Doodle Guess

Doodle

Guess

2–16 players10-20 minNo app or download

How to playPlay

About Doodle Guess

Doodle Guess is drawing charades for a room full of phones. One player — the doodler — is handed a secret card on their own phone: an octopus wearing a hat, a suitcase missing a wheel, letting the cat out of the bag. They draw it with a finger, the drawing appears live on the TV and on every other phone at the same time, and their team shouts guesses out loud. The moment the doodler hears the right answer they tap “They got it!” and the clock stops.

The clock is the score. Whatever seconds are left when the card is guessed become the points for that turn, so every second of hesitation is visible to the whole room. The card is then revealed and the players on the other teams confirm that somebody really did say it: two Yes votes settle it, so nobody has to police their own side. A drawing that runs the clock all the way out scores nothing.

Play in teams, where your team guesses and the other teams confirm, or solo, where everyone guesses and the doodler taps who got it and takes double points for it. The host sets the clock at anything from thirty to a hundred and twenty seconds and picks one to five rounds, so a game runs from about five minutes to about twenty. Two to sixteen players.

The 120 cards are everyday things anyone can draw badly: objects, animals, actions, places, food and common sayings. There is no season, no holiday and no in-joke, so it works for a family evening, a classroom, an office break or a call with people in three countries — it plays in the browser with nothing to install, so a remote player draws on their own phone and gets guessed at like anyone else.

How a room starts

1. Pick a game from the catalog — every occasion has its own room.
2. Put the game's board screen where everyone can see it: a TV, a laptop, or a shared screen on a video call.
3. Players scan the QR code (or type the room code) in their phone's browser. No app, no account.
4. Play — everyone answers, votes, and scores from their own phone.

How to play Doodle Guess

A short narrated walkthrough of the whole game, from joining on your phone to the final scores: watch the how-to video. It is one tap from inside the room too, so a first-time group never needs the rules explained.

Where Doodle Guess fits

You will find it in the Classics room, alongside the other games picked for that occasion.

Common questions

How many people can play, and how long does a game take?

Two to sixteen. Teams mode needs at least four so there are two teams; solo works with two. Two teams over three rounds runs about ten minutes.

Do we need a TV?

It is better with one, because the drawing is the show — but the same drawing streams to every phone, so a group with no shared screen can play by watching their own.

Do I need to be able to draw?

No. One colour, one finger, one minute and the category on screen for everybody. Rough drawings are usually guessed faster than careful ones.

Can someone cheat by looking at the card?

The card is only ever sent to the doodler’s own phone. Every other device, the TV included, holds nothing but a hash of it until the reveal.

What happens if someone joins late or loses signal?

A latecomer takes a seat and joins the smallest team at the next turn. Someone who drops and comes back lands on their own seat with their points intact, and if the doodler disappears mid-turn the card goes back in the deck and the turn scores nothing.