Have you ever played “draw my thing” on face book, or “XSketch” or “Draw It Game” on Socialcyte? All these games are versions of Pictionary online. They may have different names, but they share the same basic rules, draw and guess and vice versa. However, it’s not only the mechanics and objectives that are similar among them, their origins as well. In fact, these games originated from one ancient guessing word game called Pictionary, which was designed by Robert Angel, and published by Seattle Games Inc. in 1985. Since then, the guessing board game became so popular. Its popularity led to the existence of the game’s online versions nowadays which can be played on our own computers anytime as long as there’s a reliable internet connection. Another popular word guessing game slightly similar to Pictionary is the Charade. The two games share some basic game rules and objectives except that in charade, one player needs not to draw the word but act it out to convey the message to other players in the same team, and they should guess the word correctly.
Originally, Pictionary is played with several players in teams aiming to identify the right words basing on their teammate’s drawings. Unlike its online versions, the original game uses a board game that displays a series of squares wherein each square contains a letter or shape signifying the type of picture to be sketched on it. There is also a deck of special Pictionary cards where the drawer should pick one that contains the word to be guessed. The drawer will then sketch out pictures that suggest the word on the card and his/her teammates will guess the word correctly from the drawings. Players in each team should strive to be the first one to correctly guess the word. Drawers or clue givers must draw genuinely and their drawings shouldn’t contain any numbers and letters. This was a strict rule back then. Playing Pictionary in the olden times demands strict rules to be followed and players submit to these rules. But nowadays, players usually go beyond these rules when they’re playing it online. Since most online versions of this game are played individually and not by teams, some players or drawers cheat by writing the word itself just to gain the points. Lucky if you get to play with honest players in a game room. You can feel the true essence and challenge of the game. But like any other games, in the end, what matters most is not the number of points earned, who won or lost, but how you played the game. So if you’ll get the chance to play Pictionary online, play it honestly like a pro and stick to the rules just like how it’s supposed to be.
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