Games Like Skribbl: Drawing Party Games Compared
An honest look at the popular drawing games, what each is best at, and where WhoDrew fits.
Drawing games are some of the best party games online: nobody needs to be an artist, and bad drawings are half the fun. But they're not all the same game. Some are about speed, some about chain reactions, and some about bluffing. Here's how the popular ones compare, written by the person who makes one of them, so take the WhoDrew parts with that in mind. Each of these games is good at something different.
At a glance
| Core idea | Who draws | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| skribbl.io | One player draws, everyone races to guess the word | One player per turn | Big casual lobbies, quick fun |
| Gartic Phone | Telephone game: write, draw, describe, repeat, then watch the chain fall apart | Everyone, in parallel | Laughs at the end of the chain, larger groups |
| A Fake Artist Goes to New York | Tabletop game: everyone adds a line to one picture, one player is the fake artist | Everyone, one line at a time | In-person game nights with a pen and paper |
| Among Us | Social deduction in space: tasks, impostors, meetings and votes | Nobody (no drawing) | Long sessions of deduction and betrayal |
| WhoDrew.io | Everyone draws one shared picture stroke by stroke; one secret Forger doesn't know the word; then a vote | Everyone, one stroke at a time | Friend groups, Discord, parties, office and classroom events |
skribbl.io
The classic. One person draws a word while everyone else types guesses, and points go to whoever guesses fastest. It's simple, it's instant, and the custom word lists in private rooms make it great for inside jokes. Its weakness is waiting: in a full lobby you draw rarely and spend most of the game guessing.
If you like skribbl, WhoDrew is different because everyone draws every round, and the question isn't "what is it?" but "who's faking it?". Drawing skill matters less than bluffing. Our skribbl word list works in both games.
Gartic Phone
The drawing version of the telephone game. Everyone writes a sentence, the next player draws it, the next describes the drawing, and so on. The payoff is the reveal at the end, watching "a cat on a skateboard" turn into "a potato at a funeral". It shines with bigger groups and needs no strategy at all.
Compared with WhoDrew, Gartic is about chaos and the final reveal; WhoDrew is about suspicion during the round. If your group likes arguing and accusing each other, pick WhoDrew. If they just want to laugh, Gartic is hard to beat.
A Fake Artist Goes to New York
A tabletop game by Jun Sasaki (Oink Games), and the closest relative of WhoDrew. A game master writes a word for everyone except the fake artist; each player adds one line in their own colour, twice around the table; then everyone points at the fake. If the fake is caught, they can still win by guessing the word.
WhoDrew takes that tabletop idea online and changes a few things: the word and the Forger are dealt automatically so nobody has to sit out as game master; strokes are timed; there's an interrogation with chat and voice before the vote; and a caught Forger sees the letter count of the answer before their last guess. If you have the box and a table, the original is lovely. If your friends are in different cities, WhoDrew is the online version.
Among Us and other imposter games
Among Us made "who's the impostor?" a household question: crewmates do tasks, impostors sabotage, and emergency meetings end in a vote. The word imposter game, where everyone says a clue about a secret word except the imposter, uses the same feeling with nothing but a phone.
WhoDrew is an imposter game where the evidence is a drawing. Instead of watching someone vent, you're looking at a suspiciously vague circle and asking who drew it. Rounds are about five minutes rather than a long session. If you play the word version in person, our imposter word generator deals the words for you.
Want to try the imposter twist? Free in the browser, no sign-up, works on phones and PCs.
Play WhoDrew FreeWhich one should you pick?
- Lots of strangers, quick fun: skribbl.io.
- A big group that just wants to laugh: Gartic Phone.
- Around a table with paper: A Fake Artist Goes to New York.
- Friends online who love accusing each other: WhoDrew.io.
- Hosting a team or classroom event: WhoDrew's Organizer mode lets you run games without playing yourself.
Keep reading
Skribbl.io, Gartic Phone, Among Us and A Fake Artist Goes to New York are trademarks of their respective owners. WhoDrew.io is an independent game and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.
FAQ
What is the best game like skribbl.io?
It depends on your group. Gartic Phone is best for big groups that want chaotic laughs, while WhoDrew.io adds a secret imposter to drawing for groups that like bluffing and voting.
Is there an online version of A Fake Artist Goes to New York?
WhoDrew.io plays in the same spirit online: everyone adds strokes to one drawing, one player doesn't know the word, and the group votes. It deals the word automatically, adds timed strokes and an interrogation with chat and voice.
Is there a drawing game like Among Us?
Yes. In WhoDrew one player is the secret Forger who doesn't know the word, and everyone votes on who it was, with a shared drawing as the evidence.
Are these games free?
skribbl.io, Gartic Phone and WhoDrew.io are free to play in the browser. A Fake Artist Goes to New York is a physical card game, and Among Us is free on phones but paid on PC and consoles.