Easy, medium and hard words for the drawer, plus kids and Christmas sets. Hold the card to peek, grab a pen and beat the clock.
Keyboard: hold Space to peek, → got it, ← or S to pass
Up next: Team Tomato. Hand them the phone.
Every card in this deck has been played this session. Shuffle them back in, or switch category.
The clock is stopped. Nobody peeks.
Up next: Team Tomato
Good Pictionary words are concrete things most people can sketch in under a minute: umbrella, rainbow, pirate ship, sandcastle, treasure chest, hot air balloon and a lighthouse. Save harder ones such as time machine, optical illusion or message in a bottle for experienced groups. This generator sorts 495+ words into easy, medium and hard.
How to play
Any paper works. A whiteboard is even better for a big group.
Two teams of two or more. Each team picks a first drawer.
Easy words are single objects. Hard words are ideas, sayings and compound words.
The drawer holds the card to see the word. It hides the moment they let go.
No letters, numbers or talking. Arrows and dashes for word counts are fine.
Tap Got it for each right answer. At the bell, the next team draws.
Words to draw
277 easy, 185 medium and 37 hard. Tap any word to deal it into the game above.
Here are 20 random words to draw, mixed across easy, medium and hard. Tap Deal on the card above for a fresh random word any time.
Difficult Pictionary words are compound words, sayings and scenes that must be drawn in parts. Draw each part separately, use arrows and plus signs to join them, and let your team piece the full answer together.
Funny Pictionary words are scenes and sayings drawn literally, because the drawing itself becomes the joke. Pick the Scenes deck for more.
Quick reference
Same teams, same timer, different talent.
| Topic | Pictionary | Charades |
|---|---|---|
| How you give clues | Draw it | Act it out |
| Talking | Not allowed | Not allowed |
| Sounds | Not allowed | Only "sounds like" signals |
| You need | Paper and pens | Space to move |
| Best group size | 4 to 10 | 4 to 16 |
| Good for kids | Yes, use Easy | Yes, use the Kids deck |
| On a video call | Share a whiteboard | Camera on the actor |
Variations
Big, simple objects with a longer timer. Allow arrows for younger artists and set the timer to 90 seconds.
37 festive words, from snow globes to reindeer.
Scenes and sayings drawn literally. Funnier on paper than they sound.
Draw each part, join them with a plus sign and let the team assemble it.
Rules and sources
Plays from YouTube only when you tap it.
Pictionary is a charades-inspired word-guessing game invented by Robert Angel with graphic design by Gary Everson and first published in 1985 by Angel Games Inc.
Its name is a portmanteau of "picture" and "dictionary".
Questions
Sayings and scenes drawn literally are the funniest, because the drawing becomes the joke. Try the Scenes deck on Hard, or any idea that puts an animal in a human job.
Yes. Set the level to Easy, or pick the Kids deck, and every card is a simple object you can sketch in a few lines.
You need paper, pens, a timer and a word list. Split into teams. One player sees a secret word and draws it with no letters, numbers or talking, while their team guesses within 60 seconds. A correct guess scores a point, then the next team draws. The word generator here replaces the cards and keeps time and score.
Try All play, where one drawer from every team draws the same word and the first team to guess scores. Or play silent relay, where each drawer adds one line before passing the pen.
Sixty seconds suits most groups. Give kids and beginners 90 seconds, and drop to 30 seconds for a fast final round.
In Pictionary you draw the word, and in charades you act it out. Both ban talking, both use teams and a timer, and the same word generator works for both.
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