Looking for a fun game that also hones communication skills? Look no further than Charades! As each player uses nonverbal clues to help teammates guess the word, character or phrase they are attempting to communicate, they are having to think on their feet and problem solve as they attempt to communicate with their fellow team members.
As well as being a fun game for your family games night, Charades is fun to play with kids at school or with youth group or other community groups. And this set of printable Cartoon Characters Charades Game Cards are perfect for playing charades with kids (download instructions below). The set features 64 well known cartoon characters.
What are the common Charades hand signals?
There are several standard hand signals used to communicate the type of word or phrase being used, and the number of words and/or syllables within the phrase. These include;
Charades Categories Hand Signals
- Movie title: Pretend to be turning the reel of an old-fashioned movie camera
- TV show title: Draw a rectangle in the air with fingers to indicate a TV
- Song title: Draw your hand away from your mouth while pretending to sing
- Book title: Pretend to open a book by opening your hands
- Play title: Indicate a stage curtain opening by drawing hands apart
- Quotes & phrases: Make air quotes with fingers
Other Charades Hand Signals
- Number of words or syllables: Hold up fingers to indicate the number of words, the position of the word being communicated, and to break down individual words into syllables as needed. For example, hold up 3 fingers for a 3-word phrase, followed by 1 finger for the first word
- Word Length: Word length can be communicated by showing a “short” word length by spreading thumb and forefinger and a “long” word length by spreading your arms
- Sounds like: To indicate that a word is similar in sound to something you are acting out, cup your hand behind your ear
- Plurals: Link pinky fingers together to indicate a plural word
- Longer or shorter: To demonstrate that a phrase or word a longer or shorter version, stretch your hands or make a karate chop type action
- Correct guesses: Tap your nose and point to the person who made a correct guess to let them know they have it “right on the nose”
You can find a complete list of hand signals and game instructions within our handy, printable How to Play Charades guide.
Charades Game Ideas
As well as the Cartoon Character Charades Cards included below, you might also like our previous Charades Game Ideas;
- Family Movie Charades
- Fairytale Charades
- Christmas Charades Cards
- Easter Charades Ideas
- Halloween Charades Game
Each includes a printable set of game cards.
How to Print Your Cartoon Characters Charades Cards
Click here to download: Cartoon Characters Charades Game Cards. Save the PDF to your computer. Open the PDF and print the pages you require (see suggested options above). When printing, select “Fit to printable area” (or similar) to ensure the page fits with your printer type and local paper size. Laminate printed pages for durability.
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Please note: All Childhood 101 printables are for personal use only, you may not use any part of this content for commercial purposes-that includes selling the document, giving it away to promote your business or website, or printing the file to sell. You may not share, loan or redistribute these documents. Teachers may use multiple copies for students in their own classroom.
Looking for more fun games for kids? Check out our kids party games collection.
Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
