Telestrations: Upside Drawn

Designed by: Kane Klenko

In the classic Telestrations, players pass drawings around and redraw them before a grand reveal of visual nonsense at the end. With Telestrations: Upside Drawn, there is more of an against-the-clock atmosphere, as players split into teams of two and must identify what’s being drawn before anyone else does. The catch? They’re doing the drawing themselves.

Each team has a wipe-board and marker. The guessers hold the pens, and the clue-givers – who should sit opposite their team-mate – all know the word to be drawn. At a given moment the clue-givers must move the boards beneath the pens, effectively ‘drawing’ on the board whilst the pen stays in the same place. The only verbal communication they can give is ‘up’ and ‘down’ to help reposition the pen on the board without leaving an unwanted line. They can, however, give visual clues by using the prompts at the sides of the board: hot, cold, sounds-like and so on. Guessers can’t look at the other drawings (but they can listen to what’s being guessed) and as soon as someone had identified the word, the round is over with the winning team awarded points.

The official rules are first to 20 points wins, but you can do less for a shorter game or – if you’re feeling really energetic! – more for a longer one.

Sam says

Fun for the right group; one who likes the rush of racing-to-be-first combined with the absurdity of how Upside Drawn takes you there. I've played this with people who loved it, and people who found it truly exasperating. Personally I think it's quite a laugh, but it does feel a bit gimmicky and after a couple of games the novelty does begin to wear a little thin. But it's fun for the odd play, if not quite on a par with its illustrious predecessor.

The guru's verdict

  • Take That!

    Take That!

    None

  • Fidget Factor!

    Fidget Factor!

    None!

  • Brain Burn!

    Brain Burn!

    Just figure out what's being drawn.

  • Again Again!

    Again Again!

    There are a huge deck of double-sided cards to work through, so you'd have to be both extremely enthusiastic and incredibly diligent to feel you know what's on them all.