Charades Generator
Generate random charades prompts from movies, TV shows, animals, actions, and objects. Three difficulty levels with built-in timer.
Mix of common and less obvious items
Five Categories, Three Difficulty Settings, Built-In Timer
The generator pulls prompts from 5 themed pools (Movies, TV Shows, Animals, Actions, Objects) with 20 prompts in each, giving 100 ready-to-act items. Difficulty controls the timer length only: Easy gives you 90 seconds per round, Medium 60 seconds, Hard 45 seconds. The prompts themselves are drawn from the same pool either way, so swapping difficulty mid-game just adjusts the pace.
A typical pool item looks like "The Lion King" (Movies), "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (TV), "Sloth" (Animals), "Brushing teeth" (Actions) or "Rocket" (Objects). The Hard timer is the most useful for adult party games because 45 seconds genuinely tests how quickly the actor can convey something abstract. For kids' parties Easy at 90 seconds gives them room to think before the pressure builds.
How to Run a Round Without an Argument
Split into 2 teams of 3 to 5 people. One person from Team A pulls a prompt by clicking Get Prompt, looks at it without showing teammates, then clicks Start Timer and acts. Their team has the timer's worth of seconds to guess. If they get it, point to Team A; if not, the prompt resets at the end of the round. Alternate teams.
The classic charades disputes are about gestures (no pointing at objects in the room, no spelling letters, no mouthing the word). Decide those rules before round 1 and stick to them. Round Complete shows a green panel with Next Round and End Game buttons, so the host does not have to remember whose turn is next. The Download JPG option saves the current category's full word list as a printable sheet, which is useful for backup if your phone battery dies mid-party. For a wider party-game shortlist try [Truth or Dare](/truth-or-dare) or [Never Have I Ever](/never-have-i-ever).
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people do you need to play charades?
Four is the practical minimum (two teams of 2). The sweet spot is 6 to 10 people split into two teams, because that gives each player at least 2 turns over a half-hour game and keeps everyone involved between rounds. Above 12 it is worth running 3 teams to keep waiting time short, or splitting into two parallel games.
What is the standard time limit for a charades round?
60 seconds is the traditional standard, which is what the Medium setting here uses. Easy stretches it to 90 seconds for younger players or unfamiliar prompts. Hard tightens it to 45 seconds, which is the unofficial competitive length used in pub charades nights. If your group is doing well you can drop to 30 seconds without setting it up - just stop the timer manually.
Can I add my own custom charades words?
The generator does not currently accept custom word lists; it draws from a fixed pool of 100 prompts. If you need themed prompts (e.g. all 1980s films or all British TV) the simplest workaround is to write them on paper slips beforehand and mix them in. The downloadable JPG of the current category list is meant to act as a fallback printable when you want to play offline.
Is charades good for kids' parties?
Yes, the Animals category in particular works well for ages 5 and up because most of the 20 animals are easy to mime (giraffe, snake, kangaroo, penguin) and visually obvious to guess. Set difficulty to Easy for the 90-second timer and stick to Animals or Actions; the TV and Movies pools assume the player has seen the show, which younger kids often have not.
Related Tools
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