Dumb charades: frequently asked questions

Dumb charades means charades played in complete silence. "Charades" is a guessing game where a word or title is acted out; "dumb" here has its old meaning, "unable to speak", not "stupid". So dumb charades is the acting-only version: no words, no sounds, just gestures.

Say it "dum shuh-RAADZ". The "b" in dumb is silent, and the stress in charades is on the second syllable. In American English you will also hear "shuh-RAYDZ"; both are correct.

None in practice. "Charades" is the international name; Indians usually say "dumb charades" to stress that the actor cannot speak. Historically, charades could also be spoken word riddles, so "dumb" made clear you had to act. In India the game is also almost always played with movie names.

Crank an imaginary film camera beside your head (or frame a screen with your hands) to show "movie". Then show the language with your group’s sign, the number of words with your fingers, and act word by word. All signs are on the how to play dumb charades page.

Hold up that many fingers after the movie sign. Then hold up fingers again to tell your team which word you are acting. For syllables, tap fingers on your forearm.

It is the traditional name and nobody means harm by it, but some people prefer "silent charades" because "dumb" was once used for people who cannot speak. Use whichever your group is comfortable with; the rules are the same.

A free charades app for iPhone and Android. The guesser holds the phone to their forehead, a word appears, and everyone else acts it out, describes it, hums it or draws it. Tilt down for correct, tilt up to pass. The app keeps time and score.

Not yet. The built-in word lists are in English: 27 topics with 3,900+ words, including Act It Out, Animals, Hollywood Movies, Superheroes and Jobs. The Indian movie lists live on this website, free, and the dumb charades movie generator draws from them. With premium you can type in your own movie names as a custom category.

Yes. It is a free download, eight topics are free to play (one topic per game), and every week one premium topic is free for everyone. Premium unlocks all topics, rounds up to 120 seconds, extra time settings, mixing topics, your own words and categories, more teams and rounds, and no ads. It is available monthly, yearly or as a one-time lifetime purchase.

Two players are enough in the app, but it shines with a bigger group. Quick mode works for any number of people with no names or scores. Solo mode scores 2 players free, Team mode 2 teams over 2 rounds free; premium allows up to 4 players or teams and more rounds.

45 seconds, and each pass takes 5 seconds off. With premium you can choose up to 120 seconds and add +5 seconds for every correct answer, or switch the pass penalty off.

No, the game works offline. You only need a connection to download it and to make purchases.

Yes, the app is rated 4+. For the youngest players there is Guessy Kids: pictures instead of words, so children who cannot read yet can play too. More info: guessykids.com

Yes, if you like, and it is free. The front camera records the guesser during the round, adds a watermark and saves the clip to your phone’s gallery. Nothing is uploaded, and you can switch it off in Settings.

The free version shows a banner during the game and an ad after a round. Premium removes them.

Tap Restore on the Settings screen. Use the same Apple ID or Google account you bought with. If nothing changes, restart the app.