Guessing
Phone on the Forehead
Also called Heads Up!-style, Forehead Guessing
One player holds a phone to their forehead showing a word they cannot see; teammates describe or act it out before time runs out.
- people
- 4–40
- time
- 15 min
- energy
- High
- materials
- Household items
Kids-safeHR-safeChurch-safe
Before you start
Pick a category everyone in the room knows. Split into two or more teams and decide the round length — 60 seconds is standard.
- 1The guesser holds the phone to their forehead, screen facing the team.
- 2Teammates shout clues, describe, sing or act — but may not say the word itself.
- 3Tilt the phone down for a correct guess, up to pass. Keep going until time runs out.
- 4Count correct guesses; rotate guesser and team each round.
Cards for this game34
Edit them now. Host mode deals them one at a time, big enough for the room.
34 cards
- Brushing teeth
- Taking a selfie
- Cooking adobo
- Playing basketball
- Washing clothes
- Fishing
- Singing karaoke
- Driving a car
- Swimming
- Texting
- Dancing Tinikling
- Sleeping on the bus
- Baby crying
- Riding a jeepney
- Playing guitar
- Taking a shower
- Waiting for a late friend
- Eating halo-halo
- Climbing a mountain
- Mopping the floor
- Spider-Man
- Titanic
- The Lion King
- Frozen
- Harry Potter
- Finding Nemo
- Jaws
- Cinderella
- Superman
- Pinocchio
- Traffic enforcer
- Sneezing during a meeting
- Slow-motion race
- Teaching a class
What to say3
- 1“Phone on the forehead, screen facing your team — no peeking!”
- 2“Sixty seconds! Tilt down if you get it, tilt up to pass. Go!”
- 3“Seven in one minute! Can anybody beat that?”
Host tips3
- Turn off auto-rotate and test the tilt before you start — a phone that flips screens or misreads tilts kills the round and the guesser's confidence.
- Check the app's deck first. Some packs contain adult or obscure celebrity words; pick a category that the oldest and youngest guests both know.
- Put a hard cap of three passes per round, or one fast player will skip every hard word and win on volume.
Variants2
Charades only
Clue-givers may not speak at all. Slower, funnier, and works across language barriers.
Stage version
Mirror the phone to a TV so the whole room sees the word while one pair plays on stage. Turns a small-group game into a spectator event.
Good for
Occasions
ChristmasTeam buildingBirthdayReunionSchoolFarewell party
Venues
Indoor, smallIndoor, largeOfficeChurch hall