Sketch & Draw: a draw and guess game online with friends

What is Sketch & Draw?

Draw-and-guess is one of the oldest party games around: one person draws, nobody is allowed to say the word, and the room shouts guesses until someone gets it. It works because nobody has to be an artist. A wobbly circle with ears can be a cat, a planet or a very confused pig, and working out which is half the fun.

Sketch & Draw is that game, played in a private online room. Guessers watch each stroke appear as it is drawn and type their answers into the guess box beside the canvas. The server checks every guess, keeps the word hidden, and works out the points, so the drawer can just draw.

How to play Sketch & Draw

1. Players take turns drawing, one after another. In each round, everyone draws once.
2. When it's your turn, type a secret word or phrase of up to 50 characters. You have 60 seconds to choose; if time runs out, your turn is skipped.
3. Draw it on the canvas. Everyone else sees your drawing as you make it, but only you can see the word.
4. Guessers type their guesses. A wrong guess costs nothing, so keep trying. When you get it right, everyone sees that you guessed it, and you're done for that turn.
5. The turn ends when the time runs out, or as soon as every guesser has the word.
6. The word is revealed with the drawing, every guess and the points each player earned. Then the next player draws.
7. After the last round, the player with the highest total score wins.

The hints

While you guess, the server shows hints about the word: how many words it has, how many letters are in each, whether it contains a Q, X or Z, and common English endings such as -ing, -ed, -s, -tion, -er or -or, -ness, -y, -ful or -less, and -able or -ible.

The drawing tools

The drawer gets a white canvas with 16 colors, 5 brush sizes, Undo (which takes your last line back for everyone), Clear, and a Lock that lets you scroll on a phone without drawing by accident. A mouse, a stylus or a finger all work.

Rules the server enforces

• Only players in the game can guess. The drawer can't, and spectators and late arrivals watch.
• Guesses ignore capital letters, but accents count.
• Each player can guess the word correctly once per turn.
• Other guessers' attempts are hidden from you while the turn is on; the drawer sees them all. Everything is shown when the turn ends.
• A guess that arrives after the clock has run out doesn't count.
• If the drawer leaves mid-turn, the turn ends; a guesser who drops offline isn't waited for.

Sketch & Draw settings

Sketch & Draw is the default Scribbly mode. In Game settings, the host can set:

• Rounds: 1 to 10. Each round, every player draws once.
• Turn time: 15 to 120 seconds, in steps of 5. The default is 60.
• No timer for first round: the first round's drawings have no clock and end when everyone has guessed. Handy for teaching new players.
• Auto-start next turn: on by default. The next turn starts 30 seconds after the results unless the host pauses the countdown.

Want a change of pace? The same room can switch to Sketch Battle, where everyone draws the same word, or Sketch Impostor, where one player fakes it.

Scoring on Ping44

• Guessers: a correct guess is worth 100 points the moment the turn starts, falling steadily to 10 points as the clock runs out. In a 60-second turn, guessing right at the 30-second mark earns 55 points.
• The drawer: 15 points for every player who guesses correctly.
• Too easy: if every guesser gets the word, the drawer's bonus for that turn is taken back.
• Two players: with only one guesser, the drawer keeps the 15-point bonus when that guesser gets it right.
• Turn wins: the top scorer of each turn is credited with a win.

Your points add up across the game and go onto the room's scoreboard, which carries over to the next game you play in the room.

Tips and strategy

For the drawer:

• Choose a word you can actually draw. Things beat ideas: "lighthouse" is easier than "loneliness".
• Draw the biggest shape first, then the detail that gives it away.
• Use color as a clue: blue for water, green for grass, yellow for the sun.
• In a small room, a drawing everyone gets in two seconds earns you nothing. Something clear but not instant pays best.
• If you use voice chat, agree as a group that the drawer stays silent.

For guessers:

• Guess early and often. Wrong guesses cost nothing, and points drop every second.
• Read the hints. Letter counts and endings rule out most wrong answers.
• Try close variations: plurals, synonyms, and two-word versions of the same idea.
• Don't worry about giving answers away. Other guessers can't see your attempts until the turn ends.

How to start a game of Sketch & Draw on Ping44

1. Go to ping44.com, sign in for free with email or Google, and create a room. Only the host needs an account.
2. Share the invite link, the 6-character room code or the QR code. Friends join as guests by picking a name.
3. In the lobby, choose Scribbly, then make sure Sketch & Draw is selected under Game mode in Game settings.
4. Set the rounds and turn time, then start the game.

Why play Sketch & Draw on Ping44

• The word stays secret. The server sends it only to the drawer until the turn ends, so nobody can find it in their browser.
• Fair, automatic scoring by speed, worked out on the server.
• Hints for guessers, computed from the word on the server.
• From 2 to 50 players, with room for spectators. A two-player game still rewards the drawer.
• Built-in voice chat when the host turns it on, and text chat with emote reactions.
• Free, with no ads and no download. It plays in the browser on phones, tablets and computers.

For more games like this, see the drawing games guide. If your group likes guessing games, try 20 Questions too.

Frequently asked questions