160 Time’s Up Words: Easy, Hard and Hilarious

The same card feels completely different on its third appearance. In round one you can explain “a scientist famous for relativity.” In round two you risk everything on “relativity.” In round three you have only wild hair, a thoughtful face and whatever equation you can pretend to write in the air. That shrinking clue space is why a good set of Time’s Up words becomes funnier every round.

Below are 160 ready-to-use cards across famous people, fictional characters, jobs, places, actions, objects, hard concepts and absurd scenes. Choose the categories your group will recognize, write one item per slip and keep the same deck through all three rounds.

How to play Time’s Up in 3 rounds

Split into two balanced teams and put every folded card in one bowl. Teams alternate thirty-second turns. One clue giver draws cards while their teammates guess. A correct card stays with the team; a passed card returns to the bowl. When the bowl is empty, count points, return every card and begin the next round.

1. Round one, describe: use any words except the answer or part of it.
2. Round two, one word: give one clue word per card; guesses are unlimited.
3. Round three, mime: no speech, mouthing letters or pointing to real objects.

The deck never changes between rounds. Players are supposed to remember earlier clues and wrong guesses. That shared memory lets an obscure card become easy by round three. If a card was genuinely unknown to everybody, remove it before scoring the first round and replace it next game.

Round	Clue rule	Best tactic	Common mistake
1	free description	give category first	using part of the name
2	one spoken word	reuse a memorable clue	adding a second word
3	mime only	repeat a known gesture	mouthing the answer
optional 4	one frozen pose	choose the silhouette	moving after the pose

20 Time’s Up words: famous people

Choose names that most players can identify from at least one clue. A mixed deck of music, sport, science, art and public life prevents one specialist from owning the round. Before starting, let everyone replace one unfamiliar name without embarrassment.

1. Taylor Swift
2. Albert Einstein
3. Beyoncé
4. William Shakespeare
5. Serena Williams
6. Leonardo da Vinci
7. Rihanna
8. David Attenborough
9. Frida Kahlo
10. Lionel Messi
11. Marie Curie
12. Dwayne Johnson
13. Greta Thunberg
14. Elvis Presley
15. Malala Yousafzai
16. Usain Bolt
17. Adele
18. Charlie Chaplin
19. Simone Biles
20. Gordon Ramsay

20 fictional characters for Time’s Up cards

Characters create strong gestures in the mime round. Avoid adding a franchise name to the card unless it is necessary for recognition. If two characters share a title or costume, the clue giver must make the specific person clear.

1. Sherlock Holmes
2. Wonder Woman
3. Harry Potter
4. Wednesday Addams
5. Peter Pan
6. Darth Vader
7. Mary Poppins
8. Shrek
9. Black Panther
10. Cinderella
11. Indiana Jones
12. Mulan
13. Willy Wonka
14. Paddington Bear
15. Captain Hook
16. Elsa
17. Spider-Man
18. The Mad Hatter
19. Lara Croft
20. Robin Hood

20 jobs and roles for a Time’s Up word list

Jobs work well for families because tools and movements offer immediate clues. Make the role specific enough to be interesting. “Photographer” is usable, but “wedding photographer” produces a better scene and a more memorable one-word clue.

1. firefighter
2. astronaut
3. wedding photographer
4. flight attendant
5. pastry chef
6. detective
7. lifeguard
8. news reporter
9. veterinarian
10. football referee
11. tour guide
12. magician
13. delivery rider
14. film director
15. dentist
16. train conductor
17. fashion designer
18. museum curator
19. personal trainer
20. weather presenter

Players	Cards	Turn length	Expected game
4	40-50	45 seconds	30-40 minutes
6	60-80	30 seconds	45-60 minutes
8	80-100	30 seconds	60-75 minutes
10+	100-120	30 seconds	use three teams

20 places and situations

A place card should suggest sound, movement or an interaction, even though the third round is silent. Build the space with your hands before acting inside it: a security scanner, checkout belt or bowling lane can establish the setting faster than a complicated character.

1. airport security
2. haunted house
3. busy bakery
4. football stadium
5. mountain cabin
6. train platform
7. water park
8. courtroom
9. campground
10. recording studio
11. supermarket checkout
12. hotel lobby
13. science museum
14. rooftop garden
15. bowling alley
16. ferry terminal
17. wedding reception
18. school cafeteria
19. movie set
20. underground station

20 actions for a fast party round

Action cards are complete mini-scenes. In round one, describe the problem and the goal. In the one-word round, choose the object or emotion that everyone noticed earlier. In mime, begin with the repeated motion rather than trying to act every detail at once.

1. missing the last bus
2. wrapping an awkward gift
3. walking a stubborn dog
4. taking a group selfie
5. building flat-pack furniture
6. catching a falling cake
7. searching for lost keys
8. opening a stuck jar
9. learning a dance routine
10. trying to stay awake
11. ordering food by phone
12. escaping a sudden rainstorm
13. carrying too many bags
14. assembling a tent
15. pretending to know the lyrics
16. burning toast
17. parallel parking
18. choosing a movie
19. silencing an alarm
20. blowing up balloons

20 easy objects to describe and mime

Objects give the deck a welcome reset after difficult names. Show size and grip before demonstrating use. A telescope and binoculars look similar if you skip the shape, while a rolling pin becomes clear as soon as both hands move over an imaginary counter.

1. rubber duck
2. telescope
3. electric toothbrush
4. shopping trolley
5. snow globe
6. garden hose
7. alarm clock
8. rolling pin
9. headphones
10. suitcase
11. magnifying glass
12. camping lantern
13. skateboard
14. umbrella
15. coffee grinder
16. doorbell
17. binoculars
18. step ladder
19. vacuum cleaner
20. bicycle pump

20 hard Time’s Up words for adults

Abstract phrases need a remembered story from round one. Give a concrete example instead of a dictionary definition. For “social battery,” act out a crowded event and the need to recharge alone. If your group has different language backgrounds, preview this section and replace unclear idioms.

1. déjà vu
2. peer pressure
3. mixed signals
4. false alarm
5. culture shock
6. writer’s block
7. wishful thinking
8. inside joke
9. first impression
10. blind spot
11. plot twist
12. identity crisis
13. guilty pleasure
14. chain reaction
15. double standard
16. learning curve
17. comfort zone
18. social battery
19. unfinished business
20. beginner’s luck

20 hilarious Time’s Up prompts

Absurd combinations create the biggest transformations between rounds. Establish the main character first, then the unexpected situation. When teammates guess only half, repeat the correct half and change the second gesture. Do not confirm verbally during the mime round.

1. a nervous dragon
2. a penguin at a wedding
3. a robot learning yoga
4. a pirate on a video call
5. a vampire at the beach
6. a cat running a hotel
7. a ghost with hiccups
8. a detective who lost the clue
9. an astronaut baking bread
10. a mermaid on the subway
11. a dinosaur in a lift
12. a wizard without a wand
13. a superhero stuck in traffic
14. a shark at the dentist
15. a queen in pyjamas
16. a snail winning a race
17. an alien ordering pizza
18. a monkey directing a film
19. a cactus at a dance class
20. a bear doing karaoke

Scoring, passing and fair house rules

Decision	Simple rule	Alternative
Passing	unlimited; card returns to bowl	one pass per turn
End buzzer	unfinished card returns	other team gets one guess
Accidental forbidden word	card returns, no point	one-point penalty
Tie	three-card sudden death	share the win

Write cards in the same handwriting or print them so the back cannot reveal a person’s contribution. Appoint a timekeeper who announces five seconds remaining the same way for both teams. If you allow passing, keep the rule identical in every round. A slower player should not receive a shorter turn because the previous clue giver ran over.

How to prepare a balanced Time’s Up card deck

Do not simply take the first eighty names from one category. Build a deck that gives every player several ways in. For a six-person game, a useful mix is fifteen people, fifteen characters, ten jobs, ten places, ten actions, ten objects, five hard phrases and five absurd prompts. Read the complete deck privately before play. Remove exact duplicates, near-duplicates such as “astronaut” and “an astronaut baking bread,” and references known by only one person.

Use thick paper or fold every slip the same way so nobody can identify a card by shape or handwriting. If players contribute their own words, ask them to print clearly and submit the same number. One host should check the pile for private jokes, offensive references and answers that reveal personal information. A surprise should challenge the clue giver, not single out somebody in the room.

Example: one card across all three rounds

Imagine the card is “wedding photographer.” In round one, you might say, “This person takes formal pictures of a couple and their guests on a very important day.” The team learns the camera and ceremony connection. In round two, “bouquet” could be enough because the deck is now familiar. In round three, frame a picture with both hands, arrange an imaginary group and press a shutter. The strongest first-round clue plants details that can return as one word and one gesture.

Now imagine “mixed signals.” The first clue needs a concrete situation: “Someone replies warmly, then disappears, so you cannot tell what they mean.” In round two, “confusing” may revive that explanation. During mime, point in two directions, start walking one way and suddenly turn back. Abstract cards are playable when round one creates a shared scene.

Hosting tips for a fair, accessible game

Seat teams where everyone can hear without shouting. A player who cannot stand can mime from a chair; a player with limited hand movement can use facial expression and upper-body poses. Offer large-print cards and strong contrast. Nobody should lose a turn because they cannot read tiny handwriting or see a card in dim light.

Keep rule corrections short. If a forbidden clue slips out, return the card and continue the timer. Discuss the edge case after the turn, not while one team’s seconds disappear. Rotate clue givers in a fixed order so confident performers do not take every turn. If languages differ, allow a bilingual deck but mark which answers accept both versions before the game begins.

Between rounds, give teams one minute to count cards and reset. Do not let them review every answer aloud because remembering under pressure is part of the challenge. Shuffle thoroughly, change the first clue giver and verify that the bowl is empty before recording the score. These tiny procedures prevent most arguments and keep the three rounds feeling like one coherent game.

Watch for two common hosting errors. First, do not add new cards after round one; nobody has heard them described, so they break the memory structure. Second, do not let the next clue giver study the top slip before the timer begins. Hand over the bowl, wait for the signal and draw only then. Equal information matters more than perfectly equal artistic or performance skill.

5 Time’s Up game variations

Family deck: objects, jobs and familiar characters only. Theme night: use one topic such as films or travel. Cooperative: everyone tries to beat a shared total. Draw round: replace mime with silent sketching. Reverse round: the team gives clues while one player guesses. For nearby formats, try our charades ideas, Pictionary words or Scattergories categories.

Time’s Up words: FAQ