Drawing Games for People Who Can't Draw

If you avoid drawing games because you are sure you are bad at it, you are missing out. These games are not about art. They are about communicating an idea quickly, and the funniest rounds usually come from the worst drawings. Here are some habits that help.

Draw features, not objects

People recognise things by their most distinctive parts. For an elephant, draw the trunk and big ears first. For a house, the roof and the door. For a bicycle, two circles. If you start with these features, your guessers will often shout the answer before you have drawn anything else.

Add detail only after the main features are down. In a timed game, you will often not need it.

Use simple shapes and symbols

Stick figures, arrows and speech bubbles are fine. Use arrows to show movement, a sun for outdoors and a few lines for rain. Draw a stick figure doing something rather than an elaborate portrait.

The fill tool and different colours save time in Doodle Deck. A single blue shape for water or sky tells guessers where they are.

Know when to try a twist

Doodle Deck gives you the option of a twist card, such as drawing blindfolded, upside down or with only five strokes, for bonus points. If you are not confident with drawing, these twists are in a sense easier: nobody expects a good picture, and everyone is laughing already.

Chaos mode gives everyone a twist every turn, so it is a fun way to level the playing field.

In Doodle Telephone, be literal

The humour of Doodle Telephone comes from each step slightly misunderstanding the one before. Your job is to follow the description exactly, not to guess what the original was. If the description says a dog wearing a hat riding a bicycle, draw that, even if it looks nothing like a dog.

When you describe someone else's drawing, write what you see. A man with a long nose and three legs is better than a guess at who it is.

In Fake Artist, you only get one line

Fake Artist asks you to add one line to a shared drawing. Make that line count. As a real artist, add something that is clearly connected to the secret word, but not so specific that the faker can copy you. As the fake artist, watch what the others add and fit in with it.

Drawing skill barely matters here. What matters is the idea behind your line, and whether it makes sense to the other players.

Make it social

Drawing games are best when people talk. Comment on the drawings, shout out wrong guesses and do not take scores too seriously. Telephone lets you save your favourite chains as an animated GIF, which is a good way to remember the night.