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How to Make Your Own Charades

Shake up your next game of charades with these useful tips.
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Charades has been a staple among group party games for generations. It's fun for people of just about any age, except kids under age 5 or 6. Here are some tips on making the game your own.

Change up the categories. Whenever you see a game of charades on TV or in a movie, it always seems to be 'movie' or 'book'. This is your game: make the categories whatever you want. You can make it as specific or vague as you want. The whole game could be about your favorite show, your dog, or even you.

Alter the rules a little, or get rid of them entirely. You can add a little difficulty to your game by removing some of the usual gestures that help the guessers. For example, there are some actions in the game that give more or better clues (such as "sounds like," "letter of the alphabet"). You can eschew these completely for a tougher game.

Enlist a little help from technology. If you have an iPhone or iPad, you can download an app called Ultimate Charades. In addition to preset games and categories, you can fully create your own game of charades with the information that's relevant to you and your friends or family. Everything you need is in the app, including the timer.

Work together. Party games are all about communication and community, so get together with your friends and brainstorm. There are even several websites available that can help you while you're brainstorming. Many of them have printable cards.

Things You'll Need:

  • Stopwatch
  • Blank paper or other devices for keeping score/recording categories
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