How to Play Picture Telephone
Pass a sentence round the table, turning it into a drawing and then back into words, and see what survives the journey.
- 4–10 players
- 15–30 min
- Paper and pen
- Lively
Quick rules
- Everyone writes a sentence at the top of a sheet and passes it on.
- The next player draws it, folds the sentence out of sight and passes it on.
- The next player sees only the drawing and writes what they think it shows.
- Keep alternating until every sheet is home — then unfold and read aloud.
How to play
- Everyone passes their sheet to the left at the same moment.
- If the last thing on the sheet is a sentence, draw it underneath — no letters or numbers in the drawing.
- If the last thing on the sheet is a drawing, write underneath what you believe it shows.
- Before passing, fold the paper back so that only your own contribution can be seen.
- Keep passing and alternating until each sheet returns to the player who started it.
- Take turns unfolding a sheet and reading the whole chain aloud, from the first sentence to the last.
Set up
What you need
- Paper and pen
Nice to have:
- A one-minute timer
- Starter sentences from the host view
- Give every player a pen and one sheet of paper, held tall rather than wide.
- Each player writes one short sentence across the top — something that could be drawn, such as "a cat teaching a yoga class".
- Agree a time limit for each turn. One minute keeps the drawings quick and the table moving.
Example round
Six players. Mei starts her sheet with "a cat teaching a yoga class". Jonas draws a cat on a mat with stick people behind it and folds the sentence away. Aisha sees only the drawing and writes "a tiger frightening some campers". Ben draws a tiger roaring at tents. Clara writes "a lion visits the circus". Dev draws a big top with a very large cat on the roof. The sheet comes home to Mei, who unfolds it and reads the chain aloud: from yoga class to rooftop lion in five steps.
How the game ends
The game ends when every sheet has gone once round the table and been read aloud. There is no score and no winner. If a chain would end on a drawing, its owner writes the final caption before the reveal.
At a glance
- Players
- 4–10 players
- Best with
- 5–8
- Play time
- 15–30 min
- Prep
- 2 min prep
- Materials
- Paper and pen
- Energy
- Lively
- Noise
- Moderate
- Movement
- Seated
- Seated option
- Works seated
- Where
- Dinner table, Living room, Small space
Times are editorial estimates, not test results.
Reading: Short handwritten sentences. A non-reader can pair with a neighbour and do all the drawing.
Group size: minimum, maximum and how to split
Picture Telephone needs at least 4 players and works for up to about 10. It is at its best with 5–8 players.
With more than ten players each sheet takes too long to come home. Split into tables of five to eight and let every table run its own game; at the end, each table reads its funniest chain aloud to the room.
Playing seated. Played seated by default. No step requires standing or moving.
Tips for the host
- Say clearly that bad drawings are the point; the best chains come from honest misunderstandings.
- Keep to the time limit. Long, careful drawings slow the table and make the chains less funny.
- Check the fold each time — one visible earlier line spoils the whole chain.
- With young children, let them draw on every turn and give the writing turns to the adult beside them.
Variations
One-word start
Begin with a single noun instead of a sentence — "volcano", "dentist", "picnic". Chains drift more slowly, which suits younger players and anyone who is nervous about drawing.
Themed evening
Every opening sentence must fit a theme, such as a family holiday, the season, or the story of how two guests met. Themed chains make good keepsakes — hand each sheet to the person it is about.
Prompts for this game
Opening sentences that are easy to draw and easy to misread.
Animals up to something
- a cat teaching a yoga class
- a giraffe stuck in a lift
- a penguin delivering pizza
- two snails in a very slow race
- an octopus knitting eight scarves
- a dog driving the school bus
- an elephant hiding behind a lamp post
- a mouse lifting weights
- a goose directing traffic
Unlikely people and things
- grandma winning a skateboard contest
- a dragon afraid of a birthday candle
- a snowman on a beach holiday
- a robot learning to dance
- a pirate who lost his map in the laundry
- a wizard who can only make toast
- a king queuing for ice cream
- the moon wearing sunglasses
Printable host sheet
Picture Telephone — Printable host sheet
One page with the quick rules, set-up, and starter prompts — the same content as this page, laid out for print.
Where this game fits
We recommend Picture Telephone in these collections:
About this game
Traditional paper-and-pencil game known by many names and also sold in boxed versions; this explanation, the example and the starter sentences are original to Gather & Play.
Editorially checked for clarity and consistency. We do not claim group playtesting for this page. Editorial policy.
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