These summer charades hold 54 hot-weather moments and no holiday: the beach, the pool and the lake, camp, the backyard cookout, cold treats and long evenings. Cards run from Seashell to A wave knocks over your sandcastle.
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Camping charades by the fire
Pick Summer camp and camping for a campfire round: Sleeping bag, Telling a story with a flashlight, Mosquito in the tent. No card needs a prop, so the deck plays in the dark with one phone.
Easy for the pool, Hard for the porch
Easy cards are one thing, such as Cannonball or Snow cone, quick to act between swims. Hard cards are small scenes with a turn, such as Picking one flavor from thirty. When a round ends, Print these gives the 54 as slips in one press.
Tips
Mime Cannonball and Diving board on the spot: the hints say bounce and tuck, no jumping off anything.
Questions and answers
What are good summer charades for kids?
The Easy cards: Crab, Water balloon, Popsicle, Watermelon, Flashlight and Fan. Each is one thing a child can show with the whole body. Read a Hard card aloud to younger players if they want one.
Does the deck include the Fourth of July?
No. Like the winter deck, it keeps to the season and leaves out every holiday, so it suits June to August wherever you are.
Can we play summer charades outside?
Yes, on a porch, a beach towel or round a fire. Press Play a 1-minute round for each team and keep the phone in the shade. Printed slips blow away on a beach, so weigh them down with a shoe.
A seagull steals your chipsLift a chip, swipe, look up and shake your fist.
A wave knocks over your sandcastlePat a tower, turn, gasp, stare at the flat sand.
Beach umbrellaPush a pole into the sand, open it up.
Burying a friend in sandScoop sand over legs, pat it down.
CrabScuttle sideways, pinch with both hands.
Digging a hole to the waterDig fast, peer in, dig again.
Flip-flopsWalk with loud slapping steps.
Kite that will not stay upRun, look up, it drops, run again.
SeashellHold a shell to your ear and listen.
Shaking sand out of a towel in the windFlap a towel, get it in your face, spit.
Stepping on hot sandHop from foot to foot, fan your toes.
Pool, lake and hose 10
CannonballRun, tuck your knees, splash.
Cold lake, first toe inDip one toe, yelp, back out slowly.
Diving boardBounce twice at the end of a board, dive.
Floating on an air mattressLie back, drift, trail one hand.
Learning to swim with a kickboardHold a board out, kick hard, go nowhere.
Marco Polo with your eyes shutEyes shut, call out, reach around.
Pool noodleFloat with a long noodle under your arms.
Pumping up a pool float that will not fillBlow, blow, check, still flat.
Water balloonFill, tie, throw overhand.
Water gun fightPump, aim, squirt, duck.
Show all 54 summer charades ideas (33 more)
Summer camp and camping 10
A tent that falls down in the nightSleep, then flail as the roof comes down.
Bug spraySpray your arms, then cough.
CanoeKneel and paddle, left, then right.
FlashlightClick it on, sweep the dark.
Mosquito in the tentLie still, hear a buzz, clap at the air.
Roasting a marshmallow until it catches fireHold a stick out, it flares, blow it out wildly.
Singing around the campfireSway side to side, arms round shoulders.
Sleeping bagWriggle into a bag and zip it to your chin.
Telling a story with a flashlightHold a light under your chin and lean in.
Writing a letter home from campLick the pencil, write, think, write.
Backyard and cookout 8
Chasing the ice cream truck down the streetHear it, freeze, sprint after it waving.
CookoutFlip burgers, wipe your brow.
Corn on the cobEat along a cob like a typewriter.
HammockClimb in, swing, nearly tip out.
Hose that kinks just as you use itSqueeze, nothing, follow the hose, straighten it.
Lawn mowerPull the cord, push, turn at the end.
Lemonade standPour a cup, hold it out, hold out a hand for coins.
Watering the gardenPoint a hose along a row of plants.
Ice cream and cold treats 8
Brain freezeBite something cold, clutch your forehead.
Ice cream coneLick round and round a cone.
Ice cream melting down your armLick fast, faster, then lick your wrist.
Picking one flavor from thirtyWalk along a counter, point, change your mind.
PopsicleSuck on a stick, then catch a drip.
Seed-spitting contestAim, spit, shade your eyes to see how far.
Snow coneCrunch ice from a paper cone.
WatermelonTake a huge bite and spit a seed.
Hot days and long evenings 7
Car seat too hot to sit onSit, jump up, sit on your hands.
FanStand in front of it, arms out, eyes shut.
Fireflies in a jarCup your hands, peek, drop them in a jar.
Heat waveWipe your forehead, flap your shirt.
Last day of schoolThrow papers in the air and run out.
Staying up past bedtime because it is still lightPoint at the window, argue, yawn.
Summer thunderstormLook up, feel a drop, run for the porch.
How this list was compiled: Every card is something a person can act without props or speech on a summer day: the beach, the pool and the lake, camp and camping, the backyard cookout, cold treats and the long hot evenings. Like the site's winter deck, it holds no holiday. The deck keeps to the site's family-safe rule: nothing sexual, no alcohol, nothing about bodies, no real people, no brand names and no film, show or song titles; nothing asks the actor to jump off anything, and the dives and cannonballs are mimed on the spot. Difficulty is an editor's judgment: Easy is one thing a room names at once, Medium two or three beats, Hard a small scene with a turn. The line under each card is the editors' acting hint, not a rule. The rules of the usual game follow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charades, read 2026-09-23: rules can vary widely, the performance is silent, and a scoreboard gives a point for every correctly guessed answer. Overlap with the rest of this site was counted on 2026-09-23 with a leading a, an or the dropped: 6 of the 54 cards (11%) have the same text as a card in the site's main charades deck, 2 in the kids deck and 1 each in the teens and Thanksgiving decks; the most shared with any list is 12 (22%), single things such as Canoe and Seashell that are also in the drawing game word list. Licence: own work