Whiteboard Telephone
Whiteboard Telephone
A Fun Youth Group Game
Watch the Tutorial Video
Whiteboard Telephone puts a creative twist on the classic game of Telephone. Instead of passing a word from person to person, players pass along a drawing, with each person trying to recreate what they see.
Overview
Ideal # of Participants: 8 to 40
Where to Play: Indoors / Outdoors
Age of Participants: Elementary School / Middle School / High School
Approximate Time to Play: 10 to 30 Minutes
Materials Needed: Whiteboards & Whiteboard Markers (Or Pens and Paper)
How to Play Whiteboard Telephone
This game is basically telephone, except instead of passing a word down the line, you’re passing a drawing.
Split into teams of about four to eight players each. Everyone sits in a straight line, facing the back of the person in front of them, and each player gets their own small whiteboard and marker (or a piece of paper and a pen in a pinch). Make sure that when teams are seated, they can’t easily see the boards of players from opposing teams.
Your team’s goal is to get the person at the front of your line to guess the original word. To start a round, the leader gives the person at the back of each line a word to draw.
- The first artist draws the target word on their whiteboard.
- They show the drawing to the person sitting in front of them, then erase or set it aside.
- That person, without knowing the original word, recreates what they just saw on their own board.
- They pass their version forward to the next player, and the process repeats all the way down the line.
Guessing and Scoring
Because teams are racing to be the first to get their word all the way down the line, players tend to draw fast and minimalistic, which is exactly what makes the game funny. Small details get lost, shapes get simplified, and by the third or fourth redraw the picture rarely resembles where it started.
When the drawing finally reaches the front of the line, that player studies it and shouts out a guess. The first team to correctly guess the word earns a point for the round.
- Players may only look at the board of the person directly behind them, never any other board on their team or another team’s line.
- If the front player can’t figure out the drawing, anyone on the team may erase and try redrawing it.
Winning Whiteboard Telephone
Once a round ends, everyone shifts forward one position in line, and the player who was at the front rotates to the back. The leader picks a new word, and the round begins again.
Play until one team reaches 7 points, and that team wins the game.
The words you choose as the leader make or break this game. Stick to simple, recognizable objects rather than anything abstract or wordy. See the handout below for a full list of words that work well!
Lesson Handout
Want to make this easy to share with your volunteers or students? Download the “Whiteboard Telephone” Lesson Handout (PDF) below!
Where Games Meet God's Word...
Most leaders just look for games to play, but miss their true value. When used well, games help teach your lesson, because experiential learning is by far the most effective way to teach a lesson that sticks.
If you want to see this principle in action, check out Uplift, our FREE youth group lesson that is built for engagement. It contains a fun game, but then your students’ experience from the game ties into the Christ-centered message you’ll teach.
