Board Games Like Pictionary

Pictionary is one of those games that’s been around for so long it may as well have been around forever. A classic in every sense of the word, chances are you’ve played it (or a variation of it) at parties, Christmas gatherings, family game nights, or something in between. It takes a simple concept that everyone can take part in and is essentially charades but with pictures. It’s a light-hearted and fun social party game that almost everyone can say they’ve played in some fashion other the years. 

Originally published in 1985, Pictionary has seen many iterations over the years and has changed hands between two toy and game giants: Hasbro and Mattel, the latter of which has owned the rights to the game since 2001. So popular is this word guessing game that it has been released in 60 countries, translated into 45 languages, and sold well over 30 million copies! Players work together in teams to draw pictures representing a word or phrase on a card drawn from a deck. The person drawing cannot use spoken clues or numbers and letters in their drawing, and their teammates must guess correctly within one minute. As they get more questions correct players will move around the game board and the first team to reach the finish line is the winner. 

If you like the sound of the game but want something a little different to bring to your game night, or you’ve played Pictionary to death and want a new challenge, below are some games like Pictionary that we think you’ll enjoy.

5 Games Like Pictionary

Telestrations Drawing Game

Players: 4-8     Time: 30 Minutes     Ages: 12+

An excellent alternative to Pictionary, Telestrations combines drawing skill, interpretive ability, and creativity into a fun and sometimes hilarious party game, blending elements of Pictionary with the classic game of telephone.

The game works in a similar way to Pictionary whereby the focus of the game is drawing, but Telestrations puts it’s own twist on the formula to create something new and interesting. Players will roll a dice to determine which word on the card they’ve picked they’ll be drawing. Everyone will then have sixty seconds to secretly draw the word in their own pad, each with tabs labelled 1-8. Once the timer is up, everyone passes their pad and flips to the next page. It’s then up to them to create their own iteration of what they think the word was based on the previous players sketch.

After the timer is up again, the process repeats until each player has the notepad they started the game with. One by one each page is then revealed to show each players version of what they thought the word would be. A fast paced and silly game, Telestrations keeps the spirit of Pictionary alive but gives players something new and hilarious in it’s own right to experience.

Six Second Scribbles Party Game

Players: 2-8     Time: 20-60 minutes     Ages: 8+

Probably the fastest of all drawing games, Six Second Scribbles challenges players to create ten masterpieces in one minute. The definition of fast-paced, this is a game that you can play for minutes or hours, is great for all ages, and a barrel of laughs.

Six Second Scribbles is a compact drawing game that takes seconds to learn how to play but can keep players gaming for hours with its addictive and simple gameplay. The game starts with everyone drawing a card, each of which has ten things listed on it. A timer is then turned over and players have sixty seconds to try and draw as many of the things listed on their card as possible. Players then swap their doodles and everyone makes guesses as to what each person has drawn and points are awarded for both artist and guesser for any that are guessed correctly.

To shake things up, there are three levels of difficulty too as an additional challenge, including an ‘almost impossible’ deck of cards for the ultimate challenge. Players must think and act very fast in this game full of rapid-fire action. A nice and easy game where more players makes the game far more fun.

Cranium Classic Game

Players: 4-99?     Time: 60 minutes     Ages: 16+

Definitely one for those of us who are multi-talented, Cranium combines elements from multiple games to create something where every round poses a different challenge, offering a diverse range of activities from drawing to trivia. Pictionary, Charades, and Trivial Pursuit all in one!

In Cranium players must spell, solve, act, and draw their way to victory. It gives everyone a chance to show off their talents and means not any one player has an advantage over the others. The object of the game is to move around the board and gradually complete all four of the different kinds of Cranium cards. These all pose a different kind of challenge that vary in complexity. Players may have to answer trivia questions or take part in a word challenge, but others require the player to sing or whistle a tune, or draw or create something out of clay with their eyes closed. This does certainly provide a challenging experience and may not be suitable for younger players, but it does result in a unique and interesting one for older players. Whoever can get one of each of the four cars, make their way to Cranium central and complete the final test there will win the game.

A good challenging game with plenty of player participation, this is certainly one that will keep you busy at the next game night.

Also Read: The Best Classic Board Games the Whole Crew Will Love

Articulate

Players: 4-8     Time: 60 minutes     Ages: 12+

Shifting the focus from artistry to articulation, this is a fast-talking and fast-thinking game where players with a good grasp of trivia can excel. A nice alternative to Pictionary, and one where those with a big vocabulary will do well compared to other games focused on drawing.

Articulate is all about being able to describe words for your team to guess as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Describing a word without actually saying it might sound simple enough, but when the pressure is on it’s not quite as straight forward as it may seem. The game is nice and simple. Players move around a game board and when it’s their turn they pick a card from the deck. Each space on the board represents a different theme like ‘nature’, a ‘person’, or an action.

The timer is then flipped over and the active player must describe what it is on the card. Every time a word is guessed correctly, a new card with a new word is selected. This is done until the timer runs out, with the player advancing their teams marker for every word guessed correctly. A simple concept and simple rules, it makes for a nice break from drawing but gives a similar vibe. A great party game, Articulate creates a fun and entertaining atmosphere that players young and old can enjoy.

Drawing Without Dignity: Hilarious Twist

Players: 4-12     Time: 30-60 minutes     Ages: 17+

What happens when you combine a game like Pictionary with Cards Against Humanity? You get Drawing Without Dignity, a fun and incredibly entertaining game with a hilarious twist! But certainly one you should not play with younger players.

Pictionary uncensored: Drawing Without Dignity pits you and your disturbed friends against each other in a race to draw and guess naughty clues. Players split into teams and like in similar games, take turns picking a card with a number of possible options on it. They roll the dice to determine what thing they’ll have to draw and their team get sixty seconds to try and guess.

The only thing is, these aren’t everyday things like cats and dogs, their slightly raunchier or ruder things like ‘naughty schoolgirl’, ‘fat camp’, or ‘mind in the gutter’. And those are some of the tamer ones! If the team guesses correctly then they keep the card to symbolise a point then take another turn, and another until they fail to guess in time, at which point play moves to another team. Essentially the rules are incredibly similar to Pictionary, but the subject matter isn’t. This is certainly a fun game to play, but just not with the kids or anyone with a sensitive disposition. A different take on Pictionary that may potentially be even more fun, and will almost certainly ensue more hilarity. Just make sure you play with the right people!

Final Words

Those are some of the games out there that are similar to Pictionary. You’ll see some bare many similarities and some are very different, but all are great, entertaining, games that are enjoyable in their own way.. That’s not all of them though, so if there’s any others that you enjoy playing that we haven’t listed here, we’d love to hear all about them.

FAQ: Games Like Pictionary