How to play Telephone Charades
Everyone lines up facing away. The first player sees the word, turns and acts it out for the next, and it’s passed down the line until the last player says the answer. Each player only gets a few seconds before it switches — which team gets the most right before time runs out?
- Players3–10 per team; split into teams for bigger groups — 30 works fine
- Time3–15 minutes per team (5 by default)
- You needOne phone for the host and room for a line
How to play
- Set players per team, minutes per team (5 by default) and seconds per player (15 by default — fewer is more intense).
- Line up, all facing away. The host draws a word and shows only the first player; when they’ve got it, press “Start passing!” and the team’s clock starts.
- The first player taps the second on the shoulder, and the second turns around to watch: acting only — no talking, no sounds, no mouthing. When the seconds run out the phone beeps and it switches to the next player on its own; the host doesn’t need to press anything.
- Once the last player has seen it, they start guessing. Boxes show how many letters the answer has; after 10 seconds the category appears, after 20 seconds a letter. Press “Got it!” if they’re right, or “Nobody got it” any time, then draw the next word.
- The clock pauses while the answer is shown — ask back down the line, “What did you think it was?” When the team’s time runs out, the word in progress doesn’t count and the phone shows how many they got. For the next team, press “Play again”.
How to host
Say thisLet’s play Telephone Charades! Line up facing away. The first player sees the word, turns and acts it out for the next, and we pass it down the line until the last player says the answer. Acting only, no sounds — and you only get a few seconds, so when the phone beeps, it switches! Which team can get the most right before time runs out?
- For a big group, split into teams (3–10 each — three teams covers 30 people). Each team plays one round with the same time; most right wins.
- Two teams can also race at once: same number of players, lined up side by side. Both first players see the same word and switch on the same timer. The two last players race to answer — first right scores, and the host keeps count.
- Asking back down the line “What did you think it was?” after the answer is shown is the funniest part of the game — don’t skip it (the clock is paused).