Charades categories list that actually works

Picking the right category makes charades effortless. Here is a full list of 20 themed categories and how to pair them so no two rounds feel identical.

20 charades categories

Rotate 3 to 5 of these per evening so the room does not see the same theme twice.

  1. Movies
  2. TV shows
  3. Animals
  4. Songs
  5. Sports
  6. Jobs
  7. Food and drinks
  8. Famous people
  9. Book titles
  10. Everyday actions
  11. Superheroes
  12. Cartoons
  13. Places and countries
  14. Holidays
  15. Musical instruments
  16. Vehicles
  17. Fairy tales
  18. Board games
  19. Emojis
  20. Household objects

These ideas are starters. Download Showem free for more words, teams and timers, and same-phone play on one device - from the App Store or Google Play.

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What players say

  • Set up teams in under a minute and laughed for an hour.

  • No installs for my friends - just pass the phone.

  • The AI keeps throwing new prompts so nobody gets bored.

Free - iOS & Android

Play now - Get Showem

Choose categories and round rules, run teams and timers, and keep scores on one phone - built for in-room charades on iOS and Android.

Fully customizable game rules

Add your friends in seconds

Automatic team shuffling

Ready, set, Showem!

Download Showem free

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Showem gameplay screen with a charades prompt, timer, and score colors

See how Showem works

Screens from the latest app - from setup to the word on the card.

1
Showem new game settings for time, points, categories, and difficulty

Fully customizable game rules

2
Showem players and teams screen with name entry and active player list

Add your friends in seconds

3
Showem teams overview with blue and red groups and player avatars

Automatic team shuffling

4
Showem game start screen with team scores and start button

Ready, set, Showem!

Mix safe and themed categories

Open with a safe category (movies or animals) so new players warm up. Then add a themed round (holidays, emojis, fairy tales) to surprise the table and reset energy.

How to pick a category per group

Kids do best with animals, food and fairy tales. Teens enjoy songs, emojis and TV shows. Adults can handle book titles, jobs and famous people. Mixed groups default to movies.

Showem switches categories instantly

Showem bundles all these categories and lets you flip between them without leaving the game - useful when one category starts getting stale.

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