Charades for grown-ups
Classic charades decks are full of cartoon characters. This one is about real adult life. There are 56 prompts in three categories, Adulting, Work Life and Social Life, each tagged easy, medium or hard.
How to play
- Split into two teams and set the timer to 60 or 90 seconds.
- The actor taps Hide word, gets a new prompt, and acts it out without speaking.
- Score a point for each correct guess. Hard prompts can be worth two.
Where it works best
- Office parties and team building: the Work Life category is instantly relatable.
- Dinner parties: a fast round between courses gets everyone talking.
- Bachelorette, birthday and holiday parties: mix in the Social Life prompts.
Want more classic prompts? Use the full charades generator. Prefer drawing? Try the funny Pictionary words.
Charades ideas for adults (56 words)
Prefer paper? Cut the words into slips and draw them from a bowl.
Adulting (24)
- paying bills
- doing laundry
- grocery shopping
- hitting snooze
- cooking dinner
- cleaning the house
- walking the dog
- drinking coffee
- doing taxes
- parallel parking
- assembling flat-pack furniture
- trying to fold a fitted sheet
- meal prepping on Sunday
- cleaning before guests arrive
- losing the TV remote
- being on hold with customer service
- returning a package
- moving apartments
- a self-checkout machine that won't work
- a home renovation gone wrong
- waiting for the microwave to finish
- forgetting someone's name mid-conversation
- trying a new diet
- a midlife crisis
Work Life (14)
- a job interview
- typing an email
- a coffee break
- the Monday commute
- a video call with a frozen screen
- talking while on mute
- working from home in pajamas
- a fire drill at work
- the last day before vacation
- running for the bus
- reading a reply-all email
- giving a presentation with no slides
- pretending to work when the boss walks by
- an awkward elevator ride with your boss
Social Life (18)
- a first date
- dancing at a wedding
- a karaoke night
- taking a group selfie
- binge-watching a series
- a wedding toast
- pretending to like a gift
- a road trip with kids
- walking in high heels
- spilling coffee on your shirt
- a book club
- a surprise proposal
- jet lag
- sleeping on a long flight
- a toddler tantrum in a store
- a dog that won't walk
- a bad haircut reveal
- a tough workout class
Frequently asked questions
What are good charades ideas for adults?
The best ones are relatable moments from grown-up life: doing taxes, a video call that freezes, trying to fold a fitted sheet, or a first date. Everyone in the room has lived them, so they are funny to act and quick to guess.
Are these prompts clean?
Yes. They are written for adults but stay office-safe and party-safe, so you can use them at work events and family gatherings.
Is this good for team building?
Very. The Work Life category is made for office parties and remote team games. Split into departments and play to 10 points.
How do I act out a long situation?
Show the setting first, then the key moment. For "a video call with a frozen screen", wave at an imaginary laptop and then freeze mid-sentence.