Charade Relay - Drinking Game Rules & How to Play

Charade Relay is a drinking game in the Team Games category for 6-20 players that takes about 25-40 min with a medium difficulty level.

Racing charades in relay format

Equipment Needed

Setup

Divide the group into two or more evenly sized teams and hand each team a stack of charade cards. Line up the teams side by side in single-file lines, making sure there's a clear acting area in front of the first player in each line. Set a timer or stopwatch within view, and place drinks nearby for quick access during penalties and end-of-game toasts.

How to Play Charade Relay

  1. Teams line up
  2. First person acts, team guesses
  3. Correct = next person's turn
  4. 3 wrong guesses = drink and skip
  5. First team through all cards wins
  6. Losers drink remaining cards
  7. Speed matters
  8. Communication is key

Tips & Strategies

When acting, focus on clear, exaggerated gestures to avoid unnecessary wrong guesses that lead to penalty drinks. If your team is close to using up their three wrong guesses on a card, deliberately skip it to avoid triggering the drink penalty. Stack the cards in a way that harder clues come later, giving your team a chance to warm up. Watch the other team's pace,if they're moving fast, you might need to kick into high gear to keep up.

Variations

Lightning Round Relay: Set a timer for two minutes per team and see how many cards they can complete. The team with the most correct guesses at the end wins.. No-Skip Mode: Teams are not allowed to skip cards. If they fail to guess a card after three wrong guesses, the actor has to take a drink, and the same card stays in play for the next person.. Reverse Relay: Instead of actors rotating, the same actor stays up until their team clears all their cards. The actor drinks for every three wrong guesses during their turn.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if a team guesses wrong more than three times on the same card?
After three wrong guesses, the team has to drink, and they must skip to a new card.
Do losers drink all remaining cards no matter how many?
Yes, whichever cards remain in the losing team's stack must be divided and finished as drinks among their players.
How do I create charade cards for the game?
Write a mix of easy and hard prompts on slips of paper or index cards,movies, celebrities, actions, and random objects all work well.
What if my team runs out of players before finishing the cards?
The first person in line rotates back to the acting position and continues until all cards are guessed or skipped.

Players: 6-20 | Duration: 25-40 min | Difficulty: medium

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