The official rules are short, which leaves room for the same ten arguments at every table. Here is a rule for each. None is official; all of them work.
1. Exact word, but keep drawing
The argument: “I said bird! It’s basically a duck!” The rule: only the exact word scores, but the drawer may keep drawing until it is said or the buzzer goes. A near miss costs seconds, not the point. Plural versus singular counts as the same word.
2. Dashes are free
The argument: whether drawing a row of dashes for a multi-word phrase is “writing”. The rule: dashes for the word count are allowed and encouraged; pointing to the dash you are drawing is allowed too. Letters inside the dashes are not.
3. The sounds-like signal
The argument: ear-tugging is a gesture. The rule: pick one before you start. Family tables allow the ear tug; competitive tables require a drawn ear next to the picture. Either way, one sounds-like per word, not per syllable.
4. D counts double
The argument: rolling a Difficult feels like a punishment. The rule: a correct guess on a D word is worth two points. Suddenly everyone wants the die to land on it. The card mode tags every D line for you.
5. One skip per team, and it costs time
The argument: “I can’t draw bureaucracy, can I have another?” The rule: each team may skip once per game; the timer keeps running. The generator’s Skip button does exactly that.
6. Three-word choice for the youngest
The argument: children get stuck on a word they do not know. The rule: players under ten see three words and choose one (set Words per turn to 3). Adults get one.
7. Pairs at the pad
The argument: a shy player will not draw. The rule: anyone may draw with a partner, both pens on the paper, neither talking. It is louder, funnier and fairer.
8. No nodding (except for the little ones)
The argument: the drawer nodded, that is a gesture. The rule: nodding and head-shaking are gestures and banned, except for players under eight, who may nod at a close guess. Everyone else circles the part of the drawing that is right.
9. Time-out means pens down
The argument: the drawer kept drawing after the buzzer while the team kept guessing. The rule: at the buzzer the pen goes down and guesses stop. The generator’s buzzer is loud enough to end the debate; turn Timer sounds on.
10. The art gallery decides the tie
The argument: a tied game. The rule: keep every drawing. In a tie, the table votes for the worst drawing that was still guessed, and that team wins. Ties are rarer than you think; the vote happens anyway because it is the best part.
Writing them down
Agree the ten before the first turn and put them on the fridge. The generator remembers your settings (timer length, words per turn, audience) via Copy link, so next time the rules and the word pool arrive together. For the rules you should not change, see how to play Pictionary; for the words themselves, the lists.
Last updated September 2026. Pictionary® is a trademark of Mattel, Inc.; house rules are ours and yours.