Pictionary is the classic party game that has been played over and over and will probably reign as the most popular drawing game of all time but sometimes you want to try something new right?

Here is my Top List of 6 games that feel a lot like Pictionary but each game brings something unique and different to the table.

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A Fake Artist Goes to New York (2012)

Board Game Description

Fake Artist Goes to New York – is a party game for 5-10 players. Players take turns being the Question Master, whose role is to set a category, write a word within that category on dry erase cards, and hand those out to other players as artists. At the same time, one player will have only an “X” written on his card: they are the fake artist!

Players will then go around the table twice, drawing one contiguous stroke each on a paper to draw the word established by the Question Master, then guess who the fake artist is. If the fake artist is not caught, both the fake artist and the Question Master earn points; if the fake artist is caught and cannot guess what the word is, the artists earn points.

Duplik (2005)

Board Game Description

Duplik, first published as Portrayal (then Identik) is a funny, fast-paced, family and party game that tests each player’s ability to describe, draw, and evaluate wacky images.

In each round of Duplik, one player (the Art Director) describes a unique and utterly bizarre image while the other players (the Artists) attempt to draw the image based solely on the Art Director’s description.

Once the time is up, Artists trade drawings and the ten hidden criteria for the image are uncovered. It’s up to each Artist to decide whether the drawing he or she is judging meets the criteria and receives points.

Pictomania (2011)

Board Game Description

Pictomania is a drawing game in which everyone is both drawing and guessing at the same time, giving a chance for those who excel only at one or the other skill to crush the dreams of other players.

Pictomania lasts five rounds, and at the start of each round, you set up six randomly drawn cards on card racks visible to all players. Cards are double-sided, come in four levels of difficulty, and include seven related words on a single side. In addition to a set of guessing cards, scoring tokens, marker and drawing board, each player receives one symbol card and one number card, which together indicate which word or phrase on the revealed cards that player must draw. Bonus tokens equal to one less than the number of players are placed in the centre of the table.

Players simultaneously look at their cards and start to draw. While drawing, they can also watch what others are doing and place a guess card on that player’s stack. Only one guess per player is allowed, and once you make a guess, you can’t change your mind. Other players will ideally be playing guess cards on your stack, too. Once you have finished drawing and guessing – and you’re not required to do either – take the highest-valued bonus token from the centre of the table and take no other actions. Once the final bonus token is claimed, the round ends.

One by one, players reveal what they were drawing and the guesses that others made. Those who guess your word earn one of your scoring tokens, with early guessers earning more points, while those who guess incorrectly have their card placed in the centre of the table. Once all the guesses are resolved, you determine the black sheep – the player who made the worst guesses. If a single player has more cards in the centre of the table then anyone else, then his bonus token (if any) counts as negative points. What’s more, if no one guessed your word, then you throw away your bonus token, scoring nothing for it. You sum positive points for the round (a bonus token scored, and scoring tokens from the words you guessed correctly), then subtract points for the black sheep “bonus” and all the scoring tokens you didn’t give away to determine your final score for the round, which could be negative.

Reset the bonus and scoring tokens, set up six new cards, hand out the symbol and number cards and start another round. The player with the highest score after five rounds wins.

ARTBOX (2019)

Board Game Description

ARTBOX is a game in which each player becomes a modern artist.

Each game round is a competition of trying to depict your word using just several shapes. Players will also have to challenge their deduction, trying to guess what their opponents tried to depict.

Quick Rules.
• Each player takes 2 Word cards and secretly chooses one, the other is placed to the bottom of the deck
• The facilitator rolls dice and places them on the Shape cards
• Each player draws their chosen word using the shapes rolled
• The first player to finish takes the #1 token, the next player — #2, and so on
• The facilitator takes each player’s Word card face-down, adds random cards from the deck and shuffles.
Then he/she places them face-up near the drawing board
• The facilitator takes each player’s drawing face-down, shuffles them and places them face-up near the
designated numerated areas on the board
• Players match words with drawings. They secretly note their guesses
• The first player to finish turns the sandglass upside down. After the time runs out, no one can take notes anymore
• The facilitator checks drawings one by one and writes a number of players, who guessed right, on each drawing
• A player with the most guessed drawing gets the first Victory token. In case of ties, the winner is a player with the lower number.
A player can’t gain 2 Victory tokens during the same round.
• The second Victory token goes to a player who guessed the most drawings. In case of ties, the winner is a player with the most
guessed drawing. In case of another tie, it’s a player with the lower number.
• Players check the endgame condition. If it’s not met, the next player clockwise becomes the facilitator. The new round begins.

1000 Blank White Cards (1996)

Board Game Description

1000 Blank White Cards is a public domain card game, which allows the players to make the cards during the course of the game. There are no initial rules, and while there may be conventions among certain groups of players, it is in the spirit of the game to spite and denounce these conventions, as well as to adhere to them religiously.

Card Content

Cards may feature a title, a picture, a score, a rule, or any other content, and need not be limited to one side or even to a single card. Early iterations of the game included cards with attached objects, and cards of a variety of sizes and shapes within the same deck and gameplay session. Many cards in later decks have a point value, but this is by no means a requirement.

Cards generally include hand-drawn pictures. The game encourages quick sketches by non-artists, which can add to the overall ironic orientation of the game. Card illustrations can represent anything the designer wants to feature, from serious to absurd. (However, usually, cards tend toward the latter.)

Game Play

Gameplay conventionally follows a “draw one, play one” rule, with standard rotation; however, this, as with any game parameters, can be arbitrarily altered in play.

In one variant, blank cards are simply made available to all players at all times, and can be created without limitation and played in turn. In other variants, players seed an otherwise blank deck with their own invented cards, which are shuffled in with blank cards to form a deck of about 60-90 cards. In this latter variant, a player may only craft a new card if he or she draws one of the blank cards during the course of play.

In most cases, unless countermanded or constrained by rules created during gameplay, players may play a card on themselves, on another player, or on all players. Card rules and actions may counter other cards which have already been played.

The game ends when the deck is exhausted. Points may be tabulated and a winner declared. In some variants, players may then lay out all of the cards face-up for the “epilogue”, which allows players to choose the best cards to seed the deck for the next game. In other variants, all cards must be retained and reintroduced, regardless of perceived quality.

Telestrations (2009)

Board Game Description

“Each player begins by sketching a TELESTRATIONS word dictated by the roll of a die. The old fashioned sand timer may limit the amount of time they get to execute their sketch, but it certainly doesn’t limit creativity! Time’s up! All players, all at the same time, pass their sketch to the next player, who must guess what’s been drawn. Players then simultaneously pass their guess — which hopefully matches the original word (or does it??) — to the next player who must try to draw the word they see — and so on.”

“Telestrations contains eight erasable sketchbooks and markers, a die, a 90-second sand-timer and 2,400 words to choose from.”

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Board Games