Collection of gesture game ideas and prompts
A classic, crowd-pleasing recreation that both kids and adults can’t help but get hooked on: the gesture game.
In this article, we’ll introduce a variety of gesture-game prompts, organized by category.
It’s packed with everything from easy prompts to tricky ones that make you think, “Huh? How am I supposed to act that out?”
It’s your time to shine!
Even if the message doesn’t get across in the end, putting in the effort to think and move is the key to making it fun!
Don’t be shy—move as much as you can and try whatever comes to mind.
For harder prompts, try offering hints or using other creative tweaks.
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Occupations (1–10)
Sushi restaurant
Sushi, the food that represents Japan! These days, there are many foreigners who love sushi too, right? When we picture a sushi restaurant, we often imagine a strict sushi chef with a stern face and a furrowed brow.
He holds the rice and topping in one hand, then uses the index and middle fingers of the other hand to press and shape it.
Once it’s formed, he places it on the plate with the hand that was doing the pressing—and it’s done!
police officer
Police officers, often depicted in many TV dramas, manga, and anime like Aibou and Bayside Shakedown, are commonly represented with a salute gesture.
To mimic a police officer, the salute pose is definitely the best! First, raise your right elbow to shoulder height, bend the elbow, and without bending your wrist or fingers, bring your fingertips to your temple.
At that moment, keep your fingers together (not spread) and make sure your palm is not visible to the other person.
It’s said that using the right hand for the salute is specified by police etiquette.
Saluting styles may vary depending on the department or organization, but the pose you often see on TV is the familiar form introduced here, so this will surely get the message across!
salaryman
Let’s try expressing the daily life of an office worker through gestures.
Since remote work would depict someone at home, it’s best to focus on commuting and working at the office.
Even without firsthand experience, the classic image is someone in a suit swaying on a crowded train, so be sure to capture that hardworking vibe.
The word “work” can evoke different images, so it may be clearer to convey the idea of a salaryman through other elements.
Aquarium staff
Aquariums, where creatures from watersides like the sea and rivers are displayed, are a classic sightseeing spot.
Let’s focus on the staff who work at such aquariums and express each of their movements through gestures.
There are various roles, such as staff in charge of dolphin and sea lion shows and staff responsible for animal care, so it’s important to consider which aspects to emphasize.
Regardless of the job, affection for the animals is also a key point, so conveying how they interact with the creatures will make it easier to understand.
violinist
A violinist is indispensable to an orchestra.
Dressed in elegant attire, they captivate us as they perform everything from beautiful tones to intense pieces.
Becoming a violinist costs money and playing is difficult, but anyone can easily become one with gestures! First, hold the violin with your left hand.
Imagine tucking the lower part of the violin’s body between your chin and shoulder, and holding the slender neck with your left hand.
Then, hold the bow with your right hand and push and pull it over the violin.
Do that, and you might look like Taro Hakase or Chisako Takashima… maybe!
hairdresser
After SMAP’s Takuya Kimura appeared in “Beautiful Life,” the number of people who wanted to become hairstylists suddenly surged! Many of you probably admired the cool, handsome guys who cut hair or the stylish, wonderful women at the salon, right? The gesture for “hairstylist” is simple! Make scissors with one hand by forming a V shape, and with the other hand, imagine holding hair using your index and middle fingers.
Then just open and close the “scissors” hand like snip-snip, and you’ll be a hairstylist in no time! The person guessing will surely get it right immediately!
Vehicles and Buildings (1–10)
Tokyo Skytree
The SkyTree gesture seems pretty challenging, since there are countless tower-shaped buildings around the world.
That said, because it’s the tallest tower in Japan, it would be great to use a gesture that emphasizes its height! Keep patiently expressing a tower with your whole body until the guesser gets it right (haha)!
car
Car gestures could be confused with similar vehicles, and it’s also hard to depict things like spinning tires, so I think the difficulty level is high.
On the other hand, rather than becoming the car itself, it might yield a higher accuracy rate to portray actions like getting in and out or driving.
Please keep expressing a car in various ways until the correct answer is produced.
escalator
Isn’t it difficult to depict an escalator itself? It might be easier for people to understand if you show someone riding an escalator.
There was a pantomime bit before that expressed the difference between an escalator and stairs—recalling that and using similar gestures could work well.
It would be great if you can capture the gradual upward movement convincingly.
Pyramid
It seems pretty challenging to express a pyramid with gestures.
So instead, it might be easier to depict something like the Sphinx next to it.
However, you may need to be careful not to accidentally lead people to answers like “guard dog and house.” It might also be a good idea to strike poses like the figures painted in wall murals.