How to Play Pictionary Game Rules Guide
Learn how to play Pictionary game rules guide in simple steps.
Find out about Pictionary
Players: 3 to 16 | Game duration from: 85 mins | Game Complexity: EASY How to play Pictionary rules in simple steps
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What is the goal?
In Pictionary, the goal is to guess words using sketched clues. Advance to the Finish square, then correctly identify the final word.
Pictionary Game setup
- Remove category cards from Adult Card Deck, place in Card Box.
- Place Junior Card Deck in other Card Box.
- Divide into equal teams (max four teams). Play is faster and more exciting with fewer teams and more players per team.
- Each team gets a pencil, category card, and colored playing mover (on Start Square).
- Each team chooses a player to be the Picturist who will draw the first word.
- The die is rolled to determine the order of play. The highest rolling team starts.
- Each team’s mover is placed on the start square
Pictionary Categories
Pictionary has five categories that correspond to the colored squares on the board.
Yellow: Object
Blue: Person/Place/Animal (Names are included)
Orange: Action
Green: Difficult (Challenging words)
Red: Miscellaneous (Any type of words)
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Step by Step How to Play Pictionary Game Rules
Turn the timer over and Picturist sketches clues
Start the timer by flipping it. The Picturist has one minute to sketch clues for their team. Sketching and guessing continue until the word is identified or time runs out.
Guess correctly and continue playing
If the team guesses correctly, they keep playing by rolling the die, moving the number of squares shown, and selecting a new Picturist (changes each time a team sketches a new word).
Draw a new card from the appropriate deck and sketch the word that matches the colored square they landed on.
The team keeps rolling the die, sketching, and guessing words as long as they keep guessing correctly.
Play passes to left team if unable to identify the word
If the current team can’t identify the word within the time limit, the die goes to the left team. The receiving team starts their turn by picking a new card from the top of the pack, instead of rolling the die. The word matching the color of the team’s cube is the one to be played. The timer is turned over, and a new turn starts.
The ONLY time the die is rolled to advance a cube is when a word is identified within the one-minute time limit, or a team is first to identify the word in any ALL PLAY situation (see the ALL PLAY section).
A team must occupy a square for as long as it does not identify the given word. More than one playing mover can occupy the same square at the same time.
Play first word from yellow category
Start space is a yellow square. First word played is from the yellow category. The die is NOT rolled to start. The starting team’s Picturist takes a card from the top of the appropriate card deck (use Junior Card Deck for teams with young children). Picturist secretly looks at the word to be played.
When a team lands on an ALL PLAY square
When landing on an ALL PLAY square, all teams guess the clue simultaneously. After drawing the card, show it to the Picturists on each team.
In the Adult Card Deck, Picturists draw the CATEGORY clue that matches the color of the All Play Square.
In the Junior Card Deck, Picturists announce the category and draw the clue in the corresponding color BAR of the All Play Square.
The timer starts, and Picturists simultaneously sketch the same word for their teams.
NOTE: During an All Play, if one picturist is an adult player and the other is a junior player, both teams will draw a clue from the Junior Card Deck, EVEN IF THE ADULT PLAYER’S TEAM LANDED ON THE ALL PLAY SQUARE.
The team that guesses the clue first wins the round and gets to roll the die and advance the indicated number of spaces. This team then continues their turn with a new word.
If no team guesses the word in the given time, the die moves to the next team on the left. This team doesn’t roll the die, but starts their turn by picking a new card and drawing the word corresponding to their current colored square.
When a team lands on a WILD SQUARE
If a team lands on a Wild Square, the Picturist can choose any category to play (or clue if using the Junior Card Deck). When using the Adult Card Deck, they must announce the category before sketching.!
How do you win?
Reach the final ALL PLAY Square for a chance to win (no exact roll needed).
Control the die and be the first team to identify the word in the subsequent All Play round.
If no team identifies the word within the time limit, pass the die left. If another team identifies it first, pass the die to them. A team on the final ALL PLAY Square can’t win by winning a round controlled by another team. They must regain control of the die for a chance to win.
Do’s and Don’ts in Pictionary
YOU CAN…
• Draw anything related to the word
• Break words into a number of syllables
• Draw “dock” for “doc”, or “flu” for “flue”, etc.
YOU CANNOT…
• Use “ears” for “sounds like” or dashes to show the number of letters in the word
• Use letters or numbers
• Speak to your teammates
• Use sign language
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