Witnesses talk. Everyone sketches. Who is it?
Draw the Suspect is a live drawing game for any room: one face in the room is the secret suspect, witnesses describe it, everyone else sketches it on their phone, and the room votes for the best likeness before the mugshot drops.
On the big screen
Case file
Case 2of 6
- Suspect
- Unknown
- Witnesses
- Two or three of you
- Sketch artists
- Everyone else
On their phone
Case 2 of 6
Get your pencil ready
Listen to the witnesses, then sketch the suspect from what they say.
Case 2 of 6. One face in the room is the suspect, picked in secret.
How it works
- 01
Witnesses describe the suspect
One face in the room is picked in secret. Its witnesses, 2 in most rooms and 3 in a group of 7 or more, press and hold to peek at it on their phones, 3 seconds in all, then each types one clue. Or let AI witnesses write three statements that don't quite agree.
- 02
Everyone sketches
Everyone else draws the suspect on their phone from the clues, with 60 seconds on the clock. The sketches land face down on the big screen as they are handed in.
- 03
The line-up, then the reveal
The sketches go up on the line-up wall. Everyone votes for the best likeness and picks who it is from a line-up of up to 6 faces, then the mugshot drops in with an IDENTIFIED stamp beside the winning sketch.
Step by step
Step 1: Create and configureWho: You
Create Draw the Suspect from the Dashboard. Choose witness players or AI witnesses, whether players take mugshots, the number of cases and the sketch clock.
Step 2: Join the activityWho: The room
Participants scan the QR code or open the join link on their phones. With mugshots on, each takes one or skips; a skipper is never the suspect.
Step 3: Start when everyone's inWho: You
Wait until everyone who's playing has joined, then press Open the first case.
Step 4: Describe the secret suspectWho: The room
A suspect is picked in secret. Witnesses press and hold to peek, three seconds in all, then type one clue each; or an AI writes three statements.
Step 5: Sketch the suspectWho: The room
Everyone else sketches the suspect on their phone from the clues, until the sketch clock runs out or everyone has handed in.
Step 6: Vote on the line-upWho: The room
The sketches go up on the line-up wall, numbered. Vote for the best likeness, not your own, then guess who it was from six faces.
Step 7: See the Most Wanted wallWho: Everyone
After the last case, the big screen shows the Most Wanted wall of the best sketches, and the standings.
A drawing game where the suspect is in the room
Back to back drawing is the classic: one person describes a picture, the other draws it without looking. It is a great exercise for two people and a slow one for thirty, because everyone else just watches.
Here the whole room plays every case. The witnesses are the only ones who see the suspect, and only for a few seconds on their own phones, so the clues are honest and a little wrong. Everyone else draws at once, and every sketch goes up on the same line-up wall, in a noir detective office lit by a desk lamp. Then the mugshot drops, and the room finds out whose face it was all along.
Want to work a case on your own first? The free Daily line-up has 5 cases a day, the same for everyone: read the witness statements, sketch the suspect if you like, then pick them out of a line-up of 6, with no sign-up: play it yourself.
Case 2 of 6 · Witness statements
Witness 1
“Big curly hair, round as a storm cloud.”
Witness 2
“Gold hoop earrings and a mustard turtleneck.”
Witness 3
“A sly little smile, like a secret.”
Sketch artists, draw on your phones
2 of 3 sketches handed in
The line-up
Case 2 of 6
Vote for the best likeness, then name the suspect. On your phone.
Best likeness · Theo · 5 votes
Named the suspect
2 of 3 guessers
Sketches on the wall
3 sketches, 7 votes
Most wanted
- 1.Theo+8001100
- 2.Walter+3001000
- 3.Leila+300600
- 3.Margot+300600
- 5.Rory+300400
FAQ
Draw the Suspect, explained
How do you play Draw the Suspect?
Everyone joins on their phone, and each player can take a mugshot as they join. Every case, one of those faces is picked in secret as the suspect. Witnesses peek at it and describe it in a few words, everyone else sketches the suspect on their phone, and the sketches go up on a line-up wall on the big screen. The room votes for the best likeness, guesses who it was, and the mugshot is revealed.
Do we have to take photos?
No. Anyone can skip their mugshot, and a player who skips is never the suspect; you can also take any mugshot off the board from your phone. With mugshots off, or with fewer than two in the room, the suspects come from Decka's own illustrated case files instead. Mugshots and sketches are kept in your report for 90 days, then deleted, and deleting the activity deletes them at once.
What are AI witnesses?
Instead of witness players, an AI looks at the suspect's mugshot and writes three short statements that disagree on at least one detail, so the room has to weigh them. It describes only what anyone can see: hair, glasses, headwear, accessories, expression, clothing colours and the background. Never age, ethnicity, body, looks or a name. Each AI case uses AI credits from your plan, and a game that starts with AI witnesses never stops halfway.
How does scoring work?
Every vote your sketch gets for best likeness scores 100, and the best likeness of the case scores 200 more. Picking the right face for “Who is it?” scores 100. Witnesses score 50 for every vote the case's sketches get, up to 300: good clues make good sketches.
Is it OK for a classroom?
Yes. For school use, mugshots start off, so every suspect comes from the illustrated case files, and you can turn them on if your class agrees. The witnesses' clues are short and checked against a built-in word list, a clue with a player's name in it is sent back, and you can hide any sketch from the line-up from your phone. Describing a face and drawing from a description is the old back to back drawing exercise, played by the whole class at once.
How many people can play?
At least 3. From 12 players the room splits into precincts of 6 or more, each with its own suspect and witnesses, all sketching at once; votes stay inside each precinct, and the big screen keeps every case on a Most Wanted wall. The Free plan supports up to 50 participants per live activity, Pro raises that to 150, and Badass supports up to 300.
How long does a game take?
A game is 6 cases by default, and anything from 3 to 10. A case takes about 2 minutes at the default sketch clock of 60 seconds; choose 45 or 90 seconds instead. The sketching ends early once everyone has handed in.
Do players need an app or an account?
No. They scan a QR code or open a link and play in their phone's browser, drawing with a finger. Nothing to install and no sign-up.
Read more
- Back-to-back drawing: how to play, with pictures to describeHow to run the describe-and-draw game with a pair, a class or a team, in three rounds, with debrief questions, two sheets of pictures and faces to describe, and a version for a whole room
- Funny party games for adults: 15 to play with friendsFifteen funny party games, from a live game where the funniest answer wins on everyone's phone to classics that need no props and the card games worth buying