How to Play Reverse Charades: Group Rules

How do you play Reverse Charades?

Split into two teams. On a team’s 60-second turn, one player is the guesser and every other teammate acts out the same prompt together without speaking. Each correct answer scores one point, and the actors immediately receive another prompt. Teams alternate equal numbers of timed turns, rotating the guesser each time. The team with the higher score after the agreed final turn wins.

The reversal is simple but important: ordinary charades gives one actor to many guessers; Reverse Charades gives many actors to one guesser. Brigham Young University’s account of the game describes one person guessing while the rest of the team acts as many words and phrases as possible in 60 seconds.

What do you need to set up the game?

You need a prompt deck, a 60-second timer, a score sheet and clear floor space where several people can move at once. Homemade cards are fine. Put one familiar word or short phrase on each card and write accepted alternatives beside it when needed.

Set the number of turns high enough to let everyone guess once if that matters to the group. Both teams receive the same number of turns. If one team has fewer people, its guesser order wraps around sooner.

For other formats that do not need two full acting teams, see our guide to party games for small groups.

How should the prompt deck work?

Use one shared face-down draw pile for both teams. The host shows one card at a time to all actors on the active team while keeping it hidden from the guesser and the other team.

Move cards as follows:

• Correctly guessed: place the card face down in a used pile and award one point.
• Passed: place it on the bottom of the draw pile without a point.
• Active when time expires: place it on the bottom of the draw pile without a point.
• Invalid or duplicate: remove it from play; do not award a point.

If the draw pile runs out during a turn, shuffle the used pile to make a fresh draw pile and continue. Do not recycle a card while unused prompts remain. This keeps the game moving without letting one easy answer appear repeatedly at the top.

The host should review the deck before teams form. Remove private references, illegible entries, duplicates and prompts that only one team could reasonably know. The TAPS Reverse Charades activity recommends words or phrases that the vast majority of the group recognises; that is a useful test for a home-made deck too.

What happens during one whole-team turn?

Use this sequence every time:

1. The active team names its next guesser, following its written rotation.
2. The guesser stands or sits where the prompt cannot be seen.
3. The host shows the first card to every actor and confirms they have read it.
4. The opposing team starts the 60-second timer.
5. The actors perform together while the guesser calls out answers.
6. On an exact answer, the host says “point,” moves the card to the used pile and shows the next prompt.
7. At the timer, all acting stops and the active card returns to the bottom of the draw pile.
8. Record the turn score, then switch teams.

Only the named guesser may make guesses. The actors may look at one another and coordinate through movement, but they may not whisper a plan before beginning. Teammates who are not acting may not offer guesses, hints or reactions.

The TAPS activity similarly has a whole group act for one teammate, gives the team a point for an answer inside the time limit and then sends play to the other team.

What may the acting team do?

Actors may use silent body movement, facial expression, gesture and position. They may mime using an imaginary object and divide a prompt among willing teammates, provided nobody is touched without consent and no real prop or furniture is moved.

Actors may not:

• speak, hum, whistle or make sound effects;
• mouth words or silently form a word for the guesser;
• trace letters, numbers or punctuation in the air;
• spell with fingers or use a prearranged alphabet code;
• point to printed words or screens in the room;
• use a person’s name as a silent spelling shortcut; or
• pick up furniture or other objects as props.

The guesser may talk freely and make unlimited guesses. Actors may nod, shake their heads and continue acting, but cannot say “close” or make a noise to guide an answer. The no-sound boundary matches the TAPS activity; published commercial rules also prohibit actors from speaking or mouthing words.

How does passing work?

The acting team gets one pass per timed turn. Any actor may cross both forearms to signal it. The host immediately puts the card on the bottom of the draw pile and shows the next one. The timer does not pause.

A second pass is not available. If the team cannot convey another prompt, it may keep trying until time expires. A rule-broken card does not use the voluntary pass, because the host—not the team—removes it from the active attempt.

Published versions vary: one commercial rules summary allows one pass per round, while other informal versions set different limits. One pass per turn is the Carolix base rule. It gives both teams the same escape without making difficult prompts disappear indefinitely.

What counts as the correct answer?

The guesser must say the card’s written answer or an accepted alternative added during setup. Articles such as “a” and “the” do not matter unless changing one creates a different title. Singular and plural forms count when they plainly identify the same thing.

If the timer begins sounding while the guesser speaks, the answer counts only if the full accepted answer was completed before the signal. The resting team’s timer operator does not decide this alone; the host rules.

What happens when an actor breaks a rule?

The resting team may call “rule” immediately. Pause the timer and let the host decide. If the acting was legal, resume and restore any obvious time lost. If an actor spoke, mouthed, spelled, used a prohibited prop or otherwise broke the acting limit:

• cancel any point earned from that clue;
• place the card on the bottom of the draw pile;
• keep the team’s voluntary pass available; and
• resume the timer with a new prompt if time remains.

UltraBoardGames’ published summary describes a point penalty for speaking or mouthing. This ruleset instead cancels the affected prompt. The important part is that the penalty is announced before play and applied identically.

How do scoring and the end of the game work?

Every correct prompt is one point. Add the points earned during each team turn to that team’s running total. Do not award speed bonuses, partial-credit points or a free point for the last card in a deck.

The game ends after both teams complete the number of turns agreed during setup. Finish the second team’s turn even if the first team moves ahead beyond immediate reach; equal turns are part of the rules. The higher total wins. An equal score is a draw.

How can a small group play Reverse Charades?

With three to five players, use a cooperative rotation instead of two thin teams. One person guesses while everyone else acts. Run one 60-second turn, record the points, then rotate the guesser until each player has guessed once. Add all turns for one group score.

Keep the same prompt movement and acting rules. Correct cards enter the used pile; a pass or unfinished card returns to the bottom of the draw pile; the used pile is recycled only when necessary. Give every guesser one pass during their turn.

How do you keep a whole acting team safe?

Clear bags, drinks, cables and low furniture from the acting area. Set a visible boundary that leaves space between the performers and the guesser. Actors do not run, jump from furniture, throw objects, lift another person or make physical contact without consent.

Do not use real tools, breakable items, food or loose cords as props. The host stops the timer if movement becomes unsafe and restarts only after the space is clear. No score depends on completing a risky action.

Choose prompts that can be represented without targeting someone’s body, disability, culture or private experience. Any player may step out of a prompt without explaining. The host passes that card without charging the team’s voluntary pass.

Which disputes should be settled before play?

Put these rulings on the score sheet:

Sources

• Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors: Reverse Charades activity
• Brigham Young University: Charades—with a Twist
• UltraBoardGames: Reverse Charades rules