150+ Entertaining Charades Ideas For All Ages

Get your party giggling with these creative charades ideas

Co-authored by Sophie Burkholder, BA Reviewed by Ashton Wu

Last Updated: December 17, 2025 Fact Checked

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it...Superman!?!? A game of charades might go just like that, with wild guesses thrown out until one sticks. But to play charades and keep the pantomime party going all night long (as we're sure you want to), you need a long list of clues and ideas for players to act out. We've compiled an exhaustive list of charades words and ideas for every difficulty level and every tricky topic you want to test yourself with. Just one last thing…no talking!

1

Quick Charades Ideas for Adults

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Give adults a range of places, people, and abstract ideas. Use options from different categories, e.g. films, actions, sports, songs, etc. More challenging options keep the game interesting when you're playing with a (mostly) mature crew.^{[1]
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- Titanic
- Doctor Who
- The Great Gatsby
- "Umbrella" by Rihanna
- Cardi B
- Hiccups
- Putting on eyeliner
- Stubbing your toe
- Mermaid
- "You're gonna need a bigger boat." - Jaws

2

Quick Charades Ideas for Kids

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Stick with concrete objects and familiar topics when playing with kids. Start with animals and simple actions, then add your mini-mime's favorite Disney movies or songs!^{[2]
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- Cat
- Pizza
- Skiing
- Guitar
- Doctor
- Tying a shoe
- Statue of Liberty
- Finding Nemo
- Frozen
- "Baby Shark"

3

Quick Charades Ideas for Teens

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Use funny and relatable clues for teenage players. Make a teen's charade words a little easier than an adult's. If you're using pop culture or celebrity references, ensure your teenager is familiar with that person or thing!^{[3]
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- Shark
- Gymnastics
- Bubblegum
- Cello
- Pro wrestler
- Playing hacky sack
- Leaning Tower of Pisa
- The Lord of the Rings
- High School Musical
- "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift

4

Hard Words for Charades

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Level up with more abstract and obscure clues. If you're looking for a more difficult game, add idioms like "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade". Try clues that don't necessarily have a visual or action attached to them, like brain freeze.^{[4]
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- A rock
- Jell-O
- Jet lag
- Spilling the tea
- Road trip
- Deja-Vu
- Elon Musk
- "Best thing since sliced bread"
- Marty McFly from Back to the Future
- Pretend to be any of your fellow players

5

Funny Charades Ideas

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Choose over-the-top clues that will have your players looking silly. Try actions that will make your guests over-exaggerate their emotions or movements, like changing a diaper or (trying to) do the splits. Add fun dance moves like the worm or the moonwalk.^{[5]
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- Frog
- Clown
- Twerking
- Riding a bull
- Britney Spears
- Constipation
- Typing an angry email
- Walking in giant shoes
- Slipping on a banana peel
- "It's alive! It's alive!" - Frankenstein

6

Food Charades Ideas

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Choose a range of food clues from easy to hard. Start with something simple, like a banana or soup, then up the difficulty level with honey or sushi.^{[6]
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- Lollipop
- Spaghetti
- Eggs
- Orange
- Milk and cookies
- Taco
- Apple pie
- Strawberries
- Garlic
- Pancakes

7

Animal Charades Ideas

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Start off with simple animals before switching to more difficult ones. A dog might be a good one to start with, but we'll see how you do with guessing a sea lion! Before playing this list, decide whether animal noises are allowed with your guests.^{[7]
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- Bird
- Rabbit
- Cheetah
- Kangaroo
- Rattlesnake
- Bat
- Lion
- Horse
- Polar bear
- Flying squirrel

8

Emotions Charades Ideas

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Include a list of all possible types of emotions. Whether positive to negative feelings, these clues can make for some pretty funny faces when acted out. Since you can't speak, use your body language and change your facial expressions to show more emotion.^{[8]
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- Happy
- Sad
- Scared
- Angry
- Excited
- Disgusted
- Peaceful
- Stressed
- Surprised
- Frustrated

9

Actions Charades Ideas

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Use clues that have both an action and a place or object. For example, instead of climbing, try climbing a tree. Or, instead of running, try running on a treadmill.^{[9]
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- Shopping at the mall
- Building a campfire
- Throwing a strike
- Visiting the zoo
- Sewing on a button
- Raking leaves
- Mowing a lawn
- Riding a motorcycle
- Playing hopscotch
- Milking a cow

10

Sports Charades Ideas

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Mix in some less well-known sports with the popular ones. Feel free to add baseball, football, and soccer to your list, but also add sports like water polo, rugby, and netball.^{[10]
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- Basketball
- Golf
- Tennis
- Dancing
- Hockey
- Volleyball
- Kayaking
- Archery
- Long jump
- Ultimate frisbee

11

Songs Charades Ideas

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Use songs that everyone will most likely know. Choose tunes with descriptive titles or well-known dances, like "Party in the U.S.A." or "Single Ladies." Share that you're trying to get your team to guess a clue by holding a pretend microphone. Just no actual humming or singing!^{[11]
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- "Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland
- "Hound Dog" by Elvis Presley
- "Dancing Queen" by ABBA
- "Imagine" by John Lennon
- "YMCA" by Village People
- "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice
- "Sk8r Boy” by Avril Lavigne
- "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars
- "Despacito" by Daddy Yankee
- "Hello" by Adele

12

Movies Charades Ideas

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Choose popular movies that your players are familiar with. If you have kids in your game, choose The Little Mermaid over Steel Magnolias. Remember to indicate your clue is a movie by miming that you're using an old-fashioned film camera.^{[12]
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- Coco
- Despicable Me
- Home Alone
- The Wizard of Oz
- The Princess Bride
- Mamma Mia!
- Zoolander
- Sherlock Holmes
- Rocky
- Braveheart

13

TV Show Charades Ideas

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Choose different types of TV shows that your players enjoy. Try a clue with easily separated words. For example, act out The Walking Dead by walking first and then playing dead. But first, draw a rectangle with your fingers to clue your team in on the TV show category.^{[13]
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- Friends
- Euphoria
- American Idol
- Squid Game
- The Simpsons
- Downton Abbey
- Game of Thrones
- Umbrella Academy
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- The Great British Baking Show

14

Books Charades Ideas

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Pick an iconic book your team will know from the title alone. Ensure your players know it's a book by opening your hands like you're reading. You don't actually have to have read the book to give clues. Just use the words in the title – like pretending to write in a notebook for The Notebook.^{[14]
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- Alice in Wonderland
- Harry Potter
- Dracula
- Fifty Shades of Grey
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- Pride and Prejudice
- Gone Girl
- Fahrenheit 451
- It
- The Bible

15

Famous People Charades Ideas

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Choose a mix of real and fictional famous folk. Indicate that your clue is a person by posing with your hands on your hips. Act out that person's mannerisms, like widening your eyes for Mr. Bean or moving your hips a lot for Shakira.^{[15]
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- Paris Hilton
- Ariana Grande
- Justin Bieber
- Bill Gates
- Albert Einstein
- Wonder Woman
- Nancy Drew
- Superman
- Catwoman
- Darth Vader

16

Job Charades Ideas

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Start off with occupations that have actions attached to them. For example, a taxi driver can pretend to drive a car, and a fisherman can pretend to reel one in. Once you've mastered those, challenge yourself with a more abstract occupation like a realtor or psychologist.^{[16]
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- Dentist
- Baker
- Plumber
- Teacher
- Seamstress
- Flight Attendant
- Firefighter
- Influencer
- Journalist
- President of the United States