Before BoardGames, CardGames, TabletopGames, VideoGames, and WebGames came along, people just had their own persons to play games with guests. These are known as Parlor Games. In the past, these were used in fiction for the same purpose as BoardGames are these days. Nowadays, it's either a DiscreditedTrope used to show how boring or geeky the people playing are, or it's used as an actual [[NarrativeDevices Plot Device]]. They frequently involve PlayerElimination and have NoUnifiedRuleset.

* '''Simon Says''', a children's game where someone gives orders (usually silly things like "clap your hands" or "jump up and down"). Everyone playing has to follow the commands as long as they're preceded by "Simon says". So if "Simon says clap your hands" you have to clap, but just "clap your hands", you don't. You're out if you either follow the command without the "Simon says" or don't follow it when they do say it. One variation has Simon do an action in addition to saying one, but you must do what "Simon says". Usually, Simon will do and say the same thing, but it could lead to situations where "Simon says clap your hands" but he physically jumps up and down as a trick; the proper action is to clap your hands. Last of the group still in usually gets to be the next one to call out the orders. This game can be challenging enough that it can still be used legitimately in fiction.
* '''Twenty Questions''', a game where, counting the first question (usually if it's animal, vegetable, or mineral), the players can ask no more than twenty questions to guess what the active player is thinking of, and all questions after the first must be the "yes or no" kind. Usually parodied now instead of played straight. Computers can play it quite well, e.g. [[http://20q.net 20Q]] and Website/{{Akinator}}.
** '''Who Am I?''' is an [[{{Inversion}} inverted]] variant where each player has a post-it note on their forehead and take turns to ask the other players questions to figure out what's written on it (normally a famous person's name). Often played straight and used for the silliness of everyone having post-its on their heads. The names on the notes will often reflect or contrast with the person they're given to.
* '''I Spy''', a guessing game similar to but even more basic than Twenty Questions. The active player thinks of something within their line of sight and tells everyone else its color or first letter. They try to guess what it is. Only ever played [[SomethingThatBeginsWithBoring by really bored characters]].
* '''Musical Chairs''', is usually just played in children's parties now. Someone sets up enough chairs for all but one of the players to sit on. They walk in a circle while some music is played for a short time. As soon as it stops, everyone tries to sit in a chair, often resulting in a BigBallOfViolence. The one who can't is out, and one chair is removed for the next round, until [[DwindlingParty one chair is left]], and the one sitting is the winner.
* '''Charades''', nowadays the lowest of these games in fiction. Unless it takes place in the past, it rarely is portrayed for any reason other than to show what losers the players are. It is played by acting out the words the active player is thinking, puns and homophones allowed. The only other clue was to hold up a finger for each word in the answer, and fingers for which word is being played. Such improvised HandSignals are sometimes used by a character to attempt to convey information which for whatever reason, such as being mute, they cannot simply say aloud.
** '''[[PlayingPictionary Pictionary]]''' is Charades with drawings, where one partner must draw the clue instead of acting it out. This variant is more common in animation for obvious reasons. Sometimes [[TakeOurWordForIt the drawings aren't seen by the viewer.]]
* '''Blind Man's Bluff''', is usually seen in portrayals of older times. One player is blindfolded, while the others hide. The blind man has to find the other players. This game is sometimes depicted as a flirtatious man looking for giggling young women in a parlor.
** '''Marco Polo''' is a variation on Blind Man's Bluff, with three differences: a) It usually takes place in water, such as a pool. b) The hunter doesn't wear a blindfold, but rather just keep their eyes shut. c) Most importantly, the hunter can call out "Marco!" as often as they like, and if the hunted ones hear it then they must respond with "Polo!". It's pretty much a miniature version of [[HotSubOnSubAction submarine warfare]], sonar and all.
* '''Truth or Dare''' is stereotypically most common at a slumber party, but can take place in other situations as well. The very point of this game is to elicit personal revelations if someone picks "Truth," or [[HilarityEnsues wacky hijinks]] if someone picks "Dare"; therefore, just by playing the game normally, it's quite likely that the events of the game will generate results interesting enough to be the plot of a story. FanFic writers know this very well, and Truth or Dare fics are practically a genre.
** '''King's Game''' (王様ゲーム) is the Japanese equivalent, tending to involve larger amounts of alcohol. Players draw straws (usually disposable chopsticks) marked with either a number or "king". The king then reveals themselves, and (blindly) declares both a number and a command which the player holding that number must follow.
* '''INever''', also known as '''Never Have I Ever''', is a similar game to Truth or Dare. Usually played more as a drinking game, although other forfeits are common. The premise is for one person to say something which (hopefully truthfully...or not, as the case may be) they have never done, and all the other players have to commit the forfeit if they have done that thing.
* '''SpinTheBottle''' and '''TenMinutesInTheCloset''' (or whatever variation) are the classic young-coed-teen-party games. In the first one, sit in a circle, take turns spinning a bottle and kiss the first member of the opposite sex ([[HoYay or not]]) it points to. In the second, pull names/number out of a hat to form couples and go into the closet for two minutes and... amuse yourselves in some fashion. This is often a way to trap/nudge a character into his/her FirstKiss, to set up/exacerbate romantic jealousies or to contrast different levels of sexual activity among a bunch of kids of the same age. There will be much awkwardness, blushing and wiping of sweaty palms.
* '''Mafia''' divides the players into two teams. One team is initially much smaller than the other, but the composition of the teams is unknown to the members of the larger team. The game alternates between turns during which the larger team keep their eyes shut, allowing the smaller team to communicate in secrecy, and turns during which all players claim they belong to the larger team. The elimination of a player is debated every turn. Paper sheets or cards are often used to create the teams at the beginning and to "[[DramaticUnmask unmask]]" any player who was just eliminated. A [[GameMaster referee]] is normally required. Furthermore, a single player of the larger team has a hidden turn of his own, during which he learns the true allegiance of another player. Additional roles and teams can be introduced, potentially leading to at least one DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent. In fictional works, TenLittleMurderVictims will sometimes play this kind of game right before it becomes the plot.
** '''TabletopGame/Werewolf1997''', a variant of the game with a werewolf theme.
* '''Shiritori''' (しりとり) also known as '''Last Letter, First Letter''', is a word game played by two or more people that challenges their vocabulary skills. Players take turns stating words beginning with the final syllable or letter of the previous word. Once a word has been used, it cannot be used a second time. Variants of the game expect players to limit their vocabulary to a specific category. This game is very popular in Japanese media (thus, we've listed it in Romanized form), which has no words beginning with the "N" syllable, [[ObviousRulePatch so anyone who uses a word ending in "N" loses]].
** A similar vocabulary game, more popular in the anglophone world, is called '''Alphabet'''. In this game, players take turns stating words in alphabetical order ("apple," "board," "cart," etc.) until only one player remains.
** '''The Minister's Cat''' is a version of Alphabet where the words are all adjectives, expressed as "The minister's cat is a [adjective] cat".
* '''Wink Murder''' (or '''Wink Killer''' or '''Assassin''') has one secretly assigned player (the "killer") try to eliminate the other players by making eye contact and winking at them, while the other players try to determine who the killer is before being eliminated.
** A variation called '''Fuse Murder''' has the players sit in a circle and hold hands. Only the secretly assigned killer can start a "fuse" by squeezing the hand of a neighbor multiple times. If a player's hand is squeezed multiple times, then the player must pass the fuse along by squeezing his/her other hand one less time. If a player's hand is squeezed once, then that player is eliminated.
* '''Dictum''' is a word game where players simultaneously try to guess the closest word in the dictionary that comes after a specified keyword. Words derived from the keyword are not allowed. For example, if the keyword is "work", then "worker" and "working" are not allowed. And while "worm" is close to (and after) "work", the word "world" is closer.

----
!!Instances by medium:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Advertising]]
* An advert showed children playing musical chairs with subtitled predictions on what they'd be when they grew up. A child jogging round the chairs with an intent expression was 'Future track athlete', a kid throwing a tantrum was 'Future Chief Executive Officer', and a smiling girl who let someone have her chair was predicted to be a stewardess for the advertised airline.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* A version of shiritori played with catch phrases, one-liners, and assorted strange sentences is used for the {{Eye Catch}}es for ''Anime/HayateTheCombatButler'''s first season. It's one of the quirks of director Keiichiro Kawaguchi.
* A version of shiritori played with catch phrases, one-liners, and assorted strange sentences is used for the {{Eye Catch}}es for ''Manga/PsychicSquad''. It's one of the quirks of director Keiichiro Kawaguchi.
* The first episode's Post-Episode Trailer for ''Manga/{{Sola}}'' presents a Shiritori game where Yorito keeps coming up with names of clouds.
* In an episode of ''Manga/HidamariSketch'', the group are [[SomethingThatBeginsWithBoring sitting around watching Miyako's apartment leak and playing Shiritori]].
* Yuuichi and Mai are playing Shiritori in ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'' (both the game and the anime). Since Mai keeps adding "[[{{Honorifics}} -san]]" to animal names, she always loses.
* In the final episode of ''Anime/{{Planetes}}'', [[spoiler:Hachimaki proposes to Tanabe ("Kekkon shiou")]] during a Shiritori game. [[spoiler:She accepts ("Un!"), losing the game in the process.]]
* The titular club plays shiritori in the BeachEpisode of ''Manga/{{Genshiken}}'', and it swiftly derails into a fight because Madarame refuses to refer to a ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' character (Sayla Mass) without the suffix "-san".
* In ''Manga/SgtFrog'', Keroro, Tamama, and Giroro play shiritori in the episode where they visit Grandma Hinata at her house in the country.
* In an early episode of ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', Excel and her opponent are [[SomethingThatBeginsWithBoring trapped in a well, playing Shiritori to pass the time]]. Since they're both hungry, all the items they name are foods.
* In ''Manga/Eyeshield21'', the Deimon Devil Bats' party to celebrate [[spoiler:their victory over the Hakushuu Dinosaurs and the fact that they made it to the Christmas Bowl]] includes a game of shiritori.
* In ''Manga/XxxHolic'', Shiritori is revealed as a method for warding off evil spirits, but only after Watanuki is "tricked" into playing it while being chased by said evil spirits, making this a sort of reverse ChekhovsGun example.
* In the ''Manga/DotHackLegendOfTheTwilight'' manga, Shogo plays shiritori with an AI, discovering that you cannot beat someone who can instantly look up every word that exists.
* One episode of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' has the characters split into teams and play shiritori with song lyrics.
* ''Manga/ImoutoWaShishunki'': Kanami starts a shiritori game with her kindergarten class and their teacher starts to say reezun (raisin) but then she realises that means she would lose and changes it mid-word to rezubian (lesbian). The other teacher is shocked but Kanami just cheerfully points out that she loses.
* In ''Ray'', Ray's mentor is immune to mind reading - he constantly plays shiritori in his head whenever a telepath is in range.
* In an episode of ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'', when the Yorozuya trio are [[ItMakesSenseInContext playing hot potato with a time bomb]], they suddenly begin playing shiritori.
* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' , Pesche tries to get his party to play siritori [[SkewedPriorities as they are trapped by Szayel in Las Noches]]
* In ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure'', Nagisa and Mepple end up playing shiritori while hiding from the goon squad on a subway station after the villains manage to separate them from Honoka. Due to Mepple's VerbalTic ("mepo") Nagisa has to come up with words that start with "po", until Mepple tells her that "ho" is okay too. Of course, the only word Nagisa can think of is [[TearJerker "Honoka"]]... which leads to major ass-kicking.
* In the ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' TV series, Belldandy loses a game of shiritori against Keiichi when she calls eggs "Tamago-san".
* In ''Manga/{{Nichijou}}'', Yuuko is particularly bad at shiritori, often falling afoul of the N rule.
** In a drawing-based variant while passing notes to Mio during class, she draws the ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' character and notices that she will lose since it ends with N. She tries to correct this by changing it to Superman''s'', but Mio doesn't buy it and crosses out the "s" and the extra Supermen she drew in a hurry.
** While the girls are trapped inside an elevator, they start playing shiritori to pass the time: Yuuko's ''first'' word is ''Mika'''n''''' (Orange). It takes their isolation-addled minds several seconds to realise that there's a problem.
* The third episode of ''Manga/DailyLivesOfHighSchoolBoys'' had a shiritori game, where Tadakuni, who hates the game, accidentally joins in several rounds ''completely by accident''.
* Kane, Millie and Canal play shiritori in the ''Literature/LostUniverse'' episode "The Bathroom Disappears". After a while, they reach a point where any word Canal suggests causes the other two to come up with a word that reminds them of the fact that the bathroom has disappeared.
* The main cast of ''Literature/{{Toradora}}'' is playing shiritori on the bus to the ski resort, at least until Minorin drags it way off track with yet another non sequitur.
* ''Literature/NoGameNoLife'' has ''materialization'' shiritori, where any word said materializes if it isn't there. If it is already there, then it disappears.
* One episode of ''Manga/ChroniclesOfTheGoingHomeClub'' has a very intense shiritori game between Sakura and Natsuki. They play a "taboo" variant, where in addition to losing if you can't think of a word that starts with the last syllable of the previous player, and losing for saying a word that ends with the "N" syllable, you can also lose by saying the word written on your or your opponent's card. MundaneMadeAwesome kicks in and a Narrator appears to [[CombatCommentator call the action]].
* In ''Manga/SamuraiDeeperKyo'', the last [[EliteMook Berserker]] [[FatIdiot Haira]] starts his "fight" against [[UsefulNotes/DateMasamune Bontenmaru]] with a game of Shiritori using the words as names for his attacks. At first Bontenmaru can't think names fast enough to attack himself and is at Haira's mercy, but eventually he cheats and starts using whole idioms instead of words, which ends up confusing Haira so much that he repeats himself, losing the game and receiving a MegatonPunch for his trouble.
* Various gadgets of ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'' are based Shiritori, such as しりとり変身卵 ''shiritori henshin tamago'' allowing a user to change into various objects through the game (for example,ねこ ''neko'' Cat->こい''koi'' Koi Fish->イド''ido'' Well->ドラえもん''doraemon'').
* In ''Manga/ShirokumaCafe'', Panda tries to pass his time at the zoo by ringing up Polar Bear to play shiritori over the phone, starting with ''ringo'' (apple). Polar Bear, who actually works for a living, replies with ''goukon'' (group blind date) and immediately hangs up.
* ''Literature/StudentCouncilsDiscretion'':
** Ken and Elise, Lilicia's little sister, play a round of shiritori when she invades the council room in episode eight. This gets annoying for Ken when Elise keeps ending up at the names of rival light novel publishers.
** Lilicia and Elise play shiritori, by using the "mono aluminum strategy". Since the game only ends when you run out of words, and each of them just come up with a new chemical compound of aluminium (so the word ends with "m") that starts with "mu", [[EndlessGame the game keeps going...]]
* One of the extras for volume 6 of ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'' depicts Kusuri and Mimimi playing Shiritori before falling asleep. Since the last words they say are their respective {{Verbal Tic}}s, the only answers they can come up with all start with either 'P' or 'Y'.
* ''Manga/KomiCantCommunicate'': In Chapter 164, Tadano, Komi and their friends play Shiritori.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* One of the ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'' volumes includes a short game of shiritori played between Scott, Ramona and Wallace. Scott is praised when he transitions ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' into ''Literature/DonQuixote'', until Wallace points out there's nowhere to go from there.
* In the ''Comicbook/YoungJustice'' #7, during a campout, the kids play Truth or Dare. Truths includes the team learning that Superboy [[NotGrowingUpSucks can't grow up]], and Secret's horrifying response to "Have you ever kissed a boy?" (an InnocentInaccurate account of how a lab assistant at the containment facility attempted to assault her, and her subconcious vengeance spirit powers sent him screaming). Impulse immediately goes for "dare", with Arrowette lamenting that there's no fun daring him, because he'll just do whatever it is without thinking, so Robin dares him to stay still. And Superboy dares Robin to take off his mask, which he does ... [[CrazyPrepared to reveal another mask]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' had a comic where Roger and Andy played ''Pictionary''. Andy drew what was very obviously a boat, but Roger struggled to figure out what it was, suggesting such things as "a Christmas tree in a cereal bowl". When she wrote "boat" at the bottom of the page, he thought it was some kind of "''Pictionary'' shorthand".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In ''Fanfic/AmazingFantasy'', Peter assumes there's a LanguageBarrier between him and Izuku and uses charades to try to communicate. It's for naught when Izuku reveals that he has a rudimentary understanding of English.
* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'':
** In “The Paris Trip,” Mittens flirtatiously has Berlioz guess her name via an impromptu game of charades.
** In “The Ski Trip,” Rhino alerts Bolt and Mittens to what appear to be an abandoned pair of skis using the phrase “I spy.” It turns out they weren't abandoned at all, just set aside by a skier adjusting her boots and clothing.
--->"Hey, look!" said the hamster with glee. "I spy with my little eye -- something that’ll get us back down in a hurry." Rhino pointed excitedly at a pair of skis that looked like they had been abandoned by their owner. The three pets wandered over and considered their options.
* In ''Fanfic/NotCompletelyAltogetherHere'', a game of Truth or Dare at a slumber party is what ultimately led to Galinda's death. Her friends dared her to snatch Dr. Dillamond's coat and draw on it as a prank. Galinda went to do just that but [[spoiler:ended up walking into a murder scene. Madame Morrible had killed Dillamond. She also killed Galinda in order to keep her silent.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film — Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanUnderTheRedHood''. The Red Hood has captured the Joker, who is rambling on as always.
-->'''Joker:''' So, what's the plan? Slumber Party? Charades? A little Truth or Dare? YES! I'll start with dare!\\
(''Red Hood pulls out a crowbar and [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown hefts it meaningfully]]'')\\
'''Joker:''' [[OhCrap Or maybe I'll just go with truth.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
* The villain of ''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance'' used Simon Says in his games. His name is Simon, so he has a lot of fun with it.
* Twenty Questions was parodied in ''Film/BillAndTedsBogusJourney]', which the now-dead protagonists decided to play [[IFellForHours to pass the time during their fall into hell]]. It was a tank, and Ted guessed it in two questions.
-->'''Ted:''' Are you a mineral?\\
'''Bill:''' Yeah.\\
'''Ted:''' Are you a tank?\\
'''Bill:''' Whoa! Yeah!
* Common in adaptations of ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'', which has a scene where Nephew Fred and his Christmas party play parlor games, though adaptations sometimes change up which games are being played:
** Nephew Fred and his party play Twenty Questions in the 1951 version of ''Film/{{Scrooge|1951}}''.
** In the 1984 ''Film/{{A Christmas Carol|1984}}'', the party is playing "Similes". Fred would say the first part of a common expression, such as "Quiet as..." or "Tight as...", which the player would then have to fill in (in these examples, 'a mouse' and 'a drum', respectively). The answer given, though, is "As tight as your Uncle Ebenezer's pockets."
** The Blind Man's Bluff appears in the 1999 ''Film/{{A Christmas Carol|1999}}'' with Patrick Stewart playing Scrooge.
* In ''Film/YoungFrankenstein'', Frankenstein is strangled by the monster, and tries use charades to tell Igor and Inga to administer a "sedative". Their guesses include "said-a-give" and "said a dirty word".
-->'''Frankenstein:''' SEDA-''GIVE?!''
* ''Film/DemolitionMan'': BigBad Simon Phoenix references Simon Says as a sort of catchphrase:
--> '''Phoenix''': Simon says bleed!
--> '''Phoenix''': Simon says die!
* In ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1990'', when Donnie and Casey are fixing the truck, they play a variation of "Alphabet" where they take turns insulting each other. ("Atomic Breath," "Barfaroni," etc.)
* Mozart and his wife play Musical Chairs at a party in the film version of ''Theatre/{{Amadeus}}''.
* The original script of ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods'' included a modified "Truth, Dare or Lecture," which apparently Creator/JossWhedon and his friends used to play. The lecture bit was cut for time, but the Truth or Dare stays in the final cut of the movie.
* A trailer for ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'' (that played before ''[[Film/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone]]'' in theaters) has Mike and Sulley playing a game of Charades where Sulley tries to act out "Harry Potter" to Mike, to no avail. At the end, it's Mike's turn and Sulley correctly guesses "Franchise/StarWars" almost instantly.
* In ''Film/SinceYouWentAway'' (1944), the Hiltons like to play Charades. Uber-dignified Col. Smollett has to act out "bottoms up".
* An OverlyLongGag in the Creator/MarxBrothers film ''Film/ADayAtTheRaces1937'' has Stuffy ([[TheVoiceless Harpo]]) spend an entire scene using charades to explain the villains' FrameUp plot to Tony (Chico).
* In ''Film/InglouriousBasterds'', Bridget von Hammersmark, a German spy for the Allies, plays Who Am I with a group of enlisted Wehrmacht soldiers in a bar while waiting for her American contacts. Later, an SS officer invites them to play the same game in order to confirm his suspicions of them.
* In ''Film/AboutScout'', Gloria plays charades with some friends. One of them mimes rocking a baby and then stabbing it, and Gloria struggles to remember the word for "infanticide."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/JaneEyre'' features what is most possibly the most elaborate game of Charades ever. They make ''sets''.
* Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present observe Twenty Questions being played at Fred's Christmas party in Dickens' ''Literature/AChristmasCarol''. The "animal" in question turns out to be "Uncle Scrooge". There is also a game of Blind Man's Bluff, in which the LemonyNarrator expresses the opinion that one guest, who unerringly pursues Fred's sister-in-law, could probably see through the blindfold.
* In Thomas Pynchon's ''Literature/TheCryingOfLot49'', Oedipa and Metzger play a game they refer to as "Strip [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botticelli_(game) Botticelli]]" while drunk, but they don't actually get that far and Metzger ends up taking his clothes off anyway.
* Dorothy L. Sayers uses parlor games in several of her short stories. In one "the Prime Minister's Speech on the Wireless" was ruled out of order in "Twenty Questions" as there was a dispute about its being 'animal' or 'a kind of gas.'
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''
** In ''Literature/GuardsGuards'', the Librarian (an orangutan) has to resort to Charades to explain to Carrot about a stolen book, while resenting the fact that dogs, horses and dolphins don't have nearly as much trouble [[TimmyInAWell getting a message to humans]].
** In ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'' interminable parlour games, and the inevitable rows over them, are part of the wizards' litany of complaints about [[YouMeanXmas Hogswatch]].
* ''The Brand New Creator/MontyPython Bok'' contains the rules for a parlour game based on the Cheese Shop sketch, with one player as the Customer and the other as the Shopkeeper.
* ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'': At one point in the ''Collegium Chronicles'', Mags plays several parlor games with his new friends. This is one of the rare occurrences where someone finds "I Spy" to be fun; to be fair, this is pretty much the first time Mags has ever been able to play games.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' has an example of shiritori being played by Sheldon and Penny while on a (short) car trip. Sheldon limits the game to only elements on the periodic table, and since Penny isn't interested, he plays for her, allowing her to win the game.
** In another episode, Amy has a Christmas party featuring extremely boring Victorian era party games.
* At one point in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Spike and Harmony play Twenty Questions. First question: is it bigger than a breadbox? Second question: is it smaller than a breadbox? [[spoiler:It's a sodding breadbox.]]
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E7TheUnicornAndTheWasp "The Unicorn and the Wasp"]], the Doctor has been poisoned with cyanide, but can cleanse his system with only a few ingredients. Unfortunately, his mouth is full when he needs to tell Donna what he needs and a hilarious game of charades ensues:
-->'''Donna:''' I can't understand you... How many words? One! One word! Shake... milk-shake... milk?! No, not milk. Shake, shake, shake?! Cocktail shaker! What do you want, a Harvey Wallbanger?\\
'''The Doctor:''' HARVEY WALLBANGER?!\\
'''Donna:''' Well, I don't know!\\
'''The Doctor:''' ''How is "Harvey Wallbanger" one word?!''
* In one episode of ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', Frasier and company try to pass the time during a blackout by playing "I Never". Daphne objects to the assumption that the examples of things one has never done should be sexual, listing off a number of examples she [[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough assumes that no one will have done]] causing [[ReallyGetsAround Roz to repeatedly forfeit.]]
* In the ''Series/{{Friends}}'' episode "The One With All the Poker", Monica says Ross is [[HypocriticalHumour ridiculously competitive]], and Pheobe brings up "the ''Pictionary'' Incident", where a plate (according to Monica) slipped out of her hand while she was gesturing. During the closing credits, they're playing ''Pictionary'' again, and when everyone fails to get Monica's clue and she reaches for her glass, they all dive behind the sofa.
* Shiritori shows up a few times in ''Series/GoGoSentaiBoukenger'', the first instance being when four of the five team members are trapped in a snowfall in their mecha. They were so confident Satoru was going to rescue them that they figured [[SomethingThatBeginsWithBoring they may as well pass the time with a game]].
* Truth or Dare is used as a bonding exercise in ''Series/TheKicks'' episode "Choosing Sides". It starts out fun, but one ArmorPiercingQuestion from Mirabelle turns it into an argument.
* Kate and Sawyer play I Never in a Season 1 episode of ''Series/{{Lost}}''.
* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' has an example of shiritori being played using place names. It gets derailed when Kelly thinks Alabama ends with R ("Alabammer").
* Two games of Charades were played in a courtroom sketch in a ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' episode. Go [[http://orangecow.org/pythonet/scripts/Episode15-The%20Spanish%20Inquisition.txt here]] and search for "We have, m'lud."
-->We find the defendant Not Guil-cup.
* Michael on ''Series/{{The Office|US}}'' plays Charades in "Dinner Party", but he can't resist cheating. "Rhymes with Parnold Schporzenegger."
** He and the client also play Truth or Dare with an unwitting Jan.
* ''Series/OurMissBrooks'': In "Parlor Game", Miss Brooks invents a complicated parlor version of {{Calvinball}}, in order to push Mr. Conklin into taking his family out for the evening as a more palatable alternative.
* There was an episode of ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' wherein in order to undo the wacky spell-gone-awry of the week, Sabrina had to get someone to say a certain phrase -- but of course, Sabrina wasn't able to actually say it herself, because that would make things too easy. So instead, she initiated a game of charades and tried to get the person to say the phrase that way.
* The ''Series/ThreesCompany'' episode "Jack Bares All (aka Oh Nurse), Part 2" has Mr. Furley introducing a game where each player makes up a question one word at a time. They don't like it, so they play a game in which everybody has to imitate another partygoer. HilarityEnsues.
* On an episode of ''Series/VeronicaMars'', in a {{Flashback}}, we see Veronica, Duncan, Lily and Logan play "Truth or Dare". Then they play "I Never". HilarityEnsues.
%%* ''Series/{{Wings}}'' used Simon Says as a plot device.
* ''Series/FirstWave'' features a very dark example. The protagonist ends up in a game of "Truth or Dare" and dares one of the young women involved to flash her tits. She agrees with only a bare minimum of fuss. However, the next time, the protagonist asks her for the truth about [[DomesticAbuse where the suspiciously knuckle-shaped bruises on her torso come from.]]
* The ''Series/{{QI}}'' episode "Noel" involves the panel playing several parlor games, such as Taboo (where they have to answer questions without using the letter "N") and "Are you there, Moriarty?" (where two people are blindfolded and one has to hit the other with a rolled-up newspaper). They're a British Christmas tradition.
* ''Series/{{Suburgatory}}'': Ryan and Tessa first kiss when Ryan is dared to kiss her during a game of truth or dare.
* ''Series/RedDwarf'': The Cat decides to inform the crew of "bad news" by playing a game of charades with them in "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonXDearDave Dear Dave]]". After many misguesses (including many a mention of giant death worms from Rimmer), it is eventually revealed that the bad news is that the mail pod has crashed into his clothes.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* Shiritori is mentioned in one of [[Music/{{Vocaloid}} Kagamine Rin]]'s popular songs, ''Su-su-su-suki, daaisuki":
-->''Let's play shiritori--"Shiritori", "Rin"--\\
Sorry... I really suck at this...''
* Shiritori appears in the song ''[[https://youtu.be/pq_aZLlhJJc The Magic Word is "KDCL"]]'', where ''the lyrics themselves'' are a variation of the game. The acronym "KDCL" stands for ''kendo chōrai'' (lit. renewed efforts) as a "magic word" in the game to bypass a round.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]
* Various parlour games are played in ''Radio/ImSorryIHaventAClue''. The most famous is Sound Charades, which has been adapted to be more suited to an audio medium. For others like Blind Man's Bluff, Musical Chairs and Hunt the Slipper, the joke is that they ''haven't'', and for all the audience at home know it's possible (perhaps likely) that the teams aren't doing ''anything''.
* Now-defunct Los Angeles market Classic Rock station KSWD 1003.3 The Sound was a mostly Boomer-targeted station (except they really liked Van Halen) that would play Siritori with listener requests during the weekday morning show sometimes. On 100.3, since it was an English speaking station, they called it "The Last Letter Game" They would take the last letter of (the last word in) each song title and a listener could request a next song beginning with it. E.g., if the first listener request Pink Floyd's "Run Like Hell" it could lead to the next listener requesting The Doobie Bros' "Listen to the Music." Which is the same as siritori.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* The July 5, 2004 episode of ''[[Wrestling/{{WWERaw}} WWE Raw]]'' featured [[Wrestling/NickDinsmore Eugene]], whose gimmick was of a child-like wrestling savant, as the General Manager for the night. He started the episode by having Wrestling/RicFlair, Wrestling/StacyKeibler, Wrestling/YoshihiroTajiri, Tyson Tomko, Jonathan Coachman and Wrestling/JerryLawler play a game of Musical Chairs to determine who got a title shot that night. Jericho won, earning a shot at Randy Orton's Intercontinental Heavyweight Title.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Stand-Up Comedy]]
* Creator/LennyHenry had a routine that distinguished a ''PARTY'' from a "party". At the latter, people are sitting around drinking wine, and there's one guy who insists on playing Charades.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]
* In ''Music/{{Evita}}'', Juan Peron and other generals play a game of Musical Chairs to the music "The Art of the Possible," symbolizing Juan's rise to power in the chaos of post-revolutionary Argentina.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* TabletopGame/Werewolf1997, a version of Mafia replacing the mafia characters with werewolves.
* ''TabletopGame/TheWerewolvesOfMillersHollow'' is one of many commercial versions of the Mafia game, with a dedicated deck of cards.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'', while waiting for Dennis and/or Dr. Mosely/[[spoiler:Zeta]] to return to the ski lodge, the protagonist and the girls pass the time by playing board games.
* Creator/JonathanBoakes:
** These games are given a ''very'' spooky slant in ''VideoGame/DarkFall: Lost Souls''. The fact you're playing them with a CreepyChild ghost doesn't help...
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLostCrown The Last Crown: Midnight Horror]]'' uses Halloween-themed ParlorGames.
* ''VideoGame/TownOfSalem'' is a web version of the Mafia game.
* In one of the Houses of Salvation in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', a kid plays shiritori with your onscreen character. After a few rounds, the kid gets pissy because you 'cheated' by always picking words that end with L, unless your avatar is Colette during her time as TheVoiceless, in which case the kid gets mad because she isn't playing at all.
* ''VisualNovel/{{CLANNAD}}'' (VisualNovel): Kotomi and Tomoya spontaneously break out into a game of shiritori. Tomoya loses with "rujinen" (anthropoid), but Kotomi recovers without skipping a beat with "N'Djamena" (capital of the Republic of Chad).
-->'''Tomoya:''' Anyway, you can't use N'Djamena.\\
'''Kotomi:''' ...Are you a bully?
* The 7th boss song in ''VideoGame/{{beatmania}} IIDX 19: Lincle'' is unlocked with looped shiritori; playing sets of songs with titles that qualify (letter-style, according to the song's title on the machine marquee, and linking the last and first songs) gradually unlocks the song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3v73FLZJW4 The Limbo]]".
* A ''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}'' CD featuring the oddball Imakuni was a song featuring a Pokemon themed version of this game, only called "Pokemon Sandwich".
* You can sometimes eavesdrop on a pair of villagers playing shiritori in the ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' series.
* ''VisualNovel/YuminaTheEthereal'' has Yumina suggest that another party member play shiritori with her. It never starts, likely because Yumina is infamous for being an idiot.
* In the ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'' drama CD, Kurugaya suggests to Masato and Kengo that they play a version of shiritori revolving around names for muscles. They eagerly agree, so she invites them to begin. They try a few times to come up with something, only to embarrasedly remember that in Japanese, all muscle names end with 'n'.
* ''Videogame/SupaRoboGakuen'': Ryoga uses shiritori to tutor a classmate in English as part of one endgame sidequest. [[spoiler:They end up realizing they both have small vocabularies and end up trying to trap each other.]] When Ryoga wins, of course his classmate matches the syllable for [[DuelsDecideEverything "Super-Robot Battle Challenge!"]]
* ''Videogame/AmongUs'' is a direct evolution of werewolf even if its format changed enough that it has to be a video game to work properly. It can even be played by people in the same room to the same effect.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* WebAnimation/IfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice: In “Russ Plays a “Small Baby Game” With the Dark Eldar” some Drukhari guards transporting Leman Russ to the arena try to occupy him by playing 20 Questions. Only to discover that thanks to his experience playing the game with Magnus, and millennia in the Warp, whatever he’s thinking of slowly manifests into reality as they guess.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In [[http://wapsisquare.com/comic/charades/ this]] strip of ''Webcomic/WapsiSquare'', Katherine wants information from Monica who is barely capable of speech before [[MustHaveCaffeine her morning coffee.]] This results in a game of charades.
* ''Webcomic/AntiHeroes'' introduces a [[http://www.antiheroescomic.com/comic/284 magically enforced]] game of Werewolf with real murders.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Charade}}'' is an animated short about a Charades player who grows increasingly enraged as his obtuse audience cannot guess his increasingly elaborate and obvious clues.
* When Creator/AdamWest played Twenty Questions with himself on ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. "Am I Bo Bice? Yes, I am."
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In "Look Before You Sleep", Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight attempt to play Truth or Dare at a slumber party. As Applejack and Rarity are having a spat, it quickly degenerates into them daring each other to do increasingly objectionable things. At the end of the episode, the group plays 20 questions, which works a bit better.
* The ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' special ''WesternAnimation/ItsFlashbeagleCharlieBrown'' has a song called "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ5_2uib-TE Lucy Says]]" in which Lucy takes over a game of Simon Says.
-->Lucy's the boss, so listen to Lucy, and here's what Lucy says!
* In the ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' episode "Slumber Party", Princess Pony Head drags Star, Marco, Jackie, and Starfan 13 into a magical game called "Truth or Punishment", which is basically Truth or Dare without the Dare. The game asks three questions, which get more personal as the game goes on, and if even one player doesn't answer the game's questions honestly they all have to pay increasingly severe penalties, whether it's suffering [[ElectricTorture Electric]] TickleTorture, [[BodyHorror becoming grotesquely ugly]], or even [[spoiler: the game box turning into a monster and attacking the players with death traps.]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' episode "Mirror, Mirror on the Ed", the Eds come across the culdesac kids playing a spin-the-bottle game of truth or dare. Just as the Eds decide to join, the other kids leave and the Eds are left to play with each other. They eventually end up daring to be each other, Ed playing Eddy, Eddy playing Edd and Edd playing Ed.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Underdog}}'s arch enemy Simon Bar Sinister used "Simon Says..." as his catchphrase.
* In ''WesternAnimation/LittleBear'', the game "Simon Says" is played by the title character and his friends in the episode of the same name. When Duck finally gets the hang of it she really enjoys being the leader, maybe a little too much.
** In the episode "Little Bear's Sweet Tooth" the second game of the Harvest Day picnic is Musical Chairs. Little Bear is the first one out and goes to the dessert table to have another cookie while having a brief conversation with Emily's Granny before she is called to resume the music. Later, Tutu, Emily's dog, is announced as the winner.
[[/folder]]

----