150+ Charades Ideas for Your Next Game Night

Good charades comes down to good words. Too easy and nobody laughs; too hard and the round dies while the actor stands there flapping. The list below is sorted by difficulty so you can pick the right level for the room and move up as the night goes on.

If you would rather not read a list out loud at all, pick a pack and press play — the timer and the words are handled for you.

Easy charades ideas

Start here with kids, with a group that has never played, or as a warm-up round. These are all single objects or actions with an obvious physical shape.

Animals: Elephant, Monkey, Snake, Kangaroo, Penguin, Chicken, Frog, Horse, Bee, Crab, Rabbit, Owl, Shark, Cat, Dog

Everyday actions: Brushing teeth, Sleeping, Swimming, Driving, Typing, Cooking, Sneezing, Yawning, Running, Painting, Fishing, Dancing, Clapping, Crying, Laughing

Objects around the house: Umbrella, Toothbrush, Ladder, Broom, Mirror, Pillow, Scissors, Telephone, Camera, Guitar, Vacuum, Kettle, Hammer, Clock, Suitcase

Jobs: Doctor, Chef, Police officer, Firefighter, Teacher, Barber, Waiter, Farmer, Pilot, Dentist, Photographer, Mechanic, Nurse, Painter, Judge

For a full list built for the youngest players, see kids charades ideas.

Medium charades ideas

The sweet spot for most groups. These need two or three gestures strung together, which is where charades gets genuinely funny.

Sports and activities: Bowling, Golf, Surfing, Boxing, Skateboarding, Rock climbing, Ice skating, Archery, Yoga, Weightlifting, Hurdles, Diving, Cycling, Tennis, Karate

Places: Airport, Beach, Library, Gym, Zoo, Hospital, Cinema, Supermarket, Museum, Circus, Farm, Castle, Bank, Restaurant, School

Movies: Titanic, Jaws, Frozen, The Lion King, Rocky, Jurassic Park, Ghostbusters, Home Alone, Spider-Man, Toy Story, The Matrix, Shrek, Up, Grease, King Kong

Situations everyone recognizes: Missing the bus, Stuck in traffic, Losing your keys, Sunburn, Brain freeze, Bad haircut, Stubbing your toe, Wobbly chair, Wrong number, Dropped ice cream, Slow WiFi, Alarm clock, Flat tire, Spilled coffee, Long queue

Hard charades ideas

Save these for later in the night. Abstract nouns and multi-word phrases force the actor to break the idea into pieces, which is where the best acting happens.

Abstract concepts: Gravity, Jealousy, Deja vu, Inflation, Democracy, Nostalgia, Karma, Peer pressure, Insomnia, Patience, Guilt, Freedom, Luck, Boredom, Regret

Idioms and phrases: Break the ice, Spill the beans, Cold feet, Hit the sack, Piece of cake, Bite the bullet, Under the weather, Let the cat out of the bag, Burning the midnight oil, Barking up the wrong tree

Professions that look alike: Archaeologist, Air traffic controller, Sommelier, Auctioneer, Locksmith, Cartographer, Beekeeper, Taxidermist, Stunt double, Sign language interpreter

Historical figures: Cleopatra, Napoleon, Einstein, Shakespeare, Amelia Earhart, Julius Caesar, Marie Curie, Gandhi, Da Vinci, Beethoven

How to pick the right difficulty

A round should feel winnable but not automatic. A simple rule: if your team guesses more than eight words in a minute, the pack is too easy. If they get fewer than three, drop a level.

The fastest way to calibrate is to change the timer rather than the words. Sixty seconds is standard. Give a hard pack ninety and an easy pack thirty, and the same word list suddenly works for a completely different group.

Charades ideas by theme

If you want words that fit an occasion rather than a difficulty, jump straight to a themed pack:

• Movies charades — 60 films everyone has seen
• Christmas charades — 83 holiday words
• Funny charades — 97 words built to embarrass the actor
• Act It Out charades — 143 situations instead of nouns
• Animals charades — 33 easy wins
• Hard charades — 111 words for experienced groups

Or browse all 88 packs and start a round in one tap.

Before you start

Two things ruin more games than bad words. First, agree whether sounds are allowed — songs usually want a tune, movie titles usually stay quiet. Second, don't say the answer. The temptation to blurt the title is enormous and it ends every argument badly.

Everything else is covered in the charades rules.