How to play Pencil Charades

Pencil Charades is charades with a pencil instead of acting. One player draws a word, with no letters, numbers or talking, and everyone else tries to guess what it is. Families have played it with a pad of paper for generations. Here you can play it three ways.

Against the computer

• The computer sketches a word one line at a time. You race the computer players to guess it.
• The blanks at the top show how many letters the word has. Type your guess and tap Guess, or press Enter.
• The first to get it scores 3 points, the second 2, everyone after that 1. A wrong guess costs nothing, and you have up to 15 guesses a sketch.
• "So close!" means you were one letter off, or named only part of it. That guess does not use one up.
• Stuck? Letter shows the next letter of the word, and that sketch then scores one point less for you.
• A game is eight sketches (five or twelve in Settings), with 45 seconds each (30 seconds to 90 in Settings). The most points wins.

Today's sketches

Daily Sketches is five sketches, the same for everyone today. The sooner you guess, the more points: 5 if you get it after the first line, down to 1 once the drawing is finished. You have six guesses for each one. See how you compare with everyone else, and share your score without giving the words away.

Game night with friends

Choose Play with friends and send the link, or read out the four-letter table code. Everyone takes a turn to draw on their own phone or tablet: pick one of three words, then draw it with your finger, with six colors, three line sizes, Undo and Clear. Everyone else types guesses on their phone. Guessers score 3, 2 and then 1 point in the order they get it, and the one drawing scores 1 point for each player who gets it. Open the TV link from the table on the TV's web browser to show the drawing to the whole room as it happens. The computer cannot see a drawing, so in this game it does not play: give every person a seat, and any empty seat just sits out.

Pass the tablet

Two to eight people around one phone or tablet. Pass it to the one drawing, who picks a word while the others look away. Everyone guesses out loud, and when someone gets it the one drawing taps Got it! and then their name. Both score a point. Tap the blanks to peek at your word while you draw.

Tips

• Guess early and often. A wrong guess costs nothing, and the first one in scores the most.
• Count the blanks. A word with eight letters is not "cat".
• When you draw, start with the big shape, then add the one thing that gives it away. A house needs a roof, not bricks.
• Drawing an action? Draw the person doing it, then the thing they do it with.

Questions

Who made the sketches? Every sketch the computer draws was made for Parlor Table, line by line, the way a person would draw it.

How strong are the computers? The computer does not look at the drawing the way you do. Each sketch knows after how many lines most people can tell what it is, and the computers guess around then: Easy ones late, and sometimes not at all; Sharp ones type fastest and almost never miss one.

Can the computer guess my drawing? No. That is why drawing is for friends, on their phones or around one tablet.

Do I need an account? No. Your game is saved in this browser, so you can close the page and come back.