15 Board Games Like Pictionary You Need to Try
Pictionary is a go-to board game for every occasion. Small gatherings, small parties, board game nights or just hanging out with friends are great occasions for board games like Pictionary. There have been a lot of board games over the years that dominated parties and gatherings, and it inspired more games to follow these drawing-charades like board games.
The concept of Pictionary is pretty simple – each team moves a piece on a game board and each square has a letter or a shape identifying the type of picture to be drawn on it. The ultimate goal of a team is to reach the last space on the board. To do that, a player needs to guess the word or a phrase drawn by their partner – if a player lands on an “all play” square, one player from each team attempts needs to draw the same concept simultaneously. With two teams racing to guess first, a player who lands and guesses correctly faster goes to the finish and wins the game. In this article, we will list similar board games like Pictionary that you need to try.
We will list our picks of similar board games like Pictionary, and list a few online games that can be played amongst friends as well since not everyone has board games “in flesh”. We will explain each board game, and conclude the list. If you are interested in this cool topic, stay with us until the end of the article.
15. Codenames
We will start this list with a little fast-paced party game. It is a bit different than Pictionary, however, the mystery and challenging gameplay will occupy any person. Codename has a simple premise that goes like this – two rival spymasters know the secret identities of 25 agents. The teammates only know the agents by their codenames, and to win the game, your team needs to contact all of your agents in the field before the other team finds their own agents.
However, there is a complication – an assassin is on the loose and trying to disrupt both teams, so if you meet them on the field, your team is done. You can play this game from four to twelve people, and let me just say, you will be entertained. Here is the link to the online version of the game if you are interested.
14. Drawing Without Dignity
Drawing Without Dignity, as the name suggests is quite an explicit board game so do not bring young children with you for gaming night. It is dirty and is also known as the uncensored Pictionary that pits you and your friends against each other. There are 150 professionally printed premium cards including certain “special” cards and four categories of cards.
All in all, the premise of the game is the same as Pictionary, and not everyone will like it, however, if you do, and you feel comfortable playing with your buddies or significant other, go for it. The game is only available in hard copy, so you will need to order it. This game is for you if you want something spicy on your game nights.
13. Alias
Even though Alias does not provide you drawing aspect of the gameplay, it does make you go insane. Time is always the key in Alias, but also a clear and focused mind. The premise of Alias is essentially two or more groups of people who in turn are trying to, on one side explain the word without providing their teammates the root/origin of the word, and on the other guess the name that is explained to them. The more words guessed the pieces of the board are moving faster to the finish line.
Each correctly guessed word brings each group points. Alias is a cool game that has been part of almost every gathering or gaming knight and even though you do not need to draw here, you will need to turn up your brain to the maximum. Here is the link to the Alias Online game – there are tons of other versions you can check out as well.
12. Telestrations
This entry has a drawing aspect in its gameplay and has been quite a popular choice of board game at gatherings. The premise of the game goes like this – each player begins by sketching a Telestarions word dictated by the roll of dice. The sand timer measures the time one needs to draw and execute a sketch, so you really need to work fast.
Then, each player passes their drawing to the player next to them and each one of them needs to guess what the sketch means. After the guessing phase, each player needs to draw the words guessed until they find the original word. The game goes on until one player sketches and guessed the right word. The game is really cool, and if you are interested, check out this link here.
11. Rapidough
Do you want to play and remember the old days of playing with dough or Play-Doh? Rapidough is the game for you. This game was first introduced in 1994 and to this day is still played game. The premise is simple – two or three teams need to model representations of the words using their own color of dough. The rest of the rules go like this – “In each round, players from each team sit side-by-side and look at the same word card. Word cards differ in 3 ways:
- With one neutral-colored word listed, each member models to communicate the same word.
- With 3 neutral colored words, each modeler has a free choice but may end up molding the same word.
- With 3 words listed in 3 different colors, modelers can only mold according to the color of their dough.”
Essentially, during the game, when the team says the correct word they take the dough from other teams, and the team with the most dough wins. A really cool game if you want to make your hands dirty and change the pace from usual board games. You can check out the game here.
10. Googly Eyes
This family board game challenges your vision, literally. The player needs to put on the vision-altering google eyeglasses and start drawing while your team tries to guess what you are drawing. Of course, other players can use the glasses as well and get a chance to draw. As you can see, Googly Eyes is a fun twist of classic drawing games, like Pictionary of course, that tries to put all of the players on equal ground – players who draw really well will draw like less capable players.
All in all, Googly Eyes is good fun, and for that, we put it on this list. Also, the game allows from 4 to 16 players to play this game. If you are interested in this game, check out this link.
9. Cranium
One of the “brainiest” games on this list, Cranium is a party game where players need to complete four sections of the activities. One is called Creative Cat where the player needs to clue a word to their teammates by drawing it, sculpting it, or drawing it with their eyes. The Data Head section contains a variety of trivia of questions and Word Worm tasks players to scramble words, spell challenging words, and more. Lastly, the Star Performer section tasks players with whistling a song, impersonating a celebrity, or more.
All in all, Cranium is really fun and provides players with all sorts of fun. If you are interested, check it out here.
8. Creationary
Lego games were always popular, especially video games in the last decade. However, they released a board game in 2009 called Creationary where players need to select one of the four categories, and other players need to guess what is created.
The game is time-based and all players need to combine their “forces” to finish the game, which means the game lasts approximately 30 to 60 minutes. It is cool, it’s LEGO, and if you are interested, check out this link.
7. Over the Line
This board game was released in 2015, and basically, Over the Line is a mixture of Charades and Pictionary. It is the ultimate party game that revolves around drawing cards where other players are trying to guess what card you drew. It is an adult game that only people over 18 years of age can play it.
The game comes with a 90-second timer, dry-erase board, and a marker. The team that gets to the 20 cards they guessed correctly are the winners. Over the Line is one of those games that is good for large groups of people, and if you are interested, check out this link here.
6. Pass the Pen
One of the fastest drawing games in the world, Pass the Pen’s premise revolves around drawing the fast as you can, usually in ten seconds. Of course, other players are guessing what the drawing represents, and you earn points if someone guesses what you drew. If not, you pass the pen to the other player, and so on.
It’s a fun game and intense, where players need to act quickly to earn points for their drawings. If you are interested, check out the link here.
5. Ludo
Personally, Ludo or Pachisi is one of the most frustrating games I ever played. It does not involve drawing, however, dice, strong nerves, and competitiveness of who is going to get first to the finish line and put all of their figurines “home”, needs to be on this list.
If your figurine gets eaten, it needs to get back to the start. Ludo is a classic game, and if people want to play something competitive, this game is on par with Pictionary. Check out the link here. There are also a lot of online versions of Ludo all over the internet.
4. Quick Draw
This is an online game but it is extremely addictive. Quick Draw is the game you play with yourself, where AI needs to guess what you drew after providing you with certain items. It got me sucked in, and I do not even love drawing that much.
So, if you are sick of video games that consume all of your brain functions, just throw yourself in Quick Draw – it’s great for wasting your time. Check the link here.
3. Speed Guess Something
Another online game on this list is Speed Guess Something, which revolves around speed, as the name suggests. The goal of the game is to draw for another player to guess the word as soon as possible. Of course, Speed Guess Something also has five rounds with different words players need to draw and guess.
It has over 4,000 different words in its collection, so you can play for hours. Great for large groups of players, and if you are interested, check out this link.
2. Catch the Phrase
One of the older games on this list, Catch the Phrase is still a cool game. The premise of the game is quite simple – you need to rattle off as many clues as you can until other players on your team yell the phrase you want to hear. Gestures are also important here because you need to try everything to provide your team with proper explanations – legs, head, even armpits, you can use anything you want.
If you are interested in more details about this game, check out this link.
1. Draw Something
Lastly, we have Draw Something which was released in 2012. This game is played between 3 or 4 players and the premise is quite simple. One person takes the “center” stage and draws the word while the other players try to guess. Both the drawer and the players can gain points – the harder the word, the more coins you get.
The game is cool, fun, and great for small gatherings. Pictionary is truly one of the most iconic board games ever, and hopefully, our picks are going to inspire you to try these games with your friends or family.
