Doodle Roar Rules: How to Play

Each player needs a phone, tablet or computer with a browser. A TV or spare screen is a bonus, not a must.

Doodle Roar needs at least 3 players. If fewer than 3 people are in the room, bots fill the empty seats before the round starts, so you can play with 1 or 2 people too. Three or more people play without any bots.

One person hosts a room and shares the room code or invite link. Everyone who joins shows up on the setup screen. The host chooses two settings and taps Start.

• Timers (on by default): each page ends on a clock, or 10 seconds after most people are done. Off, a page ends when everyone is done or when the host calls last call.
• Scores (on by default): a vote after each book, and a leader list at the end. Off, you just read the books.

Every player starts one book, so there are as many books as players. Every book gets one page from every player, so each book has as many pages as there are players.

Page 1 of every book is a prompt. After that the pages alternate: a drawing, then a guess, then a drawing, then a guess. With an even number of players a book ends on a drawing; with an odd number it ends on a guess.

After each page the books all move one seat along, so you always get the book from the player before you. You only ever see the page you are answering: the prompt or guess you have to draw, or the drawing you have to guess. Nothing else is shown until the reveal.

1. Write a prompt: something odd and short to draw. The worse the better. Tap the dice if you want one picked for you.
2. Your book moves on. You get someone else’s prompt and draw it.
3. The books move again. You get someone else’s drawing, without the words it came from, and guess what it shows in a few words.
4. Draw, guess, draw, guess, until every book has a page from everyone.
5. The reveal: the books are read out one at a time, page by page, on every phone and on the TV.
6. With scores on, the room votes for the funniest page after each book. After the last book comes the leader list.

A prompt or guess can be up to 80 characters. A drawing needs at least one stroke before you can hand it in.

Tap Done to hand your page in. The Enter key on your keyboard only closes the keyboard; it does not hand anything in. Once you have handed in, you see who is still writing.

With timers on, each kind of page has its own clock: 30 seconds for a prompt, 90 seconds for a drawing, and 45 seconds for a guess.

A page ends early the moment everyone has handed in. Once two thirds of the people in the round are done, the rest get a last call of 10 seconds. Bots always finish in time, so they never count towards the two thirds. The last call never makes a page longer than its clock.

The host can also call last call themselves, from the waiting screen after handing in: everyone still writing gets 10 seconds. This works with timers off too, and is the way to move on when someone is taking forever.

Your page is saved as you go. If the clock runs out before you tap Done, whatever you had on the page counts: half a drawing or half a guess goes in the book as it is.

Only an empty page gets a stand-in, marked “ran out of time” at the reveal. A missing drawing is a blank page, a missing guess reads “no idea”, and a missing prompt gets one written for you. The next player works from the stand-in.

When the last page is in, the books are read out from book 1. The host taps Next to turn each page. Each page shows who made it, and each drawing draws itself again, stroke by stroke.

Everyone sees the reveal on their own phone at the same time, and on the TV if you have one. After the last page of a book, the host moves on to the vote, or to the next book if scores are off.

With scores on, every book ends with a vote for its funniest page. Any page counts: the prompt, a drawing or a guess.

• You get one vote per book.
• You cannot vote for a page you made.
• You can change your vote until the votes are counted.
• The vote closes as soon as everyone has voted, or after 60 seconds at most.
• Each vote is a point for the player who made that page.
• The page or pages with the most votes win the book, and everyone sees who voted for what.

After the last book, the leader list ranks everyone by the votes they collected across all the books. Most votes wins. Players with the same total share a place.

With scores off there is no vote and no leader list. The round simply ends after the last book. Either way, the host can start another round.

The round is set when the host taps Start. Anyone who joins after that waits on a screen that says a round is on, and plays in the next one. They do not vote in this one.

If a player leaves mid-round, their books still pass round. When the clock runs out on their page, it gets a stand-in like any other empty page.

Bots are added only while the host is setting up, never in the middle of a round, and only enough to make 3 players. A room can have up to 3 bots.

A bot writes its prompts from a list of silly ideas. When it has to draw, it uses a drawing a person made for similar words, if there is one, or else scribbles its own simple doodle. Bots cannot read drawings, so their guesses are random and usually wild.

A bot takes a few seconds over each page so it is never first by miles, and always hands in before the clock runs out. In the vote, a bot picks any page that is not its own.

As a party: everyone in the same room on their own phone. This is how Doodle Roar is meant to be played, because the reveal is best when you can hear everyone react.

With friends anywhere: share the room code or invite link, and everyone plays from wherever they are. A video call makes the reveal more fun.

Solo: start a room on your own and bots fill the other 3 seats.

Open joinme.games/watch on a TV, laptop or spare screen and type in the room code. It follows the room from game to game.

While people draw, the TV shows each player’s pen moving and the color it holds, but never the picture, so the reveal stays a surprise. It also shows which page the round is on and how many are done. At the reveal, the TV shows every page large. At the end, it shows the leader list.

• One finger draws.
• Two fingers pinch to zoom in, up to 6 times, and pan around. The fit button brings the whole page back. Drawings are lines, not pixels, so they stay sharp at any size.
• Tap the swatch to pick from 9 colors.
• Tap the dot to switch between a thin and a thick pen.
• Tap the square for the eraser.
• Undo takes back your last stroke, as many times as you like.
• Clear wipes the page. It asks you to tap again to be sure.

How do you play Doodle Roar?

Everyone writes a prompt. The books pass round: you draw the prompt you are handed, the next player guesses your drawing, the next draws that guess, and so on until every book has a page from everyone. Then the books are read out page by page, and the room votes for the funniest page in each.

How many players do you need for Doodle Roar?

At least 3. If fewer people are in the room, bots fill the empty seats when the host sets up, so 1 or 2 people can still play.

Can you play Doodle Roar alone?

Yes. Start a room on your own and 2 bots join you. They draw from drawings people made or their own doodles, and their guesses are wild.

How do you win Doodle Roar?

After each book, everyone votes for its funniest page, and the player who made that page gets a point per vote. You cannot vote for your own page. Most votes after the last book wins.

What happens if I run out of time?

Whatever you had on the page when the clock ran out goes in the book. Only an empty page gets a stand-in, marked “ran out of time” at the reveal.

Can the TV show the drawings while people draw?

No. The TV shows where each pen is and what color it holds, but never the picture. The drawings appear at the reveal.