades lives in the face. Encourage huge, theatrical expressions โ the more over-the-top, the faster (and funnier) the guess.
Fun Emoji Charades Variations
- Combo Round: Act out two-emoji text combos (๐๐, ๐๐ฅ).
- Reaction Round: Only face-based emojis โ pure expression challenge.
- Object Round: Object emojis only (taco, fire, rainbow) โ harder, no faces to help.
- Speed Emoji: 30-second rounds blitzing through as many as possible.
- Text Story: Act out a short "text conversation" of 3 emojis in a row.
How to Play Emoji Charades on Zoom or Teams
Emoji charades works really well on video calls because everyone's face is already front and center. Here's a simple way to run it:
- Split into teams. Use breakout rooms, or just play as two teams on one call and take turns.
- Send the actor a private prompt. The host sends an emoji in a private chat message, or the actor opens the charades generator on their phone so the screen stays hidden.
- Act it out on camera. Ask the actor to sit back a little so their face and hands fit in the frame. Big faces, no sound.
- Guess in the chat or out loud. Chat guessing is great for big groups, since the first correct message wins the point.
- Keep rounds short. Sixty seconds per actor keeps things moving and stops anyone from freezing up.
For the emoji-clue version (movies, songs, phrases), the host simply pastes a clue from the tables above into the chat and the first team to type the right answer gets the point. No acting needed, which makes it a great warm-up.
Our virtual charades on Zoom guide has more tips for online game nights.
Emoji Charades for Work Meetings
Emoji charades makes a quick, low-pressure icebreaker for a team meeting. A few tips to keep it work-friendly:
- Stick to the easy list. Face emojis like ๐, ๐ค, and ๐ are quick to act and quick to guess.
- Use the clue version for shy teams. Guessing a pasted emoji clue in chat lets everyone play without being on camera.
- Keep it to five or ten minutes. It works best as a warm-up, not the whole meeting.
- Make volunteering optional. Let people choose to act; everyone can still guess.
Planning something bigger? See our office party charades ideas.
Emoji Charades for Kids and Families
Emoji charades is one of the easiest versions of charades for young kids, because most emojis are just feelings and faces they already know. A few ways to make it work for a mixed-age family group:
- Start with feelings. Happy, sad, sleepy, angry, and surprised are perfect first turns for kids who are still learning to act without talking.
- Let little ones pick from two. Show a young child two emojis and let them choose which one to act. It builds confidence fast.
- Pair kids with grown-ups. A parent and child acting the same emoji together is twice as funny and half as scary.
- Use the animal round. Penguins, monkeys, and kangaroos are pure fun for preschoolers.
- Skip the scoreboard if needed. For very young players, cheering every correct guess is more fun than keeping points.
Older kids and teens usually love the emoji-clue round with movies and songs, since it feels like a puzzle as well as a game.
Why Emoji Charades Is Great for Teens
- Speaks their language โ emojis are how teens communicate.
- Phones-down fun โ ironically gets them off their screens.
- Endlessly current โ new emojis keep it fresh.
- Expression-driven โ rewards big, dramatic faces over athletic acting.
- Quick and modern โ perfect for short attention spans.
Tips for the Best Emoji Charades
- Go big with facial expressions โ the face does most of the work.
- Pair a face with one gesture for clarity.
- Try combo rounds for a teen crowd who text in emoji strings.
- Keep object emojis for harder rounds โ they're trickier without a face.
- Use a generator for instant emoji and word prompts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is emoji charades?
A modern charades twist where players act out a popular emoji using only their face and body, and their team guesses which emoji it is.
How do you play emoji charades?
Split into teams, one player acts out an emoji (no sound or spelling), and their team shouts guesses before the timer runs out. Score a point per correct guess.
What are easy emojis for charades?
Expression emojis like ๐ crying laughing, ๐ heart eyes, ๐ thumbs up, and ๐ด sleeping โ the face does most of the work.
Is emoji charades good for teens?
Perfect โ it speaks their language, gets them off their phones (ironically), and rewards big dramatic expressions over athletic acting.
How do you act out the crying-laughing emoji?
Slap your knee, point at something funny, throw your head back laughing, and wipe away "tears" โ the most-used emoji is also one of the most fun to act.
What's a fun emoji charades variation?
The "Combo Round" โ act out two-emoji text combos like ๐๐ or ๐๐ฅ. It captures how people actually text and adds a clever challenge.
Where can I play emoji charades online?
You can play on any video call, like Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet. Send the actor an emoji privately, have them act it out on camera, and let everyone guess in the chat. For quick prompts and a timer, open the free charades generator on a phone.
Is emoji charades good for work meetings?
Yes. It's a fast, friendly icebreaker. Keep it short, use easy face emojis, and try the emoji-clue version in chat so people who don't want to be on camera can still join in.
Where can I find emoji charades answers?
The movie, song, phrase, Christmas, and work emoji clues above all have their answers in the right-hand column of each table. Cover that column with your hand or a sticky note while you play.
Can I print emoji charades cards?
Yes. Copy the emojis from this page onto index cards, or check our printable charades cards page for more card ideas. Fold each card so the emoji is hidden until it's your turn.
How many emojis do I need for a game?
For a group of 6 to 10 players, about 30 to 40 prompts covers a fun game of several rounds. This page has more than 100 emojis and emoji clues, so you can play several games without repeats.
Playing with an older crowd? Try our charades words for adults, or head to charades for teens for more trending ideas. Prefer paper prompts? See our printable charades cards.
More Charades Guides
Ready for the Modern Twist?
You've got 60 emojis, expression tips, and five fun variations โ now make those theatrical faces and let the emoji charades begin. Make it effortless:
๐ Open the free Charades Generator โ instant prompts, a timer, and team scoring. No app, no signup. ๐ฑ
Can your team guess ๐คฏ before the buzzer? Make the face and find out!
