How To Play Pictionary On Zoom At Your Next Virtual Hangout

It’s hard to imagine how to keep ourselves busy for yet another month but here we are — and we’re looking for the perfect game to keep us entertained during our next Zoom happy hour or virtual get-together with friends. Between Charades, Scattergories, and Bingo, classic games that we once played face-to-face have gotten a virtual overhaul and the gameplay is just as fun, if not more. If you’re looking for a game that will let you and your party mates get creative at your next virtual hang, try learning how to play Pictionary on Zoom.

Pictionary is a rather simple game that can get really crazy really fast. As participants draw a somewhat accurate version of the random words given, their teammates must then correctly guess the item being drawn in order to win the round. Sounds simple enough right? Well, once you add in the fact that you only have 60 seconds to draw something that could be elaborate, the gloves come off. There’s always that one person who tries to guess the clue before it’s fully drawn or the friend who can’t draw a stick figure to save their life. For as insane as the game can get, it’s always a fun time. Here’s how to play Pictionary on Zoom.

Gather Your Materials

- Zoom

- Paper and pencil (unless using Zoom's whiteboard feature)

- A random word generator

- A timer

To play Pictionary on Zoom you'll need a few things first. For starters, decide if everyone is drawing with their own paper and pencil or if you'll use Zoom's whiteboard feature (I'd recommend this one). The whiteboard feature will allow everyone to see what is being drawn much like how it is in an in-person game of Pictionary. Once this has been decided, you can move into splitting up teams.

How To Play Pictionary On Zoom

After your party guests have been split into even teams, it's time to play! There's no correct person to start the game so you can either choose randomly, go by age, or alphabetically. Traditionally there are four categories: people/animals/objects, actions, difficult to draw, and miscellaneous. However, in virtual Pictionary, many opt to just have the random word generator choose for them (you can set the generator to choose a card in a specific category, though). The timer will be set to 60 seconds and the first person to play will draw the random word they've been given. If you're using the whiteboard feature on Zoom, you'll get the full Pictionary experience as your friends begin yelling at the screen trying to guess your drawing as the clock runs out.

If you're kicking it old school this time around and using paper and pencil, the same rules apply, but you'll just have to draw fast enough to also then show your teammates and give them ample time to guess. You can play as many rounds as you want as long as everyone is having fun. Just be sure to keep track of which team is actually winning.

Some Pictionary Dos & Dont's

DOs:

-Draw any and everything related to your given word.

- Break down the word into syllables.

- Use symbols.

DON'Ts

- Use numbers or symbols to draw or describe your word.

- Speak to your teammates while you're playing.

- Use "nose" for "smells like" or any symbols that show how many letters are in a word.

You're now all set to have the most picturesque time playing Pictionary with your friends over Zoom. Be sure to have everyone take a picture with one of their drawings to bask in the keepsakes later.