An emoji guessing game is one of the easiest ways to get a quiet video call laughing. Every puzzle has a single right answer, so there is something to win, but the wrong guesses are usually funnier than the right ones. That mix is what makes it work in a meeting: nobody needs special knowledge, and nobody is embarrassed when the room collectively decides that a lion and a crown means Madagascar.
This guide covers how to run an emoji guessing game for a team, how to choose the right category, and how to keep it moving. The examples come from the puzzles in Emoji Master.
Why emoji puzzles work in meetings
Three things make this format a good fit for a call:
- It is visual and instant. A puzzle takes two seconds to read, so there is no explanation to sit through.
- Everyone answers at once. Nobody waits for a turn, and nobody can copy the loudest voice on the call.
- The reveal is the entertainment. When four people pick the same wrong answer, the room reacts together.
The four categories, with examples
Mixing categories keeps a round interesting, but each one suits a different audience.
Movies. Example: 🦁👑 is The Lion King; 🤠🚀🧸 is Toy Story. These work for groups that share popular culture. The clues are deliberately plain, so people who have seen the film get it in a second.
Sayings and idioms. Example: 🧊🔨 is break the ice; 🐦🐦🪨 is kill two birds with one stone. A few office favorites such as low-hanging fruit and get your ducks in a row are included, which gets a smile from anyone who has sat through a planning meeting.
Places. Example: 🍣🗻🌸 is Japan; 🌮🌵🎺 is Mexico. Country and city puzzles travel well across teams, because the clues are food, landmarks, and animals instead of language. The puzzles avoid country flag emoji on purpose: some Windows computers show flags as two letters, which would give the game away or confuse people.
Food and drink. Example: 🥑🍞 is avocado toast; 🍜🥚🍖 is ramen. Reliable crowd-pleasers, and a good last round before lunch.
How to run it, step by step
- Create the room. Choose a category (or a mixed deck), a difficulty, and the number of rounds.
- Paste the link into the call chat a minute before you start, and wait until a few people appear in the lobby. At least two players are needed to start.
- Share your screen so everyone sees the same puzzle and the same reveal.
- Read the emoji aloud for anyone dialled in without video, then give the room a few seconds.
- Reveal and react. Read the one-line explanation, and ask someone who picked a popular wrong answer what they saw.
- Call the leader after a few rounds and keep the tone light so people near the bottom stay in.
Choosing difficulty and length
Start with easy if people are new to each other: the first reveal should feel good. Mixed difficulty is the best default for a team that knows each other. Five rounds suit a break; eight to ten suit a social or offsite. If you only have a minute or two, a faster format like This or That is a better fit.
Matching the category to the room
- A global team: places and food.
- A mostly native-English team: a mixed deck, or sayings for variety.
- A new group: easy movies, then food.
- A leadership offsite: sayings, because the work idioms get a laugh.
Common mistakes
- Letting one person shout the answer. Because everyone answers privately on their own device, this mostly solves itself. Ask people to hold the answer until the reveal.
- Skipping the explanation. The one-line explanation ("a lion and a crown point to The Lion King") is what stops a wrong-answer argument.
- Running it too long. Ten rounds is plenty. Stop while people still want another.
- Ignoring display differences. Emoji look slightly different on different devices. If a puzzle looks ambiguous on your screen, say so before the reveal.
Variations
- Team vs team. Split the call into two groups and add up the scores.
- Guess, then explain. Ask each person to give a one-word reason for their pick before the reveal.
- Build your own. After a round, ask the team to submit emoji puzzles for a colleague or a project name.
Related reads
For emoji puzzles about workplace phrases like coffee meeting or bright idea, see Emoji Pictionary for work. For a game with no right answers, try This or That questions for work. You can also browse the full list of meeting games.
Ready to try it? Create an Emoji Master room → and have the first puzzle on screen in about a minute.