How to play Picture Telephone
One phone goes around in order. The first player draws the word, the next only sees that drawing for 5 seconds and draws what they think it was, all the way to the last player, who guesses from the final drawing. Then lay out everyone’s drawings and see where it went wrong.
- Players3–10 per team
- TimeAbout 3 minutes per word with 5 players
- You needJust one phone — no paper or pens
How to play
- Set players per team and seconds to draw (30 by default), and decide the order you’ll pass the phone.
- Draw a word and show only the first player; when they’ve got it, press “Start drawing!” and draw with a finger. No writing, no talking — you can undo or start over.
- When time’s up the phone beeps and keeps the drawing; you can also press “Done” early. Pass the phone on: the next player presses “Ready”, sees only the previous drawing for 5 seconds, then draws what they think it was on a blank canvas.
- Keep going to the last player, who says the answer out loud from the final drawing. Boxes show how many letters it has, and after 10 seconds the category appears. Then the host presses “Show the answer”.
- Everyone’s drawings are laid out in order so you can see where the word went wrong. Press “Next word” to keep playing, or hold “End the game” when you’re done.
How to host
Say thisLet’s play Picture Telephone! The phone goes around in order: the first player draws the word, the next only sees that drawing and draws what they think it was, all the way to the last player, who guesses. No writing, no talking. At the end we’ll lay out all the drawings and see where it went wrong!
- While the phone is passed, remind everyone who’s waiting to look away — seeing the earlier drawings spoils it.
- After the answer, go back through the drawings one by one and ask each person what they thought they were drawing — it’s the funniest part.
- For a big group, split into teams with one phone each and play the same word at once — which team still gets it right at the end?