Charades: ideas, a word generator, and a game that keeps score

Here are 360 charades ideas sorted by kind, and a free way to play them. Open Roomful on a TV or laptop and everyone joins from their phone: on each turn only the actor's phone shows the word, the room shouts guesses, and the big screen keeps the count and the score.

Host on this screen

Opens the room set up for Charades. Phones join with the code it shows.

Start Charades

Try a word

Press the button for a word from the game.

How a turn goes

The big screen names the actor, for example "The Fox is acting!", and starts a 75-second clock.
The actor's phone shows the first word under a cover, with its kind: an action, an animal, a job, a sport, a thing, a scene or a character. The big screen shows only the kind, so the room knows what to guess.
The actor acts it out: no talking, no sounds, no pointing at things in the room. Everyone else shouts guesses.
When someone gets it, the actor taps Got it, then the animal of who guessed. A word that's too hard gets Pass. The next word comes up straight away.
When the clock runs out, the big screen lists every word of the turn, guessed ones in green, and the next player acts.

Scoring

Charades: players take turns acting. The actor's phone shows one word at a time, such as "Walking a dog" or "Penguin", with its kind (an action, an animal, a job); the big screen shows only the kind and the count. The actor acts it out with no talking while the room shouts guesses, then taps Got it and who guessed, or Pass. Each guessed word is 1 point to the actor and 1 to the guesser. A turn lasts 75 seconds. Nobody needs paper, a hat full of words, a timer or a scorekeeper.

Charades ideas

All of these are in the game's everyday deck, and the word generator above draws from it. They are clean enough for a family table.

Actions (60)

Assembling furniture
Blowing out candles
Blowing up a balloon
Brushing a horse
Brushing your hair
Brushing your teeth
Building a sandcastle
Carrying groceries upstairs
Catching a bus
Changing a flat tire
Changing a light bulb
Chopping onions
Climbing a ladder
Climbing a rope
Dancing in the rain
Doing a cartwheel
Doing the laundry
Doing yoga
Eating spaghetti
Feeding a baby
Flipping pancakes
Folding a fitted sheet
Hailing a taxi
Ironing a shirt
Juggling
Learning to whistle
Losing your keys
Making a sandwich
Making a snow angel
Mowing the lawn
Opening a stuck jar
Painting a wall
Parallel parking
Picking up a hot pizza
Planting a tree
Playing hide and seek
Popping popcorn
Putting on a wetsuit
Putting on contact lenses
Reading a map
Riding a roller coaster
Riding a unicycle
Rowing a boat
Shaving
Skipping rope
Sneezing
Stepping on a toy brick
Swatting a fly
Taking a selfie
Taking a shower
Threading a needle
Tying a tie
Typing a long email
Untangling headphones
Waking up late
Walking a dog
Walking a tightrope
Walking in high heels
Walking on ice
Washing a car

Animals (50)

Bat
Bear
Bee
Butterfly
Camel
Cat
Cheetah
Chicken
Cow
Crab
Crocodile
Dog chasing its tail
Dolphin
Duck
Elephant
Flamingo
Frog
Giraffe
Goat
Gorilla
Hedgehog
Horse
Jellyfish
Kangaroo
Koala
Lion
Lobster
Monkey
Moose
Octopus
Ostrich
Owl
Parrot
Peacock
Penguin
Pig in mud
Rabbit
Raccoon
Seal
Shark
Skunk
Sloth
Snail
Snake
Spider
Squirrel
T. rex
Turtle
Woodpecker
Worm

Jobs (40)

Astronaut
Ballet dancer
Barber
Bus driver
Cashier
Chef
Conductor
Construction worker
Cowboy
Crossing guard
Dentist
Dog walker
Farmer
Firefighter
Fisherman
Hairdresser
Janitor
Judge
Knight
Librarian
Lifeguard
Lumberjack
Magician
Mail carrier
Mime
Painter
Photographer
Pilot
Pirate
Pizza maker
Plumber
Referee
Rock star
Surgeon
Teacher
Tightrope walker
Waiter
Weather reporter
Window washer
Zookeeper

Sports (40)

Archery
Arm wrestling
Badminton
Baseball
Basketball
Bowling
Boxing
Cycling
Darts
Diving
Fencing
Figure skating
Fishing
Football
Golf
Hockey
Horse riding
Hula hoop
Hurdles
Ice skating
Karate
Kayaking
Limbo
Ping pong
Pole vault
Rock climbing
Running a marathon
Skateboarding
Skiing
Snowboarding
Soccer goalie
Sumo wrestling
Surfing
Swimming
Tennis
Tug of war
Volleyball
Water skiing
Weightlifting
Wrestling

Things (40)

Accordion
Alarm clock
Blender
Camera
Chainsaw
Drum set
Elevator
Escalator
Ferris wheel
Guitar
Hair dryer
Helicopter
Kite
Lawn mower
Microwave
Piano
Pogo stick
Popcorn machine
Revolving door
Rocket
Rubber duck
Seesaw
Selfie stick
Shopping cart
Spinning top
Sprinkler
Stapler
Telescope
Toaster
Toothbrush
Tornado
Trampoline
Typewriter
Umbrella
Vacuum cleaner
Volcano
Washing machine
Windmill
Yo-yo
Zipper

Scenes (40)

A blind date
A dentist appointment
A fire drill
A haunted house
A job interview
A jump scare
A long car trip
A magic trick gone wrong
A phone dying mid-call
A rainy picnic
A slippery floor
A stuck zipper
A sunburn
A surprise party
A wedding
Assembling a tent in the wind
Being chased by a goose
Brain freeze
Carrying a very full cup
Eating something too spicy
First day at school
Getting a bad haircut
Getting a shot
Hearing a strange noise at night
Hiccups that won't stop
Learning to ride a bike
Losing a contact lens
Lost in the woods
Missing the last step on the stairs
Ordering at a drive-through
Pushing a pull door
Running late for a flight
Sleepwalking
Stepping in gum
Stuck in an elevator
Stuck in traffic
Trying on clothes that are too small
Waiting in a long line
Walking through a spider web
Winning the lottery

Characters (30)

A bodybuilder
A caveman
A clown
A detective
A dragon
A fairy
A fashion model
A genie
A ghost
A grumpy grandpa
A mermaid
A mummy
A ninja
A puppet
A queen
A robot
A royal guard
A scarecrow
A shy monster
A sleepy giant
A snowman
A sports announcer
A statue
A superhero
A toddler
A tour guide
A vampire
A wizard
A zombie
An alien

Christmas and holiday charades

Pick the Holidays deck in the lobby for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. It plays these:

Holiday actions (40)

A snowball fight
Baking cookies
Breaking a wishbone
Building a snowman
Carrying a too-big tree
Carving a turkey
Catching snowflakes on your tongue
Decorating a tree
Falling asleep after dinner
Finding a hidden present
Hanging stockings
Hiding presents
Ice fishing
Kissing under the mistletoe
Lighting a menorah
Making a gingerbread house
Making a wish on New Year's
Making hot cocoa
Opening a gift you don't like
Passing the gravy
Pie eating contest
Putting a star on the tree
Reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
Ringing a bell for charity
Shopping on Black Friday
Shoveling snow
Singing carols door to door
Sledding down a hill
Slipping on ice
Spinning a dreidel
Stuffing a turkey
Tasting the gravy
Toasting at midnight
Untangling holiday lights
Waking up early on Christmas
Watching the ball drop
Watching the parade
Wearing an ugly sweater
Wrapping a present
Writing a letter to Santa

Holiday characters (20)

A New Year's baby
A carol singer who forgot the words
A chef with a burnt pie
A dog wearing antlers
A frozen turkey
A gingerbread man running away
A grumpy relative at dinner
A melting snowman
A nutcracker
A penguin on ice skates
A pilgrim
A pumpkin pie
A reindeer with a cold
A sneaky elf
A tired mall Santa
A toy soldier
A turkey escaping
A wobbly cranberry sauce
An elf on strike
Santa stuck in a chimney

Tips

Agree on a few signs before you start: fingers for the number of words, a tug of the ear for "sounds like", a chopping hand for "shorter".
Pass early. A hard word eats the clock, and the next one may be easy.
With a big group, everyone still plays from their own phone, and each player gets one turn. Two phones are enough to start.

Questions

Is there a charades generator?

Yes. Press Another word above for a random word from the deck. In the game, the actor's phone deals the words for you, with no repeats in a game.

Are these charades ideas clean enough for a family party?

Yes. Every word is family-friendly: animals, jobs, sports and everyday actions.

Can we play charades without a TV?

Yes. The host screen can be a laptop, or a phone propped up where everyone can see it. For a table with no screen at all, read words from the lists on this page.

Does anyone need to install anything?

No. The big screen and every phone just open roomful.hatcherylake.com in a browser.

How many people can play?

From 2 to 12 phones. It's best with 4 to 8 people in one room.

Is it free?

Yes. No account and no app to buy. For a table with no TV, the Printable Party Pack is a $5 download.