How to Play Pictionary

Co-authored by Our Family Plays Games and Hunter Rising

Last Updated: October 27, 2024 Fact Checked

VIDEO

If you’re looking for a fun drawing game to whip out the next time you’re with a group of friends, Pictionary is a classic that you should definitely try out. In Pictionary, everyone takes turns drawing a picture that represents a word to make the rest of their team guess it correctly. It’s fast-paced, extremely fun, and super easy to learn. We know you’re excited to start sketching and get your game night started, so keep reading for all the rules you’ll need to play!

Things You Should Know

Play Pictionary with 3 or more players split into 2 teams. Each team gets a pad of paper, pencil, pawn, and reference card.
One player on a team picks a card and looks at the word matching the color of the space their pawn is on. The player has to sketch the prompt.
The person sketching has 1 minute to draw the word without using letters or symbols. If their team guesses the word, they roll a die and move around the board.
Win if you’re the first team to reach the Finish square and correctly guess a drawing.

Section 1 of 5:

Objective

Download Article

On your team’s turn, one person has 60 seconds to sketch a word or prompt from a card they draw. If you’re the one sketching, try to quickly draw the prompt so your team can correctly guess what it is. Every other member of the person’s team looks at the drawing and tries to figure out what the word or prompt is.^{[1]
X
Research source}

Section 2 of 5:

Setup

Download Article

1
Shuffle the deck of cards and place it in the holder. Each card in the Pictionary deck has a list of different words to use as drawing prompts. Shuffle all of the cards so they’re thoroughly mixed together, and set them in the holder so they all face the same direction.^{[2]
X
Research source}
- If some of the cards don’t fit into the holder, just set them aside to use later.
- Some Pictionary games have a deck of trickier prompts for adults and a separate stack of cards with easier prompts for kids. Choose the deck you use based on the ages of the people you’re playing with.^{[3]
  X
  Research source}
2
Split the players into even teams. You can play with up to 4 separate teams, but you’ll have more fun if you split into fewer teams that have more people. Split up your group of friends as evenly as possible to keep the game fair.^{[4]
X
Research source}
- If you want to play Pictionary with only 3 people, then choose one player to draw. They’ll draw the clues for both of the other players.
You only need 1 pencil and pad of paper for the team since there’s only 1 person drawing each turn. Set the reference card somewhere where all your team members can reach it. The card lists the colors and categories for the spaces on the board and other cards so you have an idea of what you’ll have to draw.^{[5]
X
Research source}
Find the space labeled “Start” on the board and choose a pawn color for your team. All the members of your team will use the same pawn since you’re working together to win.^{[6]
X
Research source}
5
Clarify how precise an answer should be before you start. Chat with your friends about house rules right away so you don’t get into a dispute later in the game. Discuss if players need to say the full prompt to win a round or if you’ll accept shortened or partial answers.^{[7]
X
Research source}
- Example: If the prompt is “bunk bed,” decide if someone answering “bunk” is OK.
- Example: You may decide “floss” is an acceptable answer for the prompt “dental floss.”

Section 3 of 5:

Drawing Categories

Download Article

Objects are things that can be touched or seen, like “apple” or “table.”^{[8]
X
Research source}
This includes regular nouns, such as “construction worker,” “bedroom,” or “camel.” This category could also include proper nouns, like “Abraham Lincoln” or “The United States.”^{[9]
X
Research source}
Actions are usually verbs and something that can be performed, such as “skydiving” or “singing.”^{[10]
X
Research source}
These words are more complex, so they’re harder to draw, like “stained glass” or “frozen food.”^{[11]
X
Research source}
Miscellaneous can be any word from any of the existing categories.^{[12]
X
Research source}
The wild category lets you choose any word on a card that you draw.^{[13]
X
Research source}

Section 4 of 5:

Gameplay

Download Article

Each team picks a member to roll the game die. Whatever team gets the higher number gets to go first.^{[14]
X
Research source}
You can pick any player on your team to be the first “Picturist,” or the person who’s drawing for the round. All the other team members will try to guess what the Picturist is drawing so they can move around the board on their turn.^{[15]
X
Research source}
3
The Picturist draws a card and uses the word matching the space's color. The Picturist chooses a random card from the holder. The Picturist secretly looks at the word without telling any of the other players.^{[16]
X
Research source}
- If the board space or word has an icon with 4 pencil icons or is labeled “AP,” it’s an “All Play” prompt. Picturists from each team will draw the prompt at the same time. Let all the Picturists look at the card for 5 seconds.
4
The Picturist flips the sand timer and starts sketching their word. After getting a good look at the prompt, the Picturist picks up their pencil. Quickly flip the sand timer so the Picturist can start drawing. If you’re drawing, try to quickly sketch the prompt on your pad of paper while the sand timer is running.^{[17]
X
Research source}
- You can draw anything related to the prompt that you want. You can even use homophones and rhyming words, such as drawing a piece of mail for the word “male.”
- You cannot use letters or symbols or communicate with your teammates if you’re the Picturist.
- Avoid drawing ears as a “sounds like” clue or putting dashes for the number of letters in the word.
5
The Picturist’s team tries to guess the word before the timer runs out. As a member of the team, shout out your guesses for what you think the Picturist is drawing. It’s okay if you say the wrong answer, but try to pay close attention to the new details the Picturist adds to help narrow down your guesses. If you’re able to guess the prompt within 1 minute before the timer runs out, your team wins the round.^{[18]
X
Research source}
- If you’re playing an “All Play” prompt, then the first team to correctly guess the word wins the round.
- If you’re unable to guess the prompt correctly, then you don’t get to move and the next team takes their turn.
If you got the word right or were the first team to guess correctly during an “All Play”, you get to advance your pawn. Move your team’s pawn a number of spaces forward equal to your dice roll.^{[19]
X
Research source}
Switch Picturists for each new turn so every player has an equal opportunity to sketch. The new Picturist draws another card and finds the word matching the color of the new board space. If the team is able to guess the prompt, they’ll continue taking turns.^{[20]
X
Research source}
If the guessing team doesn’t figure out what the Picturist is drawing before time runs out, then they lose their turn and don’t get to move. The next team clockwise chooses their Picturist and starts their turn.^{[21]
X
Research source}

Section 5 of 5:

Winning

Download Article

Reach the Finish square and guess one more drawing correctly to win. The Finish square is at the end of the game board. After a team moves onto the square, they sketch one more prompt. If the team guesses the prompt, then they immediately win the game.^{[22]
X
Research source}
- The Finish space is usually an “All Play,” so another team could answer the prompt first and prevent a team from winning.
- If the team isn’t able to answer the prompt, then they have to wait until their next turn to try winning again.

Community Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Question

Can you use words in Pictionary?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

No, the players cannot use words in Pictionary. The whole point of the game is to guess words by drawing pictures. Some people use dashes to indicate the amount of letters to be guessed, as part of the drawing, but that’s about as far as the guessing help should go!

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 7 Helpful 21
Question

How do you play Pictureka the card game?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

The aim of the game Pictureka is to win the most cards or to be the first to collect six cards. To do this, you need to be able to quickly find characters and objects which are hidden on the tiles, and each find allows you to win cards. When you find them, you need to shout out "Pictureka!" before another player does, winning yourself a card. The game is played both in competition with other players and under timed conditions, so it feels a bit like a race. For the official rules, which are too long to explain in a short answer, check the rules booklet accompanying the game or look online. It is also possible to combine Pictureka with other games, in which case you’ll need to combine rule sets as well.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 9 Helpful 4
Question

Can Pictionary be played with 2 people?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

If you don’t mind the game being less competitive and more about just having fun drawing and guessing, then you could have a 2-player Pictionary game. Swap the roles of drawing and guessing between you each turn and just enjoy the game for the fun of it rather than adding up scores too seriously.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 7 Helpful 25

See more answers

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Video

Read Video Transcript

Tips

You can use different colors in your drawings, but just remember you only have 1 minute before time runs out so don’t worry about making your sketch look perfect.^{[23]
X
Research source}

Thanks
Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
If you want to play Pictionary online, hop on a video call with your friends. Find a word list and use the “Draw” feature to make your sketches on-screen.

Thanks
Helpful 2 Not Helpful 3