Charades generator

Hit the button and it hands you a word. Change the category, change how many, copy the list or print it. 2,400+ words across 33 categories, free, and nothing to install.

No app, no download, no sign-up — it runs in your browser on any phone.

What this does that a shuffled list does not

Three things, and they are the reasons people look for a generator rather than a word list in the first place.

Nobody chose the words. If one person writes the slips, somebody will be accused of going easy on their friend — usually correctly. A generator removes the argument entirely.

It will not repeat. Within a session it tracks what it has already given you, so the fourth player does not get the word the first player already acted out. A bowl of folded paper cannot promise that unless you remember to take them out.

It matches the room. Filter to easy for a group with children in it, hard for people who have played this too many times, or a single category when you want a theme.

Two ways to use it

One word at a time. Keep the page open and tap generate whenever it is someone's turn. This is the fastest way to play with no setup at all — no printing, no cutting, no bowl.

A list of 10, 20 or 40. Generate the batch, hit copy, and paste it wherever you need: into a document to print, into a message to whoever is hosting, or onto paper slips if your group likes the ritual. Forty words comfortably covers an evening for six people.

Choosing a difficulty

Easy pulls from animals, food, actions, cartoons, kids, jobs and emotions — categories where the mime is physical rather than cultural, so nobody needs to share a reference to play. This is the right setting with children or with a group that has not played before.

Hard pulls only from idioms, abstract concepts, science and the arts. These need thinking time at both ends; give them ninety seconds rather than sixty. More on why each kind is hard, here.

Leave it on all categories and you get the whole spread, which is usually right for a mixed group of adults.

Want the timer and the scoring too?

This page is deliberately just the generator — no clock, no teams, no score. If you want those, the game itself runs in the same browser: it deals the words, times the round, passes the turn between teams and keeps a cumulative scoreboard, also free and with nothing to install.

And if you would rather read the lists than have them handed to you, every category is written out on the charades words page.

Frequently asked questions

More game ideas

Ready to play?

Grab one phone, gather everyone around and start a round. Every deck is unlocked and it is free.