Chitrakaar is the draw and guess game for your group. One person gets a word like 'patang', 'mehendi' or 'dhobi ghat' and draws it on their phone. Everyone else watches the drawing appear live and types their guesses. The faster you guess, the more you score, and the artist scores for everyone who gets it.
It's Pictionary-style fun without paper, and it works just as well on a video call as on one sofa. The one rule we ask you to keep: 'Bolna mana hai, sirf dekho'. Don't say the answer out loud.
Mandli is points only. No money, no ads, no coins.
Kya chahiye: Just phones. The drawing appears live on every screen and the app checks guesses.
Rules: kaise khelte hain
Taking turns
Players take turns as the drawer, in the order they joined. One round is complete when everyone has drawn once.
Choosing a word
The drawer sees three words: one easy, one medium and one hard, and has 10 seconds to pick one. If they don't pick, the easy word is chosen. Nobody else ever sees the choices.
Drawing
The drawer has 80 seconds. They get a few colours, three brush sizes, undo and 'Sab mitao' (clear everything). Everyone's canvas stays in sync. Writing the word on the canvas spoils the fun, so draw, don't write.
Guessing and hints
Everyone else types guesses. Small typos are forgiven on longer words (6 letters or more), and Hindi or English both count when the word has both, for example 'Aam' or 'mango'.
- At the start you see how many letters the word has.
- One letter opens up at 30 seconds, another at 50 seconds, and a third at 65 seconds for words of 8 or more letters. Never more than half the word is shown.
- A guess that is very close shows 'Bas thoda sa!' only to you.
Keeping the answer secret
A correct guess is never shown to the others; they just see 'X ne pakad liya'. Once you have guessed right, anything you type goes only to the drawer and other players who got it, so you can't give it away by accident. The turn ends early when everyone has guessed.
Skips and leaving
The host, or the drawer, can skip a turn; it ends with no points. If the drawer leaves, the turn ends with no points and the next drawer starts. Someone who joins in the middle of a round watches until the next round.
Points kaise milte hain
A correct guess earns 10 points plus a speed bonus of up to 10 more, depending on how much time was left, so between 11 and 20. The first person to guess right gets 5 extra. The drawer gets 5 for every player who guesses correctly, up to 30. If nobody guesses, the drawer gets 0.
Jeetne ke tips
- Draw the biggest shape first. A rough outline gets people guessing sooner than details.
- Pick the hard word if your group is quick; more guessers means more points for you.
- As a guesser, type fast and often. Wrong guesses cost nothing.
- Watch the hint letters. Knowing it's 6 letters with an M in the middle narrows it down a lot.
- Words are desi and everyday, from khana and tyohaar to jagah and janwar, so think Indian first.
Ghar wale rules aur variants
The classic paper version uses teams, a sand timer and guesses shouted out loud. Chitrakaar has no teams and guesses are typed, so the quiet players get a fair chance too.
At parties people sometimes whisper a word to the drawer. In Chitrakaar the words come from our list of 600 desi words across 10 categories.
Chitrakaar online kaise khelein
Start a room in Mandli and share the link on WhatsApp, or show the QR code if you are together. Anyone without the app joins from the browser link with a name and a colour, no login. In Saath mode you sit together and laugh at the drawings out loud (just don't say the answer); in Door mode it works on any call, with voice chat built into the game (mic and speaker buttons, nothing recorded). Drawings are not saved after the turn. Scores carry over when you move on to another game in the same room.
Sawaal jawaab
Is there a free draw and guess game to play online with friends?
Yes. Chitrakaar in Mandli is free, has no ads and needs no login. Share a room link and 3 to 10 friends can draw and guess together.
How long does each drawer get?
80 seconds to draw, after 10 seconds to pick a word.
Does a spelling mistake count?
For words of 6 or more letters, a guess one letter off still counts. Hindi and English versions both count when the word has both.
Can I play Pictionary online on a video call?
Yes. Chitrakaar is Pictionary-style drawing and guessing, and Door mode has voice chat built in, so you don't need a separate call.
What kind of words are in Chitrakaar?
600 everyday desi words, from easy ones like aam and chai to harder ones like Qutub Minar.