Ask for a volunteer to go first. Take out a phrase from the hat and attempt to perform it. The first player to guess the clue correctly, stands up, draws a charades idea from the hat, and then it is their turn to act out a phrase.

Note: If someone is acting out a clue you wrote down (if you played with the paper method), once you realize they are acting out your clue, don't shout out the answer, and instead, stop playing.

How to Act Out a Charades Phrase

When acting out a clue, a player must get the other players to guess what phrase they have without making any sounds, or saying any words.

Normally, when a player starts to act out a clue, he/she/it should start by indicating how many words the phrase is, and then acting out each word at a time. You indicate to the other players how many words are in the phrase is by holding up fingers. If the phrase is, 'Fly Me To the Moon', you would hold up 5 fingers, to indicate 5 words. The players who are guessing should respond by saying the number of words aloud, "5 words". Next, if the player wants to act out the first word of the phrase 'Fly', then the player should hold up 1 finger, to indicate they want to act out the first word. The players who are guessing should respond by saying '1st word'.

The player can help push the guessers into the right direction by using some standard gestures for categories.

• Book - Unfold your hands as if they were a book.
• Movie - Pretend to crank an old-fashioned movie camera.
• Play - Pretend to pull the rope that opens a theater curtain.
• Song - Pretend to sing. (but don't make any noise!!)
• TV - Draw a rectangle to outline the TV screen.
• Quote or Phrase: Make quotation marks in the air with your fingers.