Jinsi ya Kucheza Charades kwa Kiswahili — How to Play Charades in Swahili

Charades is a game of miming words without speaking — mchezo wa kuigiza bila kusema. It's played everywhere in the world, but in Kenya it takes on a life of its own when the words are Swahili, Sheng, and local. This guide covers the full rules in English, with Swahili vocabulary and gestures woven through, plus the Kenyan house rules that make it properly chaotic.

If you'd rather skip the setup entirely, Unajua? is a Kenyan charades app that runs the whole game for you. Free on Android and iPhone. But first, the rules.

Vitu unavyohitaji — what you need

• Watu 4 au zaidi — four players or more (ideal: 6–12).
• Karatasi na kalamu — paper and pen for writing words (or just use Unajua?).
• Saa au timer — a timer, usually 60 seconds per round.
• Kikombe au kiberiti — a cup or matchbox for drawing folded papers.

Jinsi ya kucheza — basic rules

1. Gawanya timu — split into teams

Form two teams of equal size. In Swahili, a team is timu. Each team picks a name. Our favourite at a recent Nairobi chama: Timu ya Ugali vs. Timu ya Chapati.

2. Andika maneno — write the words

Each player writes 5 words on small folded papers. Mix of:

• Wanyama — animals
• Vyakula — foods
• Vitendo — actions
• Watu mashuhuri — famous people
• Mahali — places

Fold them and drop them into a cup. Nobody should see what anyone else wrote.

Kenyan house rule: No foreign celebrities. If someone writes "Taylor Swift," they redo it.

3. Chagua mchezaji — pick the actor

One player from Timu A picks a folded paper. They read the word silently. Usiseme! — don't speak. Don't mouth the word. Don't point at objects that contain the word.

4. Anza saa — start the timer

Timer starts at 60 seconds. The actor mimes — anaigiza — the word. Their team shouts guesses.

5. Pata pointi — score a point

If the team guesses correctly before time runs out, they earn one point. If not, the word goes back in the cup and the other team gets the next turn.

6. Cheza mpaka maneno yaishe — play until words run out

Keep rotating actors and teams until the cup is empty. Team with the most points wins. Loser buys soda.

Ishara za msingi — basic charades gestures

These are universal, but the Swahili terms make them stick:

• Idadi ya maneno (number of words) — hold up fingers for how many words are in the phrase.
• Idadi ya silabi (number of syllables) — tap fingers on your forearm.
• Neno dogo / kubwa (small / big word) — pinch fingers close for small, spread hands wide for big.
• Linafanana na... (sounds like...) — tug your earlobe.
• Umekaribia (you're close) — wave hand towards yourself.
• Umekosea (you're wrong) — wave hand away.

Memorise these. They cut guessing time in half.

Sheria za nyumbani — Kenyan house rules

Every Kenyan house party develops its own charades ruleset. Here are the most common ones worth adopting:

Sheria ya Sheng

Words in Sheng (Kenyan urban slang) count double. Guessing "chali" or "dinga" earns two points instead of one. This rewards players who actually live the culture.

Sheria ya matatu

Any matatu-related word (stage name, route, makanga behaviour, "shukisha!", "beba beba!") is timed at 45 seconds instead of 60 — because the actor is expected to commit fully.

Sheria ya babu

If a player over 50 is in the game, they get 90 seconds per word. Respect is respect.

Sheria ya nyama choma

Every time someone successfully mimes a food word, the whole room has to shout the food's name in unison before moving on. Good for energy, bad for neighbours.

Sheria ya kupiga makofi

No booing. If a team runs out of time, everyone claps the actor anyway. Nairobi parties can already get mean — don't let a game make it worse.

Maneno mazuri ya kuanza nayo — good starter words

If it's your crew's first time, pick words that are easy to mime:

• Kuogelea — to swim
• Kula ugali — to eat ugali
• Kuendesha matatu — to drive a matatu
• Simba — lion
• Nairobi
• Kucheza mpira — to play football
• Kupika chapati — to cook chapati
• Eliud Kipchoge

Once everyone has warmed up, bring in the harder stuff: Wangari Maathai, Sukuma wiki, kushinda, kufunga ndoa.

Jinsi Unajua? inavyobadilisha mchezo huu — how Unajua? changes this game

Unajua? takes every one of the steps above and automates the tedious parts:

• No more writing papers. The app has hundreds of cards ready.
• No more timer arguments. The tilt sensor handles it — tilt down for correct, tilt up to pass.
• No more "is that a Kenyan word?" Every card is deliberately Kenyan — Sheng, landmarks, celebs, food.
• Decks for mood. Pick Slang for a young chama, Tembea Kenya for a family trip, Celebrities for a house party.

It's free on Android and iPhone. Works offline. No sign-up.

The paper version is beautiful and chaotic. The Unajua? version just lets you play more rounds before anyone loses steam.

Either way — mchezo mwema! Have a good game.