The players should be in two teams. One team secretly writes down a common phrase and shows it to one member of the other team, chosen as the artist.

The artist then has to get the other members of their own team to guess the phrase by drawing a picture. They are not allowed to give clues by talking, or drawing letters or symbols.

Here are some examples:

Instead of a common phrase, players can try and guess the title of a book or film.

Another variation is for the artist to draw the picture with their eyes closed.

Pictionary was designed as a board game by Robert Angel and first published by Seattle Games Inc in 1985. Several TV game shows have been based on the same concept.