Charades Generator

What is the Charades Generator?

The Charades Generator gives you a random word or phrase to act out, one tap at a time. It holds 1,800 original charades ideas in 16 categories and three difficulty levels, and it comes with a kids mode, a team game with a timer and a scoreboard, and printable cards.

Every idea was written for this page, and none of them is a film, book or song title or a famous name, so a seven-year-old and a grandparent can guess the same card.

How to use it

• Word generator: tap Next word for something to act out. The card shows the category, the level and the number of words. Tap Hide once you have read it, so nobody can peek.
• Team game: name 2 to 6 teams, pick 30, 60, 90 or 120 seconds per turn and the number of rounds, and pass one phone around. The actor taps Got it or Skip; the game keeps the time and the score for each team and names the winner.
• Print cards: print the selection as cut-out cards (24 per page) or as a plain list, for a party with no screens.

The filters work in all three: choose one or more categories, a level (easy, medium or hard) and switch on Kids mode for the 1,133 ideas that suit young children. Nothing repeats in a session until you have seen the whole selection.

How to play charades

Charades is a guessing game with one rule that matters: the actor may not speak. In India the same game is known as dumb charades. It is best with four or more players, and it needs no equipment at all.

1. Split into two or more teams and agree on the time per turn and the number of rounds.
2. One player from the first team, the actor, looks at a word without showing anyone.
3. The actor acts it out in silence: no talking, no mouthing words, no writing letters in the air and no pointing at things in the room.
4. The actor’s team calls out guesses. Each correct guess is a point, and the actor takes the next word.
5. When the time is up, the next team plays. After the last round, the team with the most points wins.

A game of 2 teams and 3 rounds is 6 turns. At 60 seconds a turn, that is 6 minutes of acting plus the time it takes to pass the phone.

Charades ideas by category

These are the 16 categories in the generator, with how many ideas each one has at every level. 509 of the 1,800 ideas are a single word; the rest are short phrases.

And a taste of each one, from easy to hard:

Christmas charades ideas

Charades is a Christmas favorite, so the holiday set is a big one: 92 ideas, from Santa and snowmen to the cat climbing the tree, plus a few for Hanukkah and New Year. Open the generator with only the Christmas category, or print all of them as cards (4 pages).

• Santa Claus
• A reindeer
• Building a snowman
• Decorating the Christmas tree
• Opening presents
• Wrapping presents
• An elf
• An angel
• Putting the star on the tree
• Hanging stockings
• Singing carols
• Riding in a sleigh
• Making a snow angel
• Licking a candy cane
• A gingerbread man
• Baking Christmas cookies
• Leaving cookies for Santa
• Santa coming down the chimney
• Ringing sleigh bells
• Catching snowflakes on your tongue
• Writing a letter to Santa
• Shaking a present to guess what's inside
• Sitting on Santa's lap
• Santa laughing
• A toy soldier
• Throwing a snowball
• Waking up on Christmas morning
• Putting on mittens
• Santa eating cookies
• Hanging ornaments
• Trying to stay awake for Santa
• Peeking at presents
• A snow globe
• A nutcracker
• Hanging a wreath on the door
• Wearing an ugly Christmas sweater
• Passing dishes at Christmas dinner
• Writing Christmas cards
• Taking a family Christmas photo
• An elf building toys
• A reindeer learning to fly
• Santa stuck in the chimney
• Santa checking the naughty-or-nice list
• Santa feeding the reindeer
• Mrs. Claus baking
• Untangling Christmas lights
• Hanging lights on the roof
• Picking out a Christmas tree
• Carrying a tree into the house
• A tree too tall for the ceiling
• The cat climbing the Christmas tree
• Stringing a popcorn garland
• Dropping an ornament
• Opening an Advent calendar door
• Pretending to love a gift
• Waiting in line to meet Santa
• A Christmas pageant
• A snow day
• Scraping ice off a windshield
• Frozen fingers
• An icicle
• A snowflake
• Roasting chestnuts
• Decorating a gingerbread house
• Lighting a menorah
• Spinning a dreidel
• The New Year's countdown
• Watching fireworks
• Throwing confetti
• Blowing a party horn
• The North Pole
• Santa's workshop
• Loading the sleigh
• A sleigh ride through the snow
• Building a snow fort
• Warming your hands by the fire
• A secret gift swap
• Regifting
• Returning a gift
• Assembling a toy at midnight
• Batteries not included
• Last-minute Christmas shopping
• A mall Santa on a break
• Three wise men following a star
• Snowed in
• Getting a fruitcake as a gift
• Making a New Year's resolution
• A white Christmas
• The night before Christmas
• Holiday travel delays
• Hiding presents from the kids
• Christmas spirit

Halloween charades

62 ideas for a costume party. The spooky ones (ghosts, witches, haunted houses) are left out when Kids mode is on, which leaves pumpkins, candy and costumes. Play Halloween charades.

• Carving a pumpkin
• Trick-or-treating
• Putting on a costume
• A black cat
• A bat
• A spider spinning a web
• Bobbing for apples
• Sorting your candy
• Eating too much candy
• A scarecrow
• Handing out candy
• Wearing a mask
• A ghost
• A witch on a broomstick
• A skeleton
• A mummy
• A vampire
• A zombie
• Trading candy
• A full moon
• An owl hooting at night
• Lighting a jack-o'-lantern
• Ringing doorbells for candy
• A costume parade
• A costume contest
• Face painting
• A pumpkin patch
• Picking the biggest pumpkin
• Scooping out pumpkin seeds
• Roasting pumpkin seeds
• A hayride
• A corn maze
• Eating a caramel apple
• A black cat arching its back
• A bat hanging upside down
• A pumpkin rolling down a hill
• Wrapping a friend in toilet paper like a mummy
• A haunted house
• A witch stirring a cauldron
• A werewolf howling at the moon
• A monster under the bed
• A creaky door
• A magic potion
• A crystal ball
• Screaming in a haunted house
• Hiding under a blanket
• A dancing skeleton
• A mummy coming unwrapped
• A spider dropping from the ceiling
• Telling a spooky story with a flashlight
• Getting spooked by your own shadow
• A jump scare
• Things that go bump in the night
• A vampire afraid of garlic
• A ghost who is afraid of people
• A cobweb-covered attic
• Fog rolling in
• Walking under a ladder
• Breaking a mirror
• A costume nobody can guess
• A candy stomachache
• The last house on the street

Thanksgiving charades

54 ideas about the turkey, the parade, the leftovers and the rest of fall. Play Thanksgiving charades.

• A turkey
• Eating pumpkin pie
• Pulling the wishbone
• Passing the gravy
• Saying what you're thankful for
• Watching the parade
• A marching band
• Jumping into a pile of leaves
• Leaves falling
• A squirrel hiding acorns
• Hugging grandma
• Too full to move
• A turkey strutting
• Tracing your hand to draw a turkey
• Stuffing the turkey
• Basting the turkey
• Carving the turkey
• Pouring gravy on mashed potatoes
• Putting whipped cream on pie
• Shaking cranberry sauce out of a can
• Sitting at the kids' table
• Falling asleep on the couch after dinner
• A giant parade balloon
• Watching football on the couch
• Backyard touch football
• Harvesting corn
• A cornucopia
• Relatives arriving at the door
• The oven timer going off
• Burning the dinner rolls
• Dropping the pie
• The dog stealing the turkey
• Running a turkey trot race
• A leftover turkey sandwich
• Packing up leftovers
• A turkey hiding before Thanksgiving
• Sipping hot apple cider
• Warming your hands at a bonfire
• Geese flying south
• Wearing a cozy sweater
• Loosening your belt after dinner
• Cooking for twenty people
• A food coma
• Crimping a pie crust
• Holiday traffic
• The airport on the busiest travel day
• Shopping the day-after sales
• Waiting in line before the store opens
• Turning back the clocks
• The first frost
• Counting your blessings
• A potluck dinner
• Arguing about who does the dishes
• Second helpings

Charades for kids

Young children act best when the card says what to do with their whole body. The “Easy for kids” category is written that way, and Kids mode adds the simple ideas from the other categories, for 1,133 in total. For children who cannot read yet, an adult whispers the word. Here are 30 to start with:

• Hopping like a bunny
• Roaring like a lion
• Waddling like a penguin
• Slithering like a snake
• Flapping like a bird
• Stomping like an elephant
• Galloping like a horse
• Swinging like a monkey
• Jumping like a frog
• Crawling like a baby
• Walking like a robot
• Flying like a superhero
• Swimming like a fish
• Buzzing like a bee
• Walking like a crab
• Pecking like a chicken
• Wiggling like a worm
• Stretching like a cat
• Standing like a flamingo
• Chomping like a crocodile
• Stomping like a dinosaur
• Fluttering like a butterfly
• Blowing bubbles
• Building a sandcastle
• Building with blocks
• Playing with a puppy
• Petting a cat
• Feeding a baby
• Rocking a doll to sleep
• Riding a scooter

Charades for adults and hard charades words

Adults do not need rude cards to have fun; they need cards about their own lives. The “Grown-up life” category is about commutes, flat-pack furniture and toddlers on video calls.

• Stuck in traffic
• Paying bills
• A job interview
• Changing a diaper
• Parallel parking
• Hitting the snooze button
• Running late for work
• Giving a presentation
• Moving day
• Laundry day
• Grocery shopping
• Rocking a baby to sleep
• Spring cleaning
• Missing a flight
• Waiting on hold
• Forgetting a password
• Assembling flat-pack furniture
• Folding a fitted sheet
• Looking for a parking spot
• Monday morning
• The morning commute
• A video meeting
• Fixing the office printer
• A paper jam

For a real challenge, set the level to hard. Hard cards are abstract or need several steps, like these:

• Platypus
• Armadillo
• Sewing on a button
• Wallpapering a room
• Air traffic controller
• Sign language interpreter
• Fly fishing
• Ice fishing
• Pogo stick
• Hole punch
• Making a soufflé
• Tempering chocolate
• Nostalgic
• Smug
• A quicksand pit
• A hall of mirrors
• A whodunit mystery
• A courtroom drama
• Telling a joke nobody gets
• Smiling too long for a photo
• Replying to everyone by mistake
• An out-of-office reply
• Break the ice
• Spill the beans
• A secret gift swap
• Regifting
• Getting spooked by your own shadow
• A jump scare
• A food coma
• Crimping a pie crust

Idioms are the hardest of all: the team has to find the saying behind the picture.

• Raining cats and dogs
• A piece of cake
• Couch potato
• Cold feet
• Butterflies in your stomach
• Ants in your pants
• Two left feet
• All ears
• Fingers crossed
• Head in the clouds
• Hold your horses
• Zip your lip
• Break a leg
• Walking on eggshells
• Busy as a bee
• Cool as a cucumber
• Sleep like a log
• On thin ice
• Hit the hay
• Lend a hand
• When pigs fly
• A fish out of water
• A bull in a china shop
• The elephant in the room

Movie charades without movie titles

Movie charades only works when everyone knows the same films. The “Movies & stories” category uses types and scenes instead: a pirate movie, a training montage, a villain’s evil laugh, a plot twist.

Charades hand signals

Most groups use the same handful of silent signals. Agree on them before you start; they save a lot of time.

Tips for a better game

• Start with the number of words. The card shows it. Then act the easiest word first, not the first one.
• Act the picture, not the word. For “Raining cats and dogs”, show rain, then a cat, then a dog.
• Guessers: keep talking. The actor can only steer you if you say what you see.
• Mix the ages. Use easy cards with 90 seconds for children and hard cards with 30 seconds for the adults at the same table.

More ways to play

• Everyone acts, one guesses: flip the game around. The whole team acts the card together and a single teammate guesses. It is loud and very funny.
• Relay charades: two teams act the same list in different rooms. The first team to finish the list wins. Print two copies of the list for this.
• One-category rounds: play a round of only animals with small children, or only feelings in a classroom.
• On a video call: the actor opens this page on a phone and performs for the camera.

Is it private?

Yes. The words are part of the page, the game runs in your browser, and team names and scores are never sent or stored anywhere. Closing the page ends the game.

More party games: Truth or Dare, Would You Rather, Never Have I Ever, the Categories Game and the Imposter Game. Need a single random word instead? Try the Random Word Generator.