Sketch the Halls

Sketch the

Halls

2–16 players10-20 minNo app or download

How to playPlay

About Sketch the Halls

Sketch the Halls is Christmas drawing charades played on the phones already scattered round the living room. One player — the doodler — is handed a secret card on their own phone: fairy lights in a hopeless tangle, Santa stuck halfway down a chimney, a Christmas pudding on fire. They draw it with a finger, the drawing appears live on the TV and on every other phone, 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 dithering over the perfect reindeer costs you. The card is then revealed and the players on the other teams confirm that somebody really did say it out loud: two Yes votes settle it, so no team ever marks its own homework. A drawing that runs the clock all the way down scores nothing at all.

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. Two to sixteen players, ten to twenty minutes, and because it plays in the browser with no app to install, an aunt on a video call can take her turn to draw exactly like everyone in the room. All 126 cards live inside Christmas itself: the tree, the lights, Christmas Eve, the dinner, the snow and the ugly jumper.

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 Sketch the Halls

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 Sketch the Halls fits

You will find it in the Christmas room, the Family Showdown room and 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 to judge each other; solo works with two. Two teams over three rounds runs about ten minutes.

Do we need a TV?

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

Can I draw well enough for this?

That is rather the point. One colour, one finger, sixty seconds and the category on screen for the whole room — a terrible snowman is usually guessed faster than a careful one.

What stops somebody peeking 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.

Is it suitable for children and grandparents?

Yes. Every card is an ordinary Christmas moment — a wreath on the door, a carrot left out for the reindeer, socks unwrapped yet again — so the whole family plays the same game.

What if somebody joins late or wanders off for a mince pie?

A latecomer is put on the smallest team at the next turn. A player who drops and comes back keeps their seat and their points, and if the doodler disappears mid-turn the card goes back in the deck and the turn scores nothing.