How to Play Charades
with
Jonathon E. Stewart
It's a movie! No, it's a book! First word sounds like... does any of this sound familiar? Either way, check out these tips and you can be a pro at the world's quintessential party game: charades.
Transcript: How to Play Charades
Hey guys - Jonathon Stewart here for About.com. Have you ever been sitting at home by yourself, listening to shouting voices and laughter coming from the big party next door, wondering what the heck all the fun's about?Well, if you've ever peeked in through the window and seen people doing things like… just know your neighbors probably aren't crazy, they're just having fun playing a lively game of charades. And you know what, you can too! Check it out:
What is Charades?
Charades is a game that requires very little in the way of actual equipment. As long as you've got some paper and a pen, a hat or a basket, some kind of timer, and at least six people, you're in business. There are a few different ways to play charades, but the most common is simply to divide your group into two teams, and give each team a point for every correct guess. But what exactly is it you're guessing, you ask? That's the fun part.Basic Rules of Charades
Start by having each team tear up a number of pieces of blank paper, and then writing a single phrase on each. The phrase can be anything or anyone famous or well-known to the entire group, although common categories are things like book titles, film titles, movie stars, TV shows, song titles, or common quotations.The key here is to be somewhat fair. While old movies like "Ferris Buhler's Day Off" can be fun and challenging, obscure books like H. F. Broch de Rothermann's Liebe Frau Strigl might elicit a few groans. But then again, you do want to win.
After all the phrases are written down, fold them over and put them in a hat for the opposing team to draw from. Play proceeds by selecting a member of the first team to draw a phrase, then to stand in front of her team and try to get them to guess the phrase, all without speaking or making any noise at all.
Basic Charades Gestures
So here's the fun part - I'll run you through a few of the basic gestures, and even throw that may not be in the common charades lexicon, but that will definitely give you a leg up. Start your timer, and here we go.(Demo) book title, movie title, play title, song title, tv show, famous quote, location, event, computer game, website, number of words in phrase, number of syllables in phrase, big word, small word, you've got it, sounds like, longer version of, shorter version of, its a monster movie, a western, a sleeper, a rockstar, a person with a very large nose, this one's a tough one, close - keep guessing, not very close, not at all close, my teammates are complete idiots.
Just remember that it's ultimately up to you and your own creativity - and being able to read your teammate's minds... so when you get really good, try playing without words, or gestures... Thanks for watching! To learn more, visit us on the Web at style.about.com.