25+ Fun Charades Ideas To Spice Up Your Game Night
Who doesn’t love a good game night? I certainly love it! I try to get my friends over for a monthly game night. But whether you’re having a family game night, you’re wondering what to play with friends or you’re organizing a kids party – charades is a classic. It’s fun, it’s creative, and it can really bring out people’s competitive sides. What’s else is great about it? It’s that it’s super versatile. There are hundreds of categories you can play, there are even some holiday specials. It’s a classic choice as it can get super silly quite fast and laughter constantly fills the room. So, if you want to join in on the fun, here are some fun charades ideas and themes to try out at your next gathering!
Fill the room with laughter with some silly charades ideas
In this article
What Is Charades?
Charades is a popular party game in which players act out words or phrases without speaking, while others try to figure out what they’re doing. You can play it solo or with a team. A player picks a word or phrase, usually from a list, and tells their teammates what it means with body language, facial expressions, and movements. But no words! Movies, books, famous people, and actions are all common categories. The goal is to guess the right word or phrase within a certain amount of time, which is usually one to two minutes. Players can’t give each other speech cues or point to things in the room. This game makes you get creative and forces you to think quick, which is why I love it. It’s super entertaining and can get super funny.
Charades is a fun and simple game for the whole family
How Do You Play Charades Step by Step?
Rules
So, in order to play, we first need to learn the rules. Don’t worry though, there aren’t too many, this game’s rules are super simple and easy to remember.
Items:
- Notepad
- Pen
- Charade Ideas
- Stopwatch
Rules:
- Choose a player to start. The player comes up with or draws a word, movie title, song, phrase, or other. Make sure to pick something the other players are familiar with.
- The player then acts out the word or phrase.
- The first person to guess what’s being acted out, receives a point.
- Whoever gets the most points at the end – wins!
You can also play in teams. It’s the same concept. A player from the team acts out a certain word or phrase, and the first team to guess, gets a point.
And that’s all the basic rules you really need to know in order to play. Charades is, as we mentioned, super simple in terms of rules, however that doesn’t mean it can’t be a blast. The more lengthy the words or phrases the harder it becomes.
Charades is a fun game for the whole family
Common Clues
Here are some common clues used in charades to help players guess easier, make communication greater and give you a better chance of winning.
- For multiple words, indicate how many there are by holding up the same number with your fingers. Then hold up on finger to indicate you are acting out the first word, two for the second one and so on.
- To indicate a movie, pretend to crank up an old movie camera.
- If you want to indicate a book – pretend to read, for a song – pretend to sing.
- To pantomime a word that rhymes with the word you want people to guess, tug on your ear to indicate it “sounds like.”
Now that we’ve got the basics down on how to play, the only thing that’s left is charades ideas! Check out some of these categories perfect for any party!
There are some common clues in charades to make communication easier
Creative Ways To Make Charades More Fun
Want to make charades more fun? For a new twist, try rounds with themes like “80s Movies” or “Superheroes.” Add simple costumes or props, like hats or scarves, to help you with the acting. You can also add 30-second rounds to speed things up and make things more fun and interesting. Reverse charades is always a hit because one person guesses while the rest of the team acts. Add a mystery bag with odd items that players have to use in their act. Claps, humming, and other sounds that don’t involve words can be used as extra clues. For a musical twist, try charades karaoke, where players act out song names and sing them to guess. These fun changes will make your charades night one you’ll never forget!
There are many ways to make charades fun
Charades Ideas for Kids
Not only grown-ups should have all the fun. There are plenty of kids charades ideas that are easy and fun to play out. If your kids are not in the mood for online children’s games, show them how to play charades! The best part is even adults can use these prompts as well!
Easy Charades Ideas
Even the simplest of ideas can be super fun
Animals Charades Ideas for Kids
- Chicken
- Cow
- Horse
- Dog
- Kangaroo
- Rabbit
- Cat
- Elephant
- Bird
- Pig
- Turtle
- Frog
- Monkey
- T-Rex
- Snake
Easy Camping Ideas
Why not have an activity themed charades, like camping
@thecrazyoutdoormama.com
Emotions Charades Ideas
- Surprised
- Happy
- Angry
- Scared
- Sad
- Embarrassed
- Bored
Random Word Easy Ideas
Even the easiest of words can be fun to act out
Movies and Character Charades
- Harry Potter
- A Zombie
- Frozen
- Cars
- Batman
- Finding Nemo
- Dora the Explorer
- Mickey Mouse
- Hello Kitty
- The Lion King
- Cookie Monster
- The Cat in the Hat
- Pinocchio
- Cinderella
- Shrek
Disney Charades
Check out some of these cute Disney movies to act out
Charades Ideas Movies
If you’re a movie buff, or you’re in need of some birthday party charades ideas, check out some of these cool movies to act out.
Comedy Movies
- Superbad
- Zoolander
- Ghostbusters
- Game Night
- Thor: Ragnarök
- Knives Out
- Jojo Rabbit
- The Nice Guys
- The 40-Year-Old Virgin
- Hustlers
- Good Boys
- Free Guy
- Tag
- Step Brothers
- Dumb and Dumber
Actor Charades
If you want to dive in even more in the movie theme, try acting out actors and their most famous roles
@GetCharadesIdeas.com
Romantic Movies
- 10 Things I Hate About You
- Pretty Woman
- When Harry Met Sally
- Trainwreck
- Crazy, Stupid, Love
- 500 Days of Summer
- Forgetting Sarah Marshall
- The Notebook
- There’s Something About Mary
- Bridesmaids
- Notting Hill
- Wedding Crashers
- Love Actually
- 50 First Dates
- Crazy Rich Asians
Random Movie Ideas
Act out your favorite movie
@GetCharadesIdeas.com
Horror Movies
- The Shining
- Scream
- The Conjuring
- 28 Days Later
- The Silence of the Lambs
- Ring
- Get Out
- Us
- Halloween
- Paranormal Activity
- Don’t Breathe
- It
- A Quiet Place
- Jaws
- Split
Movies and Books
You can add books into the mix to make it even more fun
Funny Charades Ideas
Why not get extra silly with some of these funny charades ideas. Act them out as good as you can!
Medium Level Charades Words
Get silly with these random words
Silly Ideas
- Pass Out
- Cringe
- Vlogger
- Parking Ticket
- Gamer
- Cow
- Jell-O
- Superhero
- Minecraft
- Workaholic
- Bullfighter
- Stage Fright
- Fanboy/Fangirl
- Deodorant
- Bouncer
You’ll definitely get some laughs out of these ideas
Animal Charades
If you love wildlife of any kind, you’ll love these ideas. Whether you love them having them in your house or you love to draw animals, you’ll have a blast acting out these.
Pets and Farmyard
- Cat
- Dog
- Mouse
- Cow
- Chicken
- Rabbit
- Goose
- Sheep
- Guinea Pig
- Pony
- Rabbit
- Pig
- Parrot
- Hamster
- Turkey
Wild Animals
Swing your arm in front of your nose to show an elephant’s trunk
Reptile
- Snake
- Turtle
- Lizard
- Crocodile
- King Cobra
- Dinosaur
- Gecko
- Rattlesnake
- Chameleon
- Komodo Dragon
- Alligator
- Tortoise
- Python
- Viper
- Iguana
Random Animal Ideas
Pick your favorite animal to act out
Mammals
- Lion
- Panda
- Moose
- Giraffe
- Whale
- Skunk
- Kangaroo
- Fox
- Tiger
- Monkey
- Zebra
- Llama
- Bear
- Elephant
- Seal
Family Charades Ideas
Charades is a game for people of all ages to enjoy. So, why not have a family game night? And if you’re playing during the holidays, here are some fun themed ideas. After all is there a better way to get the family together than after some thanksgiving dessert to sit down and spend time playing charades?
Christmas
Try acting out some classic Christmas songs
Thanksgiving
If you’re wondering what to play at thanksgiving, charades is a great choice
@casapizzi.com
Halloween
Try acting these out in costume to make the game even funnier
Summer
Summer is a great time to get together and play fun games
Camping
Are you bored at camp? Here are some great charades ideas.
Winter
If you are cooped up at home during the winter, charades is a great way to stay entertained
I hope you enjoy some of these fun charades ideas. Now you can give them a go at your next party or gathering! Charades is a game night classic, and it’s easy to see why! This game has brought me and my friends a ton of fun nights, so I’m happy that it may do the same for you. What are you waiting for? Grab your friends, print out these cool ideas, and get playing! Test out your skills and find who is best at this creative game.
It’s time to start playing charades
