Bible Charades: 120 Words to Act Out, by Age & Difficulty
By Paul — dad of 8. Every question here has survived our own family game nights.
Bible charades is the game night that needs nothing: no board, no screen, no budget — just people willing to flap their arms until someone shouts “Jonah!”. The hard part is always the words, so here are 120 of them in six lists, segmented by difficulty and age — from one-motion words a preschooler can act to verse phrases that humble the adult Sunday school class. Draw words right on this page with the generator below, print the whole list, or download the free PDF and cut it into cards.
Draw a Bible charades word
Pick a list (or keep all 120), tap draw, and hand the phone to the actor. The deck never repeats a word until it runs out — enough for a full evening without a single reused prompt.
Tap the button, then hand the phone to the actor — only they should see the word.
120 words in this deck
How to play Bible charades
- Set up two teams. Any split works, but mixed ages beat age brackets — put a seven-year-old and a grandparent on the same side and both will see stories the other missed.
- The actor draws a word — from the generator above or from a jar of paper slips — and keeps it secret. Only their own team guesses while they act.
- Sixty seconds, total silence. No talking, no mouthing words, no spelling in the air, no pointing at objects in the room. Sound effects are a house rule: strict games ban them, family games with little kids should allow them.
- Score a point per guessed word. First team to 10 wins, or set a number of rounds so everyone acts the same number of times.
- Stuck actors may pass once. Put the word back in the deck, draw again, and lose ten seconds — it keeps a brutal draw from stalling the night.
- For a crowd, run the speed round. Each team gets 90 seconds to burn through as many words as possible — a new actor for each word. It’s the version we recommend in our youth group games guide, and the scoreboard tension is real.
After a word is guessed (or missed), take ten seconds to say where it comes from in Scripture — with kids, “where is that story in the Bible?” turns a party game into the painless kind of Bible review.
The signals that save the night
Charades collapses when the actor has no way to set up the guess. Teach these standard signals before the first round — thirty seconds that doubles everyone’s score:
- It’s a story: open your hands like a book, then set the scene.
- It’s a person: stand tall and point at yourself with both thumbs, then act their signature moment.
- Word count: hold up fingers for how many words, then a finger for which word you’re acting first.
- Sounds like: tug your earlobe, then act a rhyme — “grace” is unactable, but “race” isn’t.
- Small word: pinch thumb and finger together for “the”, “of”, “my” — guessers rattle them off until you point.
- Close, keep going: wave both hands toward yourself; on the exact word, tap your nose and point at the guesser.
The word lists: 120 Bible charades words
Six lists, easiest first. Mix one easy list with one harder list for a family night, or run them in order across an evening — the room warms up faster than you’d think. Every list prints cleanly, and the free PDF carries all six.
Animals & Easy Actions · Easy · Ages 4 and up
One-idea words a preschooler can act and a grandparent can guess — start here if little ones are playing.
- Sheep
- Lion
- Donkey
- Big fish (like Jonah's)
- Snake in the garden
- Dove with the olive branch
- Angel
- Shepherd
- Fisherman
- Rainbow
- King with a crown
- Boat in a storm
- Giant
- Blowing a trumpet
- Baby in a manger
- Star in the sky
- Camel
- Rooster crowing
- Frog (one of the plagues)
- Praying
Bible Stories Everyone Knows · Easy · All ages
The big scenes every Sunday schooler recognizes — whole stories with obvious motions, perfect for mixed family teams.
- David and Goliath
- Noah builds the ark
- Jonah and the whale
- Daniel in the lions' den
- Baby Jesus is born
- Moses parts the Red Sea
- Adam and Eve
- The walls of Jericho fall down
- Jesus walks on water
- Zacchaeus climbs a tree
- Feeding the five thousand
- The burning bush
- Jesus calms the storm
- The empty tomb
- Samson loses his hair
- The Good Samaritan
- Baptism in the Jordan River
- Waving palm branches
- The Last Supper
- Water turned into wine
Bible Characters · Medium · Ages 8 and up
Act the person, not a story — guessers must land on the name, which takes one signature moment played well.
- Moses
- Noah
- King David
- Goliath
- Jonah
- Daniel
- Samson
- Eve
- John the Baptist
- Zacchaeus
- Peter
- Judas
- Mary, the mother of Jesus
- Joseph and his colorful coat
- Queen Esther
- Ruth
- Elijah
- Lazarus
- Paul (once called Saul)
- King Solomon
Objects, Places & Moments · Medium · Ages 8 and up
Things and scenes rather than people — great second-round material once the famous stories are used up.
- The ark of the covenant
- The crown of thorns
- The fiery furnace
- The Garden of Eden
- Jacob's ladder
- The Tower of Babel
- The Ten Commandments on stone tablets
- Five loaves and two fish
- A tiny mustard seed
- The shepherd's staff
- Thirty pieces of silver
- The widow's two small coins
- The golden calf
- Manna from heaven
- Gideon's fleece
- The pillar of fire
- Crossing the Jordan on dry ground
- The stone rolled away
- A sling and five smooth stones
- Washing the disciples' feet
Scenes for Teens & Adults · Hard · Teens & adults
Deeper cuts and multi-part scenes — the round where your Bible buffs finally earn their reputation.
- The prodigal son comes home
- The parable of the sower
- The Transfiguration
- Pentecost
- The road to Damascus
- The ten plagues of Egypt
- Jacob wrestles the angel
- Elijah's chariot of fire
- The valley of dry bones
- The writing on the wall
- Doubting Thomas
- Paul's shipwreck
- Nebuchadnezzar eats grass like an ox
- Lot's wife turns to salt
- Balaam's talking donkey
- The wise and foolish builders
- Pharaoh's dream of seven cows
- The sheep and the goats
- Esther's banquet
- The armor of God
Verses & Big Ideas · Hard · Teens & adults
Phrases and abstractions — guessers need the wording, so lean hard on the word-count and sounds-like signals.
- Faith
- Grace
- Forgiveness
- The Resurrection
- Love your neighbor as yourself
- The Lord is my shepherd
- Let there be light
- Be still and know that I am God
- Consider the lilies of the field
- A wolf in sheep's clothing
- Turn the other cheek
- A city on a hill
- The salt of the earth
- Walk by faith, not by sight
- The narrow gate
- Ask, seek, knock
- Do not worry about tomorrow
- The log in your own eye
- Fishers of men
- The fruit of the Spirit
Print it, cut it, cast it
Three ways to run the same 120 words. Print this page (the button at the top) and the word lists come out clean, ink-friendly, and ready to read from. Cut the downloadable PDF into slips — fold them into a jar and the youth room has a charades kit forever; actors drawing from a jar is half the theater. Or cast nothing at all: keep this page open on one phone, draw with the generator, and pass the phone to each actor. However you deal the words, the guessing side of the room never needs a screen, an app, or a signup.
Make it a whole game night
Charades is a perfect opener — loud, zero-prep, and everyone moves. When the room is warm, put a game on the TV: our free bank of Bible Family Feud-style questions runs survey-style rounds where every guess can score, and the playable Bible Jeopardy-style board gives your trivia buffs their moment. Faith Family Showdown plays the survey game live on any TV with animated reveals, buzzer sounds, and a bot opponent — and if you’re building a full evening for the whole church, the free printable church game night kit has the run-of-show ready.
Common questions
How do you play Bible charades?
Split into two teams. An actor from Team 1 draws a word — use the generator on this page or slips of paper — and has 60 seconds to act it out in total silence: no words, no mouthing, no pointing at objects in the room. If their team guesses it, they score a point; then Team 2 sends an actor. First team to 10 wins, or play a set number of rounds. House-rule tip: let kids make sound effects (a lion can roar) and save strict silence for the adults.
What are good Bible charades words for kids?
Pick single-idea words with an obvious motion: sheep, fisherman, giant, rainbow, baby in a manger, or whole stories every Sunday schooler knows, like Noah builds the ark or David and Goliath. The two easy lists on this page — Animals & Easy Actions and Bible Stories Everyone Knows — are 40 kid-safe words a four-year-old can act and a grandparent can guess.
What are hard Bible charades words for adults?
Abstract phrases and deep cuts: the fruit of the Spirit, Jacob wrestles the angel, the valley of dry bones, Nebuchadnezzar eats grass like an ox, or verse phrases like “Be still and know that I am God.” The two hard lists here — Scenes for Teens & Adults and Verses & Big Ideas — hold 40 of them, and the verse list forces teams to use the word-count and sounds-like signals properly.
How many people do you need for Bible charades?
Four is the minimum for two teams, and it scales to a packed youth room — 6 to 60 works because only one person acts while everyone else guesses. For big groups, run a speed round: each team gets 90 seconds to burn through as many words as possible, one actor per word, and the highest count wins.
Is there a free printable Bible charades PDF?
Yes — the free PDF linked at the top of this page contains all 120 words in their six lists, formatted to print on letter paper. Print it, cut the words into slips, fold them into a jar, and you have a charades kit that lives in the church supply closet. No signup and no cost, for home or ministry use.
Skip the prep — play it live on your TV, free
Faith Family Showdown turns questions like these into a real game-show board — animated reveals, buzzer sounds, scores, and strikes. Play free in your browser on any TV, laptop, or tablet, or host a party where every team answers from their own phone. No install, no signup.
Not sure yet? ▶ Watch a real round on YouTube