Brainchild of the Ellen DeGeneres Show
Hands down, Heads Up! is my family's favorite game to play with big groups of relatives. Created for and played on the Ellen DeGeneres show, it is a variation of Charades, but one where the crowd acts out the word instead of one person.
How To Play
The designated player holds the device above his or her head, and the screen shows a word for the group to describe or act out. Categories for words include celebrities, animals, movies, accents, characters, and more. Additional word packs are available for $.99. But some add-on packs are offered for free, including one for kids. There is even an add-on option to build your own deck of cards.
If the designated player figures out the word before time runs out, he or she earns a point. The other option is to lower the device so as to trigger a new word -- effectively passing on (eliminating) the word you were struggling with. The goal is to name as many words as you can before the timer runs out.
The Magic of This App
It is great fun to guess words while watching your friends do hilarious things; but the secret sauce of this app is that it covertly videotapes your friends as they desperately act out words while trying to help you. Caught on film in the moment of being silly, the crowd will laugh outrageously while watching the playback.
You can opt to save the hilarious video, or post it to The Ellen Show, YouTube, Facebook, or email.
Best For:
Heads up! works well in a multi-generational crowd. It can be played with kids as young as age 6 and as old as 100!
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