How to Play Heads Up! (Rules & How to Win)

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How to score points in this fun charades game

Co-authored by Raven Minyard, BA Reviewed by Ashton Wu

Last Updated: May 16, 2026 Fact Checked

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App Version

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Tabletop Version

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Getting Better

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Video

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Q&A

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VIDEO

Heads Up! is an app and tabletop party game invented by Ellen DeGeneres. The game is a lot like word charades, where participants must guess which word the other player(s) are describing. In this article, we’ll teach you how to play both the app and tabletop versions of the game and provide tips for how to improve. Let’s get started!

Heads Up! Game Instructions

Have one player hold the phone to their forehead with the screen facing out.
The other players will say or act out clues for the word on the screen.
The guesser tilts the phone down when they get a word correct.
The guesser tilts the phone up to skip a word.
Keep playing until time runs out, then have another player be the guesser.
The player with the most points at the end wins.

Section 1 of 3:

How to Play Heads Up! (App Version)

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1
Download and open the app. The official Heads Up! app is available for both Apple and Android products. Find and download it in your app store. Once it’s installed, tap the icon to open up the game.^{[1]
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- If you have an iPhone or iPad, purchase and download Heads Up! on the App Store. Note that it currently costs $1.99.
- If you have an Android, download the game from the Google Play Store. It is currently free to download.
2
Organize into teams of two. If more than two people are playing, have everyone split up into teams of two. One player will guess the word on the screen while their teammate will provide clues to them. The goal is to guess the word that appears on the tablet without looking at it. Each time a person guesses the word on the screen correctly, they receive a point.^{[2]
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- Rhyming is not allowed.
- If you don’t want to split into teams, have all the other players provide clues to the guesser simultaneously. This might get a bit unruly if you have a lot of players, though.
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3
Choose a deck and tap Play. In Heads Up!, there are a variety of subjects that you can choose from. Talk to your friends and determine which subject everyone likes the best. Decks include celebrities, movies, animals, accents, and characters. Read the deck description to learn what kind of clues will be in the deck, then click “Play” if that’s the category you want to go with.^{[3]
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- There are new decks regularly being added to the game, such as the Chinese New Year edition.
- This description will also give you brief directions on the rules of the game.
4
Put the back of the phone against your forehead. Decide who wants to go first, then have them put the phone against their forehead, with the phone’s screen facing out so that their teammate can see the word. After a countdown, the game will begin. Putting the phone on your forehead will make sure that you can't see the word, but your teammate can.^{[4]
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- If you are using a tablet, you can put the tablet in front of you instead of placing it on your forehead.
Your teammate will see the word and try to provide clues without saying the word directly. The person giving the clues should signal when you've gotten the word correct. Once you do, tilt the phone down so that the face of the phone points towards the floor. This will record your point.^{[5]
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If you're stumped and aren't sure what the word is, tilt the phone upwards to skip the card and go on to the next one. This won't count against your score, but you won't get a point for the card.^{[6]
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Continue guessing cards until the time runs out. You have 60 seconds to guess all of the cards in the deck for your turn. Try to guess as many words as you can before the time runs out. Once the timer goes down to zero, it will tally up your points. After you have guessed the words in your deck, it's your teammate's turn to guess the word and hold the phone. Whoever scores the most points at the end of the round wins.^{[7]
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- Play as many rounds as you want.
- If you are playing with more than 2 people, you can combine the points on each team, and whichever team gets the most, wins. If you’re not playing with teams, the person who has the most points after everyone has guessed wins.

Section 2 of 3:

How to Play Heads Up! (Tabletop Game)

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1
Put on your headbands, shuffle the cards, and set up the game. Playing the tabletop version of Heads Up! requires more set-up than playing the app version. Have each player put their headband on with the logo facing forward. Separate the cards into their 4 categories, shuffle them, and place them face down on the table. Place the timer and point chips in the center of the table.^{[8]
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- The cards go in the headbands so you don’t have to constantly hold them up while you’re playing.
- The game comes with 6 headbands, and you can play with 2-6 players.
- There are 48 chips, 200 cards, and 1 sand timer.
2
Choose the first player and category. Decide which player will guess first and have everyone else be clue givers. Then, choose one of the 4 categories to play: Act It Out, Superstars, Blockbuster Movies, or Sound It Out.^{[9]
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- In Act It Out, the clue givers can’t speak. They must act things out and use sound effects to provide clues.
- In Superstars, the clue givers must provide clues about a certain celebrity without rhyming or saying any part of their name.
- In Blockbuster Movies, players must provide clues about a certain movie, again without saying the name or rhyming.
- In Sound It Out, players can only use sounds to describe the item on the card. No talking is allowed, but you can act things out.
Without looking, the guesser will draw these cards from the chosen category deck. Have them place the cards in their headband so the words are visible to everyone else.^{[10]
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Start giving clues and guessing the word. Flip the sand timer over to start the round. The clue givers will all start giving their clues for the first word on the guesser’s forehead. Be careful not to give any illegal clues (like rhyming or saying part of the word). If you do, skip that word and move on to the next one.^{[11]
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- Note that the cards each have 2 words on them. Play each word before moving on to the next card.
- If anyone is stumped, say “Pass” to skip that word.
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Earn a chip for each correct answer. When the guesser gets an answer correct, they get a chip. There’s also the option to play in “challenge mode,” in which the guesser gets 2 chips for every correct answer. If you play in challenge mode, there are more restrictions on what type of clues the players can give. For example:^{[12]
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- In Act It Out, you can’t use any sound effects.
- In Superstars, you can’t mention any other celebrities.
- In Blockbuster, you can’t name any actors in the movie.
- In Sound It Out, you can’t use any motions.
Keep playing until the sand timer runs out. When it does, the guesser will count how many chips they have. Write this number down or keep it in mind to compare everyone’s totals at the end of the game.^{[13]
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Discard the cards you played in the previous round and put any unused cards back into the category deck. The player to the guesser’s left will become the new guesser. Play the same way until everyone has had a turn.^{[14]
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Keep playing until all the chips have been taken (or everyone has played the same amount of rounds). Whoever has the most chips is the winner! Feel free to start the game again.^{[15]
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If you prefer, split the players into two teams. The game works the same way, except only the guesser’s teammates can give clues. When both teams have played a round, choose a new category. When it’s your team’s turn again, choose a new guesser. The team with the most chips at the end wins.^{[16]
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Section 3 of 3:

Getting Better at Heads Up!

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The best way to score more points is to be knowledgeable about the topic. If you love movies or TV shows, for example, pick the celebrity or movie deck. If you know a lot about biology and different animals, play the animal deck. The more you know about the topic in the deck, the easier the game will be for you.
While you can play Heads Up! against each other, you can also play as a team. Instead of trying to score more points than the other player, try to score points together and get a high score. This can be a less competitive and more fun way of playing the game.
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Describe the word. One of the most common clues in Heads Up! is a description of a word. Try to visualize the object and describe it to the best of your ability. The more accurate and recognizable details you give, the better the chance the person will be able to guess it.^{[17]
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- For instance, if the card says "alligator," say something like "It's a green reptile with a long mouth and lots of teeth."
4
Make recognizable noises. If the word is an animal that makes a certain sound, copy the noise to give a clue to the word. If the word is a famous television show or movie with a recognizable theme song, hum the song instead of trying to describe the show or movie. Think of sounds, noises, or songs that are related to the word and use them instead of describing it.^{[18]
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- For example, if the word is "dog," you might bark or say "woof" instead of describing a dog.
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Say the synonyms of the word on the screen. If there is a widely used synonym for the word that is on the screen, you can use it. Think about words that are related or mean the same thing as the word on the screen and use that as your clue.
- For example, if the word on the screen is "cliff," you can say something like "precipice, crag, or bluff."

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How do I view the videos?

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At the end of your game, there will be a "watch video" option. The videos of your games should also appear in your phone's photo library.

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What do I do when the option doesn't change after I tilt my phone?

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Try force closing the app and then reopening it. If it still doesn't work, turn your phone on and off and try reinstalling the app.

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Can I keep track of points for each player?

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Keeping track of points is completely up to you. It is up to each individual how they like to keep track of points and whether or not they would like to do so.

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