Cards to cut up and draw from. Twelve to a sheet as it opens, over two sheets, each card carrying one thing to draw and three small pips showing how hard it is. The sheet is reshuffled from the bank every time you load the page, so a second game is a different set of cards without changing anything.
The pips are a measured thing, not an opinion
Each card has three pips under the word, filled up to its difficulty. One pip is a single object that can be drawn in a few lines, such as a bell or a star. Two pips is a longer or compound object that takes more setting up, such as a nutcracker or a tree skirt. Three pips is an action or a scene, such as untangling the lights or a turkey that will not fit in the oven.
That matters when you split a room into teams of mixed ages. A six year old can draw a one pip card and be understood. A three pip card needs several things on the paper and some mime, which is an adult's job.
Three word banks
Easy holds the sixty three one pip objects on their own. Mixed is the setting it opens on and runs all three tiers together, a hundred and seventy two cards, which is the right choice for a family game. Hard drops the single objects and keeps the sixty one compound ones and the forty eight scenes.
No card appears twice in one print run, and the generator cuts a run short rather than repeating one. In practice that limit never bites, because the biggest run on offer is three sheets of twelve and the smallest bank still holds sixty three cards.
Cutting and running the game
Twelve cards a sheet gives cards about 60mm by 65mm. Nine a sheet gives the same width and more height, about 60mm by 87mm, with the word set larger. The cut lines are dashed and run the full width and height of the sheet including the outside edge, so every card comes off with four cut sides.
Print on 160gsm card if the cards are going in a tin for next year. Fold the sheet and cut along the dashes with scissors, or run a knife down the lines against a rule, which is quicker for three sheets.
Questions
- How many pictionary cards do I get?
- Twelve to a sheet as it opens, or nine for larger cards, over one, two or three sheets. Twelve cards across two sheets is the default, which gives twenty four cards.
- What do the three dots on each card mean?
- They are a difficulty pip. One filled pip is a single object, two is a longer or compound object, and three is an action or a scene that needs several things drawn and some mime.
- Can I get a different set of cards?
- Yes. The sheet is reshuffled every time the page loads, and there is a Shuffle button above it, so you can keep drawing a new set from the same bank until you are happy with it.
- Do the cards name films, songs or characters?
- No. Every card is a generic object, action or scene, so there are no titles and no trademarked names anywhere on the sheet. That also keeps it usable in a school.