How to play charades with the generator
- Pick the words. Under Categories, keep all eight or choose a few — Actions, Jobs, Animals, Sports & hobbies, Everyday objects, Places, Feelings, and Party & seasons. Under Difficulty, Easy and Medium are on by default.
- Set up the teams. Choose how many Teams play, from one to six, and give them names.
- Get ready. The first team picks an actor. The actor presses and holds Hold to peek to see the first word without anyone else seeing it.
- Press Start round. After a 3-2-1 countdown the timer runs. The actor acts the word in silence; when the team guesses it, press Got it (or the Space bar) for the next word, or Skip (S) to pass.
- Check the round summary. When time is up, every word of the round is listed. Tap a word to switch it between got it and skipped, then press Next team.
The deck is shuffled once at the start of a game with your browser’s secure random generator, so words never repeat in a game. When the deck runs out, the clock stops until you press Reshuffle.
Categories and difficulty
There are 624 built-in words and phrases: 26 per category for each of the three levels. Easy words are single things or simple actions anyone can show, such as brushing teeth or a kangaroo. Medium ones need a little more thought — taking a selfie, a flight attendant, a roller coaster. Hard prompts are scenes and ideas that need a plan: waiting for a slow elevator, jet-lagged, a cherry blossom picnic. All are written for adults, with no film titles, song names or brands. Easy to act isn’t always easy to draw: a birthday cake is Easy here but Hard in the pictionary-style word generator, which has its own list chosen for drawing.
Timed rounds, skips and scoring
Choose a Round length from 30 seconds to three minutes. The timer turns red for the last five seconds, and with Beeps in the last 5 seconds and a chime at time up switched on you hear it too. Skips per round can be none, one, three or unlimited, and a Skip penalty of minus one point makes teams think twice before passing. Play to ends the game after the round in which a team reaches 5, 10, 15 or 20 points. Pause (P) stops the clock and hides the word, and the game saves itself as you go.
Forehead mode (heads-up style)
Forehead mode turns the game around: the guesser holds the phone to their forehead, screen facing out, while the team acts or describes the word. Tilt the screen down for Got it and up for Pass. A short tilt check learns how your phone moves the first time; Use taps instead skips it, and the halves of the screen always work as big buttons. After each answer the screen flashes green or amber (just text with reduced motion) and phones that can will buzz. Nothing to install. Once the page has loaded, rounds keep working without a connection — just don’t reload offline.
Charades ideas for office parties, game nights and family gatherings
- Office party: split the room with the team generator, choose Jobs and Party & seasons, and play to 15 points.
- Training warm-up: add the course’s key terms under My words and pick Use only my words: acting out a concept helps people remember it.
- Game night: set rounds to 45 seconds and unlimited skips for a fast, chaotic game.
- Family gathering: choose Easy only and the Animals and Everyday objects categories so every age group can join in. For more animal ideas, try the random animal generator.
- Video call: the actor opens this page on a phone off camera, acts to the webcam and presses Got it when the team guesses.
Charades rules refresher
The actor may not speak, mouth words or point at objects in the room. Common signals help: hold up fingers for the number of words, tap your forearm for the number of syllables, cup your ear for “sounds like”, and crank an old film camera beside your head for a film title. The rest of the team shouts guesses until someone gets it. For single words to build your own variations, use the random word generator.
Jeopardy!, Pictionary and Heads Up! are trademarks of their owners. Unbiased Wheel is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
FAQ
How do I get random charades words?
Choose your categories and difficulty, then press Start round. After a 3-2-1 countdown the first word appears for the actor; Got it moves to the next word and scores a point, Skip passes. The deck is shuffled once per game, so no word comes up twice until you've used them all.
How long should a charades round be?
60 seconds is the classic length and the default here: long enough for three to six words, short enough to keep everyone watching. Pick 45 or 30 seconds for a fast, noisy game, or 90 to 180 seconds for harder words and groups that like to take their time.
How does forehead mode work?
Press Forehead mode and hold the phone to your forehead, screen facing your team. They act or describe the word; tilt the screen down when you guess it and up to pass. Tapping the right or left half of the screen works too, and Use taps instead skips the first tilt check.
Can I add my own charades words?
Yes. Open My words and type one word or phrase per line, up to 500. Mix with built-in adds them to the deck; Use only my words plays a themed game, such as inside jokes for a team party. Your words stay on this device and travel only in links you share.
Are there easy words for mixed groups?
Yes. Choose Easy only: single words and short actions such as clapping, penguin or umbrella, which anyone can act. Medium adds phrases like flipping pancakes; Hard has scenes and ideas such as parallel parking or stage fright. Mix levels if your group has very different confidence levels.
Can teams keep score here?
Yes. Set up to six named teams. Each Got it is a point, a skip can cost a point if you turn on the penalty, and the round summary lets you fix a word that was scored wrongly. Choose Play to 5, 10, 15 or 20 points to finish automatically, or press End game whenever you like.
Does forehead mode work on iPhone?
Yes. When you press Forehead mode, Safari on iPhone asks whether the page may use motion and orientation; allow it and tilting scores. If you decline, or a phone sends no motion data, forehead mode runs with the tap zones instead — right half for Got it, left half for Pass — so the game works either way.
Can I play movie charades?
Yes, with your own list. The built-in words have no film, TV or song titles, so type the titles you want under My words, one per line, and choose Use only my words. The actor starts each title with the classic film signal: cranking an old camera beside their head.
Updated November 7, 2026