Charades Ideas for Adults

Charades ideas about work and office life

Everybody has lived these. That's why they're so fun to watch someone act out.

1. 1.Joining a video call on mute
2. 2.Nodding along in a meeting you stopped following
3. 3.Fixing a printer jam
4. 4.Spilling coffee on your keyboard
5. 5.Presenting when your slides won't load
6. 6.Writing an angry email, then deleting it
7. 7.Waiting for an elevator that never comes
8. 8.Taking the last donut in the break room
9. 9.Asking your boss for a raise
10. 10.Looking busy when the boss walks by
11. 11.Fighting a nap at your desk after lunch
12. 12.Waving goodbye on a video call that won't end
13. 13.Shaking hands at a job interview
14. 14.Microwaving leftovers while a line forms behind you
15. 15.Running for the train after work

Adulting charades ideas

The small daily battles nobody warned you about.

1. 16.Doing your taxes
2. 17.Building flat-pack furniture with a screw left over
3. 18.Waiting on hold with customer service
4. 19.Opening a bill and wincing
5. 20.Grocery shopping while hungry
6. 21.Folding a fitted sheet
7. 22.Unclogging a sink
8. 23.Changing a flat tire
9. 24.Meal prepping for the whole week
10. 25.Watering a plastic plant
11. 26.Trying to sleep while the neighbors throw a party
12. 27.Sorting the recycling
13. 28.Looking for your keys when you're already late
14. 29.Paying for parking with no coins
15. 30.Carrying every grocery bag in one trip

Classic movie charades for adults

Titles most grown-ups know, even if they've only seen the famous scene.

1. 31.The Godfather
2. 32.The Breakfast Club
3. 33.Grease
4. 34.Dirty Dancing
5. 35.The Matrix
6. 36.Mission: Impossible
7. 37.Casablanca
8. 38.Gladiator
9. 39.The Terminator
10. 40.Ghost
11. 41.Raiders of the Lost Ark
12. 42.Mamma Mia!
13. 43.The Princess Bride
14. 44.Ferris Bueller's Day Off
15. 45.Saturday Night Fever

80s, 90s and 2000s throwback charades

Perfect for anyone who remembers waiting for a song to load.

1. 46.Rewinding a cassette with a pencil
2. 47.Dialing up to the internet
3. 48.Texting on a flip phone
4. 49.Blowing on a video game cartridge
5. 50.Doing the Macarena
6. 51.Shaking an instant photo
7. 52.Taking pictures with a disposable camera
8. 53.Rollerblading backwards
9. 54.Recording a song off the radio
10. 55.Calling a friend's house and getting their dad
11. 56.Sending a fax
12. 57.Playing the snake game on an old phone
13. 58.Doing aerobics in leg warmers
14. 59.Waiting for a song to download
15. 60.Feeding a virtual pet

Charades ideas from nights out and parties

Concerts, karaoke and group dinners, without anything you'd mind your parents seeing.

1. 61.Singing karaoke off-key
2. 62.Waiting for a rideshare in the rain
3. 63.Losing your friends at a concert
4. 64.Splitting the bill when nobody has change
5. 65.Sending back cold soup
6. 66.Taking a group photo where someone blinks
7. 67.Crowd surfing at a concert
8. 68.Bowling a gutter ball
9. 69.Missing every shot at mini golf
10. 70.Escaping an escape room with one minute left
11. 71.Ordering food in a language you don't speak
12. 72.Leading a conga line
13. 73.Showing up to a costume party in the wrong theme
14. 74.Losing at trivia night by one point
15. 75.Doing the limbo at a party

Travel charades ideas

From the security line to the tiny hotel shower.

1. 76.Running through the airport
2. 77.Going through airport security
3. 78.Sleeping on a plane next to a stranger
4. 79.Waiting at baggage claim for a bag that never comes
5. 80.Sitting on a suitcase to close it
6. 81.Reading a map upside down
7. 82.Getting sunburned on the first day
8. 83.Posing with a famous landmark
9. 84.Riding a camel
10. 85.Feeling seasick on a boat
11. 86.Haggling at a market
12. 87.Squeezing into a tiny hotel shower
13. 88.Fighting jet lag at breakfast

Home and family life charades

Roommates, partners, in-laws and toddlers all make an appearance.

1. 89.Meeting your partner's parents for the first time
2. 90.Babysitting a toddler for the first time
3. 91.Walking a dog that walks you
4. 92.Waking up to a crying baby at 3 a.m.
5. 93.Ruining dinner just as the guests arrive
6. 94.Teaching a parent to use a smartphone
7. 95.Painting a wall and getting paint everywhere
8. 96.Fighting over the thermostat
9. 97.Hiding the last slice of cake
10. 98.Hosting a dinner party when the oven breaks
11. 99.Untangling headphone cords
12. 100.Moving into a new apartment

Running a charades night for adults

Grown-up charades works best in two teams of three to six. Pick one or two groups that fit the crowd: Work life and Adulting land with coworkers, Throwbacks and Classic movies land with old friends, and Nights out works almost anywhere.

Start the game at the top of this page, hand the phone to the first actor and give each turn 60 seconds. The phone keeps time and score, so nobody has to sit out as the referee. The full rules, including team scoring, are on the charades page.

Make charades harder for a grown-up crowd

Adults tend to guess fast, and a room of old friends can finish a round in seconds. Once everyone has warmed up, add one of these twists. Change only one rule at a time, so the game stays fun and nobody spends the night arguing about what counts.

• Shorter turns. Drop to 45 or even 30 seconds and watch the panic.
• No pointing. The actor can't point at objects or people in the room.
• One-word clue. Before acting, the actor may say a single word, then it's silent from there.
• Category roulette. Switch groups every round so nobody gets comfortable.
• Three-round finale. Play the same ideas three times: first with words, then one word only, then charades. That's Fishbowl, and it's a great way to end the night.

More games for a grown-up game night

If the group loves acting things out, Forehead Guess flips charades around: the guesser holds the phone to their forehead and everyone else gives clues. For a bigger crowd, see party games for large groups, or plan a whole evening with the game night planner.

A good grown-up game night mixes loud and quiet games. Open with charades while people arrive, play a round of Imposter at the table once everyone sits down, and end with Fishbowl for the people who stay late.

Questions