How to Be Good at Charades: Part 2

In the first half of this article, we looked at some ways to improve your Charades game through thoughtful acting. Now we’re going to turn our attention to the other part of the game: guessing. The best acting job in the world wouldn’t get you anywhere without a focused guesser, so perk up and pay attention!

PART 2: GUESSING

Eyes on the prize.

Focus
While actors may panic and flounder, guessers are often at risk of getting distracted. This is, after all, a party game, and there’s a reasonable chance that there may be drinks and snacks around to steal your attention. The last group’s clue might have been so funny you can’t stop laughing, or perhaps the sight of your aunt trying to mime out a moonwalk is just too painful to watch. If you’re going to solve the clue, though, you’re going to need to focus. Keep your eyes on the actor, stay collected when you guess, and don’t get frustrated.

Give the man a chance to answer!

Don’t Say Too Much
Some people just can’t resist the urge to yell out every single thing that crosses their mind, associating openly and making a dozen guesses in rapid succession. Now, there isn’t anything wrong with this strategy, and if you’re on the right track it can easily get you out of a bind. The problem comes when you say too much, too fast. You yell “Pants! Jeans! Legs! Walking! Michael Jackson!” and realize halfway through that your actor is nodding excitedly. But… what were they nodding at? And what did you even just say? You may have hit the jackpot, and then lost it. If you’re a gregarious guesser, slow down long enough to make sure that the actor has time to confirm a good guess.

Be heard.

Don’t Say Too Little
And then… there’s the other side of the guessing camp. These guessers will sit like living copies of ‘The Thinker’, staring at the actor until they’ve got it figured out. Sometimes, these guessers chance upon the right answer on their first try — which is a great way to make yourself look like a silent, brooding genius. It’s also a great way to not guess correctly the remaining 95% of the time. If you don’t make any preliminary guesses, the actor can’t give you any better clues. They can’t tell you if you’re on the right track, or hacking through some distant jungle with a machete. Hell, they don’t even know if you’re paying attention! When you think you’ve got an idea, say it. It can’t hurt.

This is a good thinking face.

Think. Think Again.
Mind you, there’s nothing wrong with being pensive. Most Charades clues are not one simple word. They are comprised of longer, more complicated word combinations (phrases, titles, names, and so on) that take some sophisticated thinking to both act and guess. Your actor might be trying something other than miming out the individual words, so don’t restrict your guessing to simply shouting out everything you see (or think you see). Remember the clues that were given earlier — for example, the signals. If the actor signalled that you were looking for a person, perhaps ‘pants’ is not quite the right answer. Keep your mind agile as you watch, and avoid getting stuck in a (metaphorical) literal rut.

There’s still some time left — keep guessing, and guess smartly.

Keep Watching
The actor smiles and waves her arms about excitedly. “Pants? Pants! Pants! It’s pants, isn’t it?” you shout, but she keeps waving. You’re too excited to think, and the timer runs out before you get any further. So close! If only you had followed the first point in this article and kept focusing, watching the actor as she guided you towards the final answer. Good actors have many little tricks at their disposal, signalling when words should be pluralized, cut short or extended. Maybe what you thought was excited arm-waving was actually the infamous signal for ‘the whole concept’. Keep your head on straight as you move into the final seconds, and you might just earn yourself that point.

Or not. Charades is fun when you’re good at it, but more importantly than that charades is fun when it’s fun. So get yourself that drink and all those snacks, lean back, and giggle at your aunt.

How to Be Good at Charades: Part 1

Charades is a great game; we often pull it out after a big dinner, when the last thing anyone wants to do is sit around the table some more and roll dice (and most folks are sufficiently buzzed to enjoy flapping their arms and wriggling about in front of a staring crowd). There’s no particular need to be good at charades if all you want is a good laugh — but if you’ve got winning on your mind, here are a few tips to see you though.

PART 1: ACTING

You got this. Just relax — and get started.

Don’t Panic
You’re on a timer, and the worst thing you could do is freeze up and do nothing while precious seconds tick away. Just give it a shot. Your team-members might chance upon the answer, or maybe their misunderstandings will give you a better idea. And if all goes wrong and you just can’t get your point across, cancel out and try again. Whatever you do, don’t waste your time shrugging or groaning in exasperation (unless it’s part of your phrase).

I got three words for you.

Use Signals
Speaking of cancelling out — there’s a signal for that. Signals are small, simple actions with meanings that are agreed upon by all of the players, and they are infinitely useful. There are signals that identify the type of word that you’re giving clues for (person/movie/location), signals that analyze the phrase structure (number of words/syllables), signals that stand for common words and concepts (the, opposites, color) and signals that help you narrow in on the proper form of a word (shorter, longer, plural). Use them. They are your friends.

Two words? This should be easy.

Set Up the Basics
Here is where signals shine. Before you start miming your climb up a beanstalk in front of your thoroughly-confused team members (is it a marching band?!), you should probably tell them that the answer they’re looking for is the name of a story. You could tell them how many words there are, or how many syllables in the word you’re working on. All of this will give them the correct frame of reference, and they won’t have to waste their time on wild guessing.

How well do you know these guys?

Know Your Audience
Face it. When giving clues for ‘Watergate’, you might not use the same tactic with your savvy uncle as you would with a clueless 12-year-old. Think about your partners. Do they know this concept? Will they understand your clue? If you have the feeling that they’ve never heard of it before, don’t lose hope. Try a different strategy. Get them to guess word-by-word, or even syllable-by-syllable. And while we’re on the subject of audiences — don’t hesitate to use inside jokes, references, and personal knowledge to your advantage. You can even refer to previous clues given, especially if they were memorable (and some always will).

It’s all in the hands.

Mime With Your Fingers
So you’ve set up the basics and picked a tactic you think your partners will understand. Now all you have to do is deliver your clues well, and what means miming. If you’re finding that the guesses are coming from all over the place, and no one seems to have any idea if you’re marching or climbing — think about your fingers. Waving around with limp arms rarely looks like much (well, it looks like waving limp arms around), but once you get to thinking about what your fingers should be doing, your whole body snaps into clearer focus. Take a moment. Let your partners see your hands. Wrap your fingers around the beanstalk and give it a firm tug. Raise your hand, then grasp again.

Now you’re getting somewhere.

Check out the second part of this article — it’s all about guessing.