Charades vs Pictionary: which party game should you play?

Charades and Pictionary are close cousins. In both, one player knows a secret word and has to get their team to say it without speaking. The difference is the medium: charades uses your body, Pictionary uses a pen. That one change shapes everything else about the game, from who enjoys it to how much noise it makes.

Here’s how they compare, when each one is the better pick, and how to combine them.

The quick answer

Play charades when you have a big or mixed-age group, no supplies, a loud and lively crowd, or players who’d rather move than draw.

Play Pictionary when you have a smaller group around a table, a whiteboard or paper pad, players who are shy about performing, or a crowd that loves a slower, more strategic guessing game.

If you can’t decide, play both in alternating rounds. More on that below.

Side by side

A short history of each

Charades started out as a word riddle in 18th-century France, where a “charade” described each syllable of a word in verse. By the 19th century, British parlour guests were acting the syllables out instead, which is why acted charades turn up in novels like Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and William Makepeace Thackeray’s Vanity Fair. The silent, mimed version most people play today grew from there, along with the hand signals for “movie,” “book” and “sounds like.”

Pictionary is much younger. Robert Angel, a former waiter in Seattle, developed it with friends in the early 1980s and self-published the board game with two partners in 1985. It became a hit within a few years and has been owned by Mattel since 2001. Plenty of groups skip the box and play a homemade version with paper slips and a notepad.

When charades is the better choice

You have nothing but people. Charades needs no supplies at all. You can play it in a car park, on a beach or in a cabin with no electricity.

The group is big. Thirty people can play charades in two teams, because everyone can see an actor standing up. Thirty people can’t crowd around one sketchpad.

Ages are mixed. Small children can act out “dog” or “sleeping” long before they can draw anything recognizable, and grandparents don’t need to see small drawings. Our charades ideas for kids sort easy words by age.

You want energy. Charades is physical and loud. If the party needs waking up after dinner, a round of acting does it faster than drawing.

You’re on a video call. Anyone with a camera can act. Pictionary online needs everyone to use the same drawing tool.

When Pictionary is the better choice

Some players hate performing. Drawing lets people contribute while sitting down and looking at the paper rather than at the room. Many people who freeze in charades enjoy Pictionary, especially since bad drawings are part of the fun.

The group is small and around a table. Four to eight players at a dinner table is Pictionary’s sweet spot.

You want more strategy. Pictionary rewards planning: drawing the most recognizable part first, using arrows and symbols, and building a picture in steps. Groups that like puzzles often prefer it.

Space is tight. A small flat or a crowded table has no room for someone to act out “rowing a boat.”

Accessibility: think about your players

Both games are visual, so neither is ideal for players with low vision without adapting the rules. Beyond that, they suit different needs:

• Limited mobility: Pictionary is easier, and so is the heads-up phone version of charades, where clue-givers can talk and describe instead of acting.
• Players who are hard of hearing or don’t speak: silent charades and Pictionary both give visual clues, so nobody needs to hear them or talk. Agree on a clear signal, like pointing at the guesser, for a correct answer.
• Players who don’t share a first language: charades often works better, because a mime doesn’t depend on vocabulary and a guesser can shout an answer in any language the group agrees on.

Ask before game night, and choose the variant that lets everyone take part.

The hybrid: play both

You don’t have to pick one. These combinations work well:

Alternate rounds

Put words on slips, and for each turn roll a die or flip a coin: odd means act, even means draw. Players who dread one format know they’ll get the other soon.

Fishbowl with a drawing round

Fishbowl normally uses three rounds with the same slips: describe, one word, act. Add a fourth round where players draw the answer. By then everyone knows the slips, so even a stick figure lands.

Telephone Pictionary

Players alternate between writing a phrase and drawing the previous player’s phrase in a passed-around booklet. It’s less competitive than either game and gets the biggest laughs of all.

The heads-up version

For the fastest middle ground, try the phone-on-forehead version of charades: the guesser holds the word on their forehead and teammates can act, draw in the air, make sounds or describe, as long as they don’t say the word. It’s the most flexible format for mixed groups. You can try it free in your browser on our online charades page, or with team tournaments in the Chardz app on Android.

Good words for each game

Not all words suit both games. Pick words for the format:

• Great for charades: actions and verbs (swimming, juggling, sneezing), emotions, sports and jobs. See our lists of act-it-out words, emotions and sports.
• Great for Pictionary: concrete nouns with a recognizable shape: objects, animals, food and places. Our objects and food lists work well for drawing too.
• Hard in both, good for adults: titles of movies and books, idioms and famous people. Try our movie and book lists if your group wants a challenge.

Rules for a homemade Pictionary game

No box? Here’s a simple version:

1. Write 40 to 60 words on slips of paper and fold them into a bowl.
2. Split into two teams. Each turn, one player draws a slip and has 60 seconds to draw it for their team.
3. No letters, numbers, spoken words or gestures. Arrows and question marks are allowed by most groups.
4. A correct guess scores a point. When time runs out, the other team gets one guess to steal.
5. Rotate artists, and play until every slip is gone or someone reaches 10 points.

For the charades equivalent, including the classic hand signals, see how to play charades.

Frequently asked questions

Is charades or Pictionary easier?

Charades is easier to start: no supplies, no drawing skills and no setup. Pictionary is easier for people who don’t like performing in front of a group.

Can you play charades and Pictionary with kids?

Yes. Charades works from about age four with animals and simple actions. Pictionary works once children can draw simple shapes, usually from about six. Choose concrete words for both.

Which is better for a large party?

Charades. Everyone can see an actor, and teams can be as big as you like. Pictionary works best with up to about ten players around a table.

What’s the difference between charades and Pictionary?

Both are team guessing games where the clue-giver can’t speak. In charades you act the word out; in Pictionary you draw it.

Pictionary is a trademark of Mattel, Inc. Chardz is an independent game and is not affiliated with Mattel.