How to Play Charades in Kenya (the Kenya@50 Way)

Charades is the loudest, most laughed-at game at any Kenyan get-together — no board, no pieces, just one person acting out a word while everyone else shouts guesses. Here's how to play it, the best home-grown Kenyan words to use, and how to run the whole thing from a single phone.

The basic rules of charades

Charades is simple. One player gets a secret word and has to get their team to guess it — without saying the word (or any part of it) out loud. Everyone else races to shout the right answer before the timer runs out. The team with the most words at the end wins.

• Split into two or more teams.
• One player per turn is the actor (or describer).
• Set a timer — 60 seconds a turn works well.
• No saying the word, spelling it, or making its sound.
• Score one point for every word your team guesses, then pass to the next team.

Two ways to play: describe or phone-on-forehead

There are two popular styles, and Kenya@50 lets you play both on one phone. In the describe style (the Kenya@50 mode), the clue-giver sees the word and describes it in words for their team. In the Charades style, the phone sits on your forehead — you can't see your own word, so everyone else acts it out or yells clues until you guess it.

The best Kenyan words to act out

The funniest games come from words everyone in the room instantly recognises. A few crowd-pleasers to get you started:

• Matatu — everyone has a story to act out here.
• Harambee — the classic pull-together.
• Sukuma wiki — mime the sufuria and the chopping.
• Gengetone — dance it out.
• Nyayo, Mau Mau, ugali, boda boda, mandazi, mtumba — all easy to describe or act.

Tips for a louder, funnier game

• Keep teams small enough that everyone gets a turn.
• Mix easy words with a few hard ones to keep it fair.
• Play best-of-three rounds so a slow start doesn't end it.
• Let the room heckle — the noise is half the fun.

Play charades on one phone

You don't need to print word cards or download an app for every player. Kenya@50 runs the whole game from a single phone — pick describe or phone-on-forehead, and it deals a fresh stack of home-grown Kenyan words every round. Free to play in your browser.