Dumb charades rules and signs (with a free movie picker)
Dumb charades is the classic Indian party game: one player acts out a movie name without speaking, and their team has to guess it. Here are the rules most groups play by and the hand signs everyone uses.
The rules
- Split into two teams, at least two players each. It’s best with 6 to 12 people.
- The other team picks a movie and whispers it to the actor (or let a phone pick it, so nobody can choose something impossible).
- The actor shows the signs for the type of title and the number of words, then acts. No speaking, no lip-syncing and no spelling letters in the air. Pointing at things in the room is usually not allowed: agree on house rules first.
- Their team has a time limit, usually 90 seconds. A correct guess scores a point.
- Teams take turns. The team with the most points after an agreed number of rounds wins.
The signs
| Sign | How to show it |
|---|---|
| Film | Hold one hand to your eye and crank an old camera with the other. |
| Song | Pretend to sing into a microphone. |
| TV show | Draw a box in the air with both index fingers. |
| Book or story | Open your palms together like a book. |
| Number of words | Hold up that many fingers at the start. |
| Which word | Hold up fingers again: two fingers means you are acting the second word. |
| Syllables | Lay fingers on your forearm: two fingers means two syllables. Then show which syllable. |
| Sounds like | Tug your earlobe, then act a word that rhymes. |
| Small word | Pinch your thumb and finger close together, for words like a, the, ka, ki or hai. |
| Whole title | Sweep both arms in a big circle, then act the whole thing as one scene. |
| Correct | Touch your nose and point at the person who guessed right. |
Tips for actors
- Act the easiest word first, not the first word.
- Use “sounds like” for names and words that are hard to act.
- If your team is close, nod hard and wave them on.
- For a famous film, try acting its best-known scene as the whole title.
More party games: the imposter word game (see the imposter game rules) and Tilak, where you guess the word on your forehead. Or see every party game, picked by occasion.