Sketch Battle: the online drawing contest to play with friends

What is Sketch Battle?

Give ten people the same word and you get ten completely different drawings. That is the whole idea of a draw-off: same prompt, same clock, and a big reveal when everyone's work goes up side by side. Some drawings are surprisingly good, most are not, and all of them are worth seeing.

Sketch Battle turns that into a scored game. Instead of guessing, you compete on the drawing itself, and on speed: a solid sketch handed in early can beat a masterpiece that only just made it.

How to play Sketch Battle

1. Players take turns choosing the word. When it's your turn, type any word or phrase of up to 50 characters. You have 60 seconds; if time runs out, the next player chooses instead.
2. Everyone, including the player who chose it, sees the word and draws it at the same time. While you draw, you see only your own canvas.
3. Press Submit drawing when you're happy with it. The earlier you submit, the more your rating is worth. When the clock runs out, unfinished drawings are handed in as they are.
4. Once every drawing is in, the rating starts. All the drawings are shown, and the server gives each player one other player's drawing to rate from 0 to 3 stars.
5. The results show the word, every drawing, the ratings, how long each player took and the points for the turn.
6. The next player chooses a word. In each round, every player gets one turn choosing. After the last round, the highest total score wins.

How rating works

• Every drawing gets exactly one rater, and nobody rates their own. The server pairs raters with drawings at random.
• Ratings stay hidden until the results.
• The rating step lasts up to 4 minutes and ends as soon as everyone has rated.
• A rater who is offline when the rating starts is skipped, and a drawing that is not rated in time scores nothing that turn.

The drawing tools

You draw on a white canvas with 16 colors, 5 brush sizes, Undo, Clear, and a Lock that lets you scroll on a phone without drawing by accident. A mouse, a stylus or a finger all work.

Sketch Battle settings

Pick Sketch Battle under Game mode in Scribbly's Game settings. The host can also set:

• Rounds: 1 to 10. In each round, every player takes one turn choosing the word.
• Turn time: how long everyone has to draw, from 15 to 120 seconds in steps of 5. The default is 60.
• No timer for first round: the drawings in the first round have no clock, and each rating starts once everyone has submitted. With no clock there is no time bonus, so each drawing scores its rating × 10.
• Auto-start next turn: on by default. The next turn starts 30 seconds after the results unless the host pauses the countdown.

Scoring on Ping44

Your score for each turn is:

rating × (seconds left when you submitted + 10)

Some examples with a 60-second turn:

• 3 stars, submitted with 20 seconds left: 3 × 30 = 90 points.
• 2 stars, submitted with 40 seconds left: 2 × 50 = 100 points.
• 3 stars, handed in when the time ran out: 3 × 10 = 30 points.
• 0 stars: 0 points, however fast you were.

The player with the most points in a turn is credited with a win. Points add up over the game, and they also go on the room's scoreboard, which carries over to the next game you play in the room.

Tips and strategy

• Speed counts as much as skill. In the examples above, a quick 2-star drawing beats a slow 3-star one.
• Never hand in a blank canvas. A rating of 0 scores nothing, however early you were.
• Decide what to draw in the first few seconds, then commit. Most of the time is lost changing your mind.
• Make it readable from a distance: one big subject, a few bold lines, and color where it helps.
• As a rater, agree with your group on what the stars mean, for example 0 for "no idea what that is" and 3 for "got it at a glance".
• When you choose the word, pick something with room for imagination, like "dragon" or "haunted house". Very simple words make every drawing look the same.

How to start a game of Sketch Battle 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. You need at least 3 players.
3. In the lobby, choose Scribbly, then select Sketch Battle under Game mode in Game settings.
4. Set the rounds and turn time, then start the game.

Why play Sketch Battle on Ping44

• Fair pairing. The server picks who rates which drawing with a secure random shuffle: one rater per drawing, never your own.
• Nobody can see your drawing while you work on it, and ratings stay hidden until the results.
• The server times every submission and works out the scores, so the fastest finisher really does get the bonus.
• Room for 3 to 30 players, with others in the room watching as spectators.
• 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.

Prefer guessing to judging? Switch the room to Sketch & Draw. For a bluffing twist, try Sketch Impostor, or browse more ideas in the drawing games guide and the party games guide.

Frequently asked questions