Why this page exists
A word list is only as good as the judgment behind it. Anyone can paste a thousand nouns onto a page; very few of those lists survive contact with a real table of impatient kids, skeptical teens, or tired adults after dinner. This policy explains how our 5,400+ prompts are chosen, tested, graded, and corrected, so you can trust the library when it matters: mid-game, timer running, marker in hand.
This page is maintained by the same person who maintains the word lists themselves. If the process ever changes, this document changes first.
Sourcing rule: real game nights first
Every word in the library has one of two origins, and both require that the word was actually played before it was published.
- Hosted sessions. Most words enter the list from game nights hosted by our maintainer: family tables, office parties, classroom warm-ups, and holiday gatherings. When a word produces a fast, loud, correct guess, or a spectacular failure worth remembering, it gets noted down the same evening.
- Reader suggestions. Visitors submit words through the contact page. Suggestions are never published as-is; they join the candidate pool and must survive at least one play-test with a group that did not suggest them.
What we do not do: we do not copy lists from other websites, we do not harvest words from the official boxed game, and we do not publish machine-generated word dumps. Automated tools may help format or organize the data, but a word only enters the library after a human watched real people try to draw it.
The four filters every word passes
Before a candidate word is added, it is checked against four filters. Failing any one of them sends the word to the rejected pile, which is considerably larger than the published library.
- 1. The shape filter. Can a person with average sketching skill give this word a recognizable silhouette in under sixty seconds? Words that exist only as typography or logos are rejected, because drawing letters breaks the game's core rule.
- 2. The familiarity filter. Would the intended audience recognize this word instantly once drawn? A great word for marine biologists is a dead round at a birthday party. Every word is filed under the audience that actually knows it.
- 3. The fairness filter. Does guessing this word require niche trivia, or can a reasonable person get there from the drawing alone? Fair words reward observation; unfair words reward whoever happens to know the drawer's obscure hobby.
- 4. The table-safety filter. Is this word comfortable to play in front of children, grandparents, coworkers, or strangers? Since August 2026 the entire library is family-safe; an earlier adults-only list was removed outright rather than fenced off, and that decision stands.
How difficulty grades are assigned
Difficulty is measured, not guessed. Each word is scored on three criteria:
- Silhouette test. One-stroke recognizability. Cat passes instantly; Chandelier needs a plan.
- Idea count. How many separate visual ideas the word requires. Fondue is a pot plus a dipping fork: two ideas, medium grade.
- Knowledge load. How much world knowledge the guess needs. Folklore creatures carry heavy knowledge load and sit in the hard tier even though they are easy to sketch once identified.
The score sets a provisional grade, and mixed-age play-testing confirms it. If a "medium" word gets guessed in seconds by children, it moves down. If an "easy" word stalls three adult groups in a row, it moves up. Grades are about the audience, never about the word itself.
Review cycle and corrections
Themed lists are revisited before their season starts: the Halloween set in September, the Christmas set in November, and so on. Core difficulty lists are reviewed quarterly. Every page shows its last-reviewed date in the body text, and the About page keeps a running changelog of substantive edits.
Corrections follow a simple standard: when a player reports a word as misfiled, confusing, or uncomfortable, the report is replayed against the four filters. If the report holds, the word is re-graded or removed at the next update, no debate. The library gets better by subtraction as often as by addition.
Who does this work
The entire process above is run by Jordan Mercer, the site's maintainer, who has hosted regular Pictionary-style game nights for families, classrooms, and workplace groups for years. Jordan personally plays every candidate word, writes the grading notes, and answers the suggestions inbox. There is no content team and no anonymous pipeline; the name on the site is the person doing the work. More background lives on the About Us page.