Charades Online: Play Free in Your Browser or on a Video Call

By the Act Up team · Updated October 22, 2026

You can play charades online free right now at charades.games: open it in any browser, pick a deck, and the site deals the cards, runs the timer and keeps score, with no sign-up or download. To play with friends in other places, start a video call, send each actor a secret word privately, and have them act it on camera without speaking while their team guesses before the timer runs out.

How to play charades online for free

1. Open charades.games in a browser on a phone, tablet or laptop. Nothing to install, no account.
2. Pick a deck. Act It Out and Animals are the easiest; Films and Emotions come next.
3. Hand the phone to the actor. They look at the card, keep the screen hidden and act it out while everyone else guesses. The timer and score run on the same screen.
4. Just want random words? The charades generator deals one card at a time with an easy-to-hard filter, or runs a full team game with a turn timer and scoreboard. It also works as the word source for a video call.

The same decks are in the Act Up app, which adds the phone-on-forehead mode with tilt-to-score and can record the round.

What do you need to play charades on a video call?

• A video call on any platform your group already uses. Everyone needs a camera.
• A way to deliver secret words: private chat messages, a charades word list, or a browser game on a second device.
• A timer: the host runs it so everyone shares the same clock.
• A scorekeeper: usually the host, posting scores in the group chat.
• Space in front of the camera: enough to show your arms and upper body.

The easiest way to get words is to open the charades generator on the actor’s phone or a second screen, so the rest of the call never sees the card.

How do you set up online charades step by step?

1. Pick a host. Ideally the person with the steadiest connection. They run the timer and scores.
2. Split into teams. Write team lists in the chat so everyone knows who they’re guessing for.
3. Turn on speaker view or spotlight. The host pins the actor’s video so everyone sees them full screen.
4. Deliver the word. The host sends the card privately, or the actor draws from a word generator off-screen.
5. Start the timer. 90 seconds gives a little extra time for lag.
6. Act and guess. Only the actor’s team unmutes to guess. Everyone else stays muted.
7. Score in the chat. The host posts the running total after each turn.
8. Rotate actors in alphabetical order so nobody gets skipped.

How do you act well on camera?

Acting into a webcam is different from acting in a living room. Small adjustments make a big difference:

• Step back. Your whole upper body should fit in the frame, hands included.
• Light your face. Sit facing a window or a lamp. A bright window behind you turns you into a silhouette.
• Slow down. Video calls drop frames. Hold each gesture for a beat.
• Use your face more. On camera, expressions read better than full-body moves.
• Watch out for mirroring. Your self-view may be mirrored, but your team sees you the right way round. Don’t worry about left and right.
• Use what’s around you. Pointing at things in your room is allowed in most house rules.

What are the best categories for online charades?

Pick cards that work from the waist up and don’t need much floor space.

The Emotions deck is particularly good because faces fill the frame. For film night with friends, the Films deck has titles from easy to genuinely hard, like Citizen Kane and Moonrise Kingdom.

How do you keep online charades fair?

• One clock. Only the host times turns, so a lagging player isn’t penalised.
• Unmute rules. Only the guessing team speaks. Others stay muted, or it turns into noise.
• First audible answer counts. If two people say it at once, the host decides.
• Give lag a grace period. If the actor freezes, pause the timer until they’re back.
• No screen sharing while a card is on screen, or the whole call sees the answer.

What are fun online charades variations?

Video calls open up a few twists you can’t do in a living room:

• Grab it round: the actor has 20 seconds to fetch something from their home that helps the clue, then acts with it. A rare exception to the no-props rule.
• Box only: the actor must stay inside their camera frame from the shoulders up. Every clue has to come from the face and hands.
• Team rooms: if your platform supports separate rooms, each team plans a group scene, then performs it for everyone.
• Silent chat: guessers type answers in the chat instead of unmuting. The first correct message wins.
• Pass the screen: after a correct guess, the guesser becomes the next actor straight away, which keeps the pace up.

How can families and coworkers play together?

Online charades is a great way to bring together family spread across different countries, from grandparents in Manchester to cousins in Melbourne and Toronto.

• Pick a time that works across time zones, such as a weekend morning in the UK, which is evening in Australia.
• Use easier cards for kids and let grandparents team up with grandchildren.
• Theme it: a Christmas Day call, Thanksgiving, or a birthday.
• At work, keep turns short and use simple cards. It’s a good icebreaker for remote teams at the start of a meeting.

For more on traditional play once you’re back in the same room, read how to play charades.