Pictionary is an exciting and rowdy board game that was introduced in 1985, enlivening ‘80s reunions, parties, and sleepovers worldwide. This charades-on-paper was said to be designed by Rob Angel, a 24-year-old waiter from Seattle.
The charm of Pictionary is that it’s so easy to learn, and the phrase “anyone can play it” veritably becomes an understatement when used to refer to the game. As long as the person knows how to hold a pencil to a piece of paper, he or she can join in the fun. Group effort is involved, so there’s no real pressure on any member of the team.
The object is for the team to guess the assigned word or phrase on the card with only one person from their team making a sketch according to his or her interpretation of that word or phrase. No one can say that this game is only for artists, as winning the game often depends on how creative you are or how “in tune” your mind is with your teammates.
The party game has several variants to date. It started with the classic edition, later followed by Pictionary Junior (designed for kids aged 7-12), Pictionary 2nd Edition, and the 20th Anniversary Edition, which includes a bonus Fun Phrase category. There’s even Bible Pictionary, where players perform “charades on paper” with 2,000 Bible words and phrases.
The classic edition includes a gameboard, a card box, a standard die, tokens, pencils, pads of paper, instructions, and a 1-minute sand timer. Pictionary features cards with word lists. The words are classified under 5 categories: Person, Place, or Animal; Object; Action; Difficult; and All Play.
The last, “All Play,” covers words from almost any category, but the twist is that all the teams draw and guess the word or phrase simultaneously – and this is when the players turn raucous!
The teams roll the die to move around the board, stepping on squares pertaining to the categories. If the square or category does not refer to “All Play,” then the team whose turn it is simply attempts to give the correct answer within 1 minute.
You can add your own rules, depending on what you agree on at the onset. For instance, you may decide to do away with the time limit during all play. You can also be lenient and allow novice players to reveal the number of words or syllables to his or her teammates.
Generally, letters, numbers, and other symbols are disallowed. You would really have to use your imagination to excel in this board game. Some words under the category “Difficult,” for instance, are exactly that – difficult. Do you think you can manage to draw or guess the words “full,” “many,” or “sideways”?
Each time a team answers correctly, they roll the die and move to another square. The other teams would then have to hope that it falls on “All Play” so they’ll have a chance to steal. Play goes on until the “Finish” square is reached. The first team to reach that point wins.
Pictionary can be played by a minimum of four players – that is, two people each for two teams. However, the larger the group, the merrier. So gather your friends and family members and have a blast with this outrageous party game!
