Pictionary thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at Young V&A
Play Gallery, the Arcade, Case 1

This object consists of 25 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Pictionary

Board Game
1987 (manufactured)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Pictionary is subtitled 'The Game of Quick Draw' and the aim is to sketch clues to a particular word in order that teammates may correctly guess the word within a time limit. Game play is determined by rolling the die, advancing the counter by the number of squares indicated and selecting a word card from the pack. Teams may only advance if they identify the word within the time limit set by the timer. The objective is to be the first team to reach the last space on the board. Some turns involve all the teams and the game can become a social event as well as a competition.

This Pictionary is an early version of the game and was acquired for inclusion in the Museum of Childhood's Game Plan exhibition, October 2016 - April 2017.




Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 25 parts.

  • Game Board
  • Counter
  • Counter
  • Counter
  • Counter
  • Die
  • Timer
  • Cards
  • Cards
  • Pencil
  • Pencil
  • Pencil
  • Pencil
  • Paper Pad
  • Paper Pad
  • Paper Pad
  • Paper Pad
  • Rule Sheet
  • Information Leaflet
  • Box Lid
  • Box Base
  • Box Insert
  • Box Lid
  • Box Base
  • Display Arrangement
TitlePictionary (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Printed paper stuck to card; printed paper; moulded plastic; pencil made of wood, graphite, aluminium ferrule, rubber and paint; pad of paper, card and glue strip
Brief description
Boxed Pictionary board game made in France by Tonka, 1987
Physical description
A rectangular, dark blue card box containing the game equipment, a PARKER information leaflet, a 'PICTIONARY® RULES' sheet and a white, moulded plastic insert which fits into 5/6ths of the box base.

The equipment consists of: game board, one-minute timer, white die, four cubed playing counters in black, red, yellow and pale blue/lilac , four pads of paper, four dark blue pencils and five hundred word cards.

The word cards are housed inside a rectangular card box which fits inside the main game box. Each card has the title 'PICTIONARY' with five colour coded categories in boxes underneath. These are:

P - Person/Place/Animal (yellow box)
O - Object (blue box)
A - Action (brown box)
D - Difficult/Challenging words (green box)
AP- All Play (red box)

The tri-fold board face is printed paper - a dark blue background with adjoining, coloured squares which snake around the edge of the board, in a repeating colour pattern sequence. The colours of the squares correspond to the colour coded question categories and each square contains the letter of the relevant category. The board face has two, white inscriptions of: 'PICTIONARY ® / THE GAME OF QUICK DRAW'
Dimensions
  • Question cards length: 7.6cm
  • Question cards width: 5.6cm
  • Pencils circumference: 2.5cm
  • Pencils length: 19cm (Note: average length of the pencils)
  • Drawing pads length: 14.9cm
  • Drawing pads width: 10cm
  • Drawing pads depth: 7mm
  • Rule sheet length: 24cm
  • Rule sheet width: 14cm
  • Parker game leaflet unfolded length: 41.7cm
  • Parker game leaflet unfolded width: 14.7cm
  • Parker game leaflet folded length: 14.7cm
  • Parker game leaflet folded width: 10.5cm
  • Outer box lid length: 46.8cm
  • Outer box lid width: 16.3cm
  • Outer box lid depth: 7.6cm
  • Outer box base length: 46.3cm
  • Outer box base width: 15.8cm
  • Outer box base depth: 7.7cm
  • Plastic insert length: 37.7cm
  • Plastic insert width: 15.7cm
  • Plastic insert depth: 6.9cm
  • Inner box lid length: 15.5cm
  • Inner box lid width: 6.8cm
  • Inner box lid depth: 5.2cm
  • Inner box base length: 14.8cm
  • Inner box base width: 6.3cm
  • Inner box base depth: 6cm
Style
Production typeMass produced
Gallery label
Pictionary A game that followed the Trivial Pursuit idea of using cards and off board action in what is a simple race game. It was invented by Robert Angel in 1985. The game is played by teams of two, each taking turns at guessing a word from their teammate's drawings. Maker: Tonka Made: France, 1987(05/08/2016)
Object history
Pictionary is a game based on the Trivial Pursuit pattern of play, using cards and off board action in what is in effect a simple race game. It was invented by Robert Angel in 1985 and has spawned two TV game shows and a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Summary
Pictionary is subtitled 'The Game of Quick Draw' and the aim is to sketch clues to a particular word in order that teammates may correctly guess the word within a time limit. Game play is determined by rolling the die, advancing the counter by the number of squares indicated and selecting a word card from the pack. Teams may only advance if they identify the word within the time limit set by the timer. The objective is to be the first team to reach the last space on the board. Some turns involve all the teams and the game can become a social event as well as a competition.

This Pictionary is an early version of the game and was acquired for inclusion in the Museum of Childhood's Game Plan exhibition, October 2016 - April 2017.


Collection
Accession number
B.65:1 to 24-2015

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Record createdSeptember 1, 2016
Record URL
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