Charades Ideas

90 charades ideas that work for families, office parties and game nights: well-known films, everyday actions, idioms such as “break the ice” and tricky scenes like “assembling flat-pack furniture”.

Charades ideas cards to print (PDF)

These four pages show the charades cards: the easy level with 12 cards on a page, the hard level with 8 big cards, a small 20-card page in black and white, and the matching card backs. Click any picture for the PDF, or use the generator above to choose the level and the number of cards.

Print the cards

• Choose the deck, the level and how many cards fit on a page (8 big cards, 12, or 20 small ones).
• Add your own cards at the bottom: family names, inside jokes, films your group loves.
• Tick Card backs to add a matching back page (print double-sided, flip on the long edge).
• Press Download PDF or Print, cut along the dotted lines, and shuffle.

Play it now on a phone or a TV

No cards to cut? Use the game below. Pick a level, set the timer and let the game keep score for two teams. Put it on full screen on a laptop or TV for the whole room, and press Copy link to send the same shuffled deck to friends on a video call so everyone follows along.

Classic charades rules

• Two teams take turns. The actor draws a card and has 90 seconds to get their team to say it, without speaking.
• Signal the category first: a camera crank for a film, open hands like a book for a title, fingers to the lips for a phrase or saying.
• Show the number of words, then which word you are on. An ear tug means “sounds like”.
• Score one point per correct card. Skipping is allowed but costs the card.

Idiom cards are the secret weapon

Phrases such as “the elephant in the room” and “cold feet” get the biggest laughs because the actor can play them literally. They are also great practice for English learners: after each round, ask what the phrase really means.

Charades ideas list

Easy (30)

1. Titanic
2. Jurassic Park
3. The Lion King
4. Frozen
5. Finding Nemo
6. Toy Story
7. Harry Potter
8. Star Wars
9. Spider-Man
10. Home Alone
11. Cinderella
12. Up
13. Cars
14. Shrek
15. Jaws
16. Taking a selfie
17. Brushing a horse
18. Parallel parking
19. Changing a baby’s nappy
20. Ironing a shirt
21. Walking a tightrope
22. Doing the dishes
23. Singing in the shower
24. Blowing up a balloon
25. Losing your keys
26. Chopping onions
27. Making chapatis
28. Answering the phone
29. Typing on a laptop
30. Mopping the floor

Medium (30)

1. Raining cats and dogs
2. Break the ice
3. Piece of cake
4. Spill the beans
5. Once in a blue moon
6. Hit the road
7. Under the weather
8. Cold feet
9. Butterflies in your stomach
10. Let the cat out of the bag
11. Cry over spilled milk
12. The elephant in the room
13. Walking on eggshells
14. Barking up the wrong tree
15. Head in the clouds
16. Stuck in traffic
17. Online meeting on mute
18. Going through airport security
19. Assembling flat-pack furniture
20. Changing a flat tire
21. Waiter carrying a full tray
22. Mime trapped in a box
23. Sumo wrestler
24. DJ at a wedding
25. Model on a ramp
26. News reader
27. Cricket umpire
28. Traffic police officer
29. Orchestra conductor
30. Weather forecaster

Hard (30)

1. The Wizard of Oz
2. Mary Poppins
3. Ghostbusters
4. Inside Out
5. Beauty and the Beast
6. Back to the Future
7. The Jungle Book
8. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
9. A penny for your thoughts
10. Every cloud has a silver lining
11. The early bird catches the worm
12. Actions speak louder than words
13. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch
14. Too many cooks spoil the broth
15. A fish out of water
16. Burning the midnight oil
17. Missing the boat
18. Diving into a cold pool
19. Sneaking a midnight snack
20. Assembling a tent in the wind
21. Trying to find wifi
22. Wrapping a present without tape
23. Catching the last train
24. Opening a jar that won’t open
25. Baby’s first steps
26. Stepping on a toy barefoot
27. Hailing a taxi in the rain
28. Photobombing a selfie
29. Carrying too many shopping bags
30. Getting a haircut you don’t like

Charades ideas by type

The 90 charades ideas fall into three types, and each level mixes them. This is the split, so you can choose what to print for your group:

Charades list: signals for films, books and phrases

Experienced players agree on a few signals before the first card. These signals work for the whole charades list:

Charades for adults: how to make the game harder

Charades for adults needs a bit more challenge, because adults tend to know the answers. Try these changes: shorten the turn from 90 to 45 seconds, ban pointing at objects, or add a rule that the actor cannot use the hands for the first ten seconds. For a work team, add cards about your own industry, and for a party add the hard cards only.

Family charades: teams of mixed ages

Family charades works best when every team has a mix of ages. Put a child and a grandparent on the same team, and use the easy level for the first round. Let the youngest actors pick their card from the easy and medium piles, and let the adults take the hard cards, such as the idioms.

Charades words by difficulty: how to choose

Charades words are easier to guess when they are concrete and visible. Films and actions are the easiest, idioms are medium, and abstract sayings, such as “actions speak louder than words”, are the hardest. If a card is too hard, let the actor skip it, and give the team a half point if they guess the first word.

Charades game ideas: six variations

• Speed charades: each team scores as many cards as it can in two minutes.
• Reverse charades: the whole team acts and one person guesses.
• Silent movie: no sound at all, not even a whisper, for the actor or the team.
• Category round: use only idioms in one round and only films in the next.
• Video call charades: the actor shows the card on a private message and acts on camera.
• Charades cards: print the deck and give each team a pile, so teams can play at their own speed.

For the history of the game and its rules, Wikipedia’s charades article is a good source.

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