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

@buschfamilybrewed

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

@poojamohanraj

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:

1. 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.
2. The player then acts out the word or phrase.
3. The first person to guess what’s being acted out, receives a point.
4. 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

@lizzysfantasy

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

1. Chicken
2. Cow
3. Horse
4. Dog
5. Kangaroo
6. Rabbit
7. Cat
8. Elephant
9. Bird
10. Pig
11. Turtle
12. Frog
13. Monkey
14. T-Rex
15. Snake

Easy Camping Ideas

Why not have an activity themed charades, like camping

@thecrazyoutdoormama.com

Emotions Charades Ideas

1. Surprised
2. Happy
3. Angry
4. Scared
5. Sad
6. Embarrassed
7. Bored

Random Word Easy Ideas

Even the easiest of words can be fun to act out

Movies and Character Charades

1. Harry Potter
2. A Zombie
3. Frozen
4. Cars
5. Batman
6. Finding Nemo
7. Dora the Explorer
8. Mickey Mouse
9. Hello Kitty
10. The Lion King
11. Cookie Monster
12. The Cat in the Hat
13. Pinocchio
14. Cinderella
15. 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

1. Superbad
2. Zoolander
3. Ghostbusters
4. Game Night
5. Thor: Ragnarök
6. Knives Out
7. Jojo Rabbit
8. The Nice Guys
9. The 40-Year-Old Virgin
10. Hustlers
11. Good Boys
12. Free Guy
13. Tag
14. Step Brothers
15. 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

1. 10 Things I Hate About You
2. Pretty Woman
3. When Harry Met Sally
4. Trainwreck
5. Crazy, Stupid, Love
6. 500 Days of Summer
7. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
8. The Notebook
9. There’s Something About Mary
10. Bridesmaids
11. Notting Hill
12. Wedding Crashers
13. Love Actually
14. 50 First Dates
15. Crazy Rich Asians

Random Movie Ideas

Act out your favorite movie

@GetCharadesIdeas.com

Horror Movies

1. The Shining
2. Scream
3. The Conjuring
4. 28 Days Later
5. The Silence of the Lambs
6. Ring
7. Get Out
8. Us
9. Halloween
10. Paranormal Activity
11. Don’t Breathe
12. It
13. A Quiet Place
14. Jaws
15. 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

1. Pass Out
2. Cringe
3. Vlogger
4. Parking Ticket
5. Gamer
6. Cow
7. Jell-O
8. Superhero
9. Minecraft
10. Workaholic
11. Bullfighter
12. Stage Fright
13. Fanboy/Fangirl
14. Deodorant
15. 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

1. Cat
2. Dog
3. Mouse
4. Cow
5. Chicken
6. Rabbit
7. Goose
8. Sheep
9. Guinea Pig
10. Pony
11. Rabbit
12. Pig
13. Parrot
14. Hamster
15. Turkey

Wild Animals

Swing your arm in front of your nose to show an elephant’s trunk

Reptile

1. Snake
2. Turtle
3. Lizard
4. Crocodile
5. King Cobra
6. Dinosaur
7. Gecko
8. Rattlesnake
9. Chameleon
10. Komodo Dragon
11. Alligator
12. Tortoise
13. Python
14. Viper
15. Iguana

Random Animal Ideas

Pick your favorite animal to act out

Mammals

1. Lion
2. Panda
3. Moose
4. Giraffe
5. Whale
6. Skunk
7. Kangaroo
8. Fox
9. Tiger
10. Monkey
11. Zebra
12. Llama
13. Bear
14. Elephant
15. 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

@alexandrabeeblog