How to play Guess!
Guess the secret word, phrase, or name
Also called Charades
In 90 seconds
- Split into two teams. One phone runs the game — it gets passed to whoever's giving clues, since that's the only screen the word shows on. Keep it out of everyone else's sightline.
- Fill the bowl however you like: everyone taps in a few words from their own phone, or pick a ready-made deck at setup and let the app deal. Anything you can act out, draw, or describe works.
- One clue-giver takes the phone. For each word they choose how to clue it — act it out, draw it, or say anything except the word — and their team shouts guesses. Sixty seconds; one point per correct guess.
- Stuck? Pass and the next word comes up — two passes a turn. Teams alternate until the bowl is empty.
- When the words run out, shuffle them back in and keep going, or call it there. Play as long as you like.
- Most points wins. A first bowl takes about twenty minutes; another shuffle is free minutes more.
The trick is that the clue method is yours per card — mime one, scribble the next, talk through a third — unless you lock a single way to play at setup and lean all the way in.
What you need
Split into two or more teams. Grab paper and a marker if anyone wants to draw.
On your turn
One player (or the whole team except one player) gives clues for the word or phrase on the card, acting it out, drawing it, or describing it, without saying any part of the word. The guessers shout answers until time runs out; one point per correct guess.
A worked round
Ana, Bo and Cass are the Reds. Dev, Elle and Finn are the Blues. Between them they've loaded a bowl of words — some they wrote, some from the deck.
Ana takes the phone. First up: Airplane. She sets the phone where only she can see it and starts miming wings.
Bo: "Bird!"
Cass: "Airplane!"
Ana taps Got It and the next word is up — one point to the Reds. It's Albert Einstein. She grabs the marker, sketches wild hair and a chalkboard, and Bo gets it before she's finished the equals sign.
Two. The next one is a phrase she can't get anywhere near, so she passes — it goes back in for someone else, and she has one pass left this turn. She gets two passes a turn.
The timer runs out mid-gesture. Ana's turn is over with three words, and the phone goes to Dev for the Blues, who picks up from the same bowl. Teams keep alternating until the last word is gone.
When the bowl empties, the app offers to shuffle the same words back in and keep the scores — or end the game. The Reds are ahead by two. They shuffle. Same words, fresh order, and Ana is already reaching for the phone.
Rulings
Can I say part of the word, or spell it out?
No — not when you're describing. Saying the word (or a piece of it), spelling it, or mouthing letters is giving the answer. Acting and drawing have the same spirit: no writing letters that spell the word, no pointing at the thing itself in the room and calling that a clue.
What if I say the word by accident?
Pass and move on. Nobody tracks a penalty, and the app doesn't either — the room already knows what happened.
Do we have to pick one clue style for the whole game?
No. Out of the box the clue-giver picks per card — mime one, draw the next, talk through a third. If you'd rather commit to one gear for the whole night, pick that way to play at setup (Act it out is the usual starting lock).
How many passes do I get?
Two per turn by default. Passing skips the card and puts it back for someone else; you can't pass when it's the only unscored word left in play — that would just redraw the same card.
We emptied the bowl mid-turn — do those points count?
Yes. The turn ends, the scores stick, and the host chooses shuffle-and-continue or end game. A big turn that clears the bowl isn't punished.
Can we play with three teams? Or just one?
Set up as many teams as you like — three or four is good at a bigger party. One team works too, everyone clearing the bowl together against the clock. All you actually need is someone holding the phone and someone who isn't.
Do we need paper?
Only if anyone wants to draw. Acting and describing need nothing but the phone. If the group is all-mime, leave the marker in the kitchen.
Do we have to write our own words?
No. Phones are the easy way to fill a custom bowl, but a ready-made deck at setup skips the writing entirely — useful when you want to start in under a minute.
Ways to Play
- Act it out Recommended — no talking
- Say anything but the word
- Say one word only
- Draw it — no words or letters
Act it out is the one to try first if the room already knows charades. No talking — just mime — and the phone still keeps score and the timer so nobody has to watch a clock.
Say anything but the word is the talking round without the mime. Fair game for anything about the answer except the answer itself.
Say one word only turns every clue into a single-word dart. Brutal, short turns, and weirdly funny once the bowl has a few phrases in it.
Draw it needs paper and a marker (or a whiteboard). No words or letters on the page — pictures only — and the rest of the team still shouts from the couch.
Themes
People, Places, Things, Famous names, Cultural references
No sign-up is required to play.