Party Games
How to play Heads Up!
Guess the displayed word from friends’ clues before a short phone timer expires.
What you need
The current Heads Up! app on a supported phone and at least one clue-giver
Set up the game
- Choose a deck in the app, then hold the phone at your forehead with its screen facing the clue-givers.
- This is the mobile app’s ordinary group format, not Netflix’s separate Heads Up! title or a homemade-card variant. Decks and pass controls can vary by app update.
Playing Heads Up!
- Start the timer. The clue-givers speak or act according to the selected deck’s prompt rules without saying the displayed answer.
- The phone-holder guesses aloud. Mark a correct answer using the app’s indicated tilt control and pass using its other tilt if stuck.
- Continue through as many prompts as time allows. Review the round’s correct answers and passes in the app.
- Switch guessers or compare rounds if the group wants a competition; the app’s round result is not a universal match-winning rule.
A round of animal clues
The screen shows “giraffe.” Friends can say “very tall animal with a long neck”; after the holder guesses it, they tilt for correct and continue to the next prompt before time expires.
The phone orientation is part of the mechanic
The answer faces the clue-givers while the person holding the phone cannot see it. The holder’s tilt marks correct or pass and brings up another prompt. A home card game can reproduce the idea but not the app interface.
Beginner decisions
- Clue with a distinguishing feature before listing vague synonyms.
Common rule mix-ups
- Showing the phone screen to the guesser.
- Assuming the clues permitted for one themed deck apply to every deck.
Questions about this game
Can we play with homemade cards?
Yes as a house format, but it does not use the app’s tilt and scoring.
Is a pass a wrong answer?
The app tracks the chosen tilt and displays the round result; check its current controls.
Sources and edition notes
Ellen Digital Ventures Heads Up! mobile app; deck and control details may change with updates.
Sources and stated format checked October 13, 2026. This records a document check, not a claim of hands-on testing.
Report a rule or edition correction →