How to Play doodlz.app

doodlz.app is a real-time drawing and guessing game for all ages. One player draws a secret word while everyone else tries to identify it from the canvas as fast as possible. The faster you guess, the more points you earn. This guide covers everything you need to know — from setting up your character to mastering the drawing tools and building a winning strategy.

Step 1 — Set up your nickname and avatar

When you arrive at doodlz.app you will see the home screen. Before joining a game, enter a nickname in the name field — this is the name other players will see next to your avatar during the game. If you leave it blank, the game assigns you a randomly generated name automatically.

To the left of the name field is your avatar: a small pixel character. Use the arrow buttons on either side to cycle through options for body colour, eye style, and expression. The Randomise button picks a combination at random if you want a quick choice. Your avatar and nickname are saved in your browser, so they will still be there next time you visit without needing to log in.

Step 2 — Join a game

Press the green Play! button to join the next available public room. You will be placed in a room with other players automatically. If a friend has shared a room code with you, type it into the code box to the right of the Play button and press Join to enter that specific room instead.

Once you are in a room you will see the player list on the left side, the drawing canvas in the centre, and the chat panel on the right. A countdown begins when enough players are present, and the first round starts automatically.

Step 3 — The choosing phase

At the start of each turn, one player is chosen as the drawer. If it is your turn to draw, you will see a popup with three word options. Read them carefully — you have fifteen seconds to pick one. Choose the word you feel most confident drawing in under eighty seconds. Simpler, more visual words are often easier to communicate than abstract or compound words. If you do not pick within fifteen seconds, the game selects a word for you automatically.

While the drawer is choosing, every other player sees a brief waiting screen. This pause is short — just enough time to stretch your fingers and get ready to type.

Step 4 — Drawing your word

Once a word is selected, the eighty-second drawing timer begins. Your word is displayed at the top of the screen — only you can see it. Everyone else sees a row of blank dashes representing the letters. As time passes, letters are gradually revealed as hints to help guessers who are stuck.

Draw anything that communicates the word — it does not need to be a realistic or polished illustration. A few clear shapes, the right proportions, and a well-chosen colour are often enough. Players in the chat are already guessing from the first second, so every stroke you add matters immediately.

Your drawing tools are shown below the canvas. Use the pencil for freehand lines, the eraser to remove mistakes, and the fill bucket to quickly colour large areas. The four size buttons adjust how thick your brush is. The undo button removes your most recent stroke. The clear button wipes the entire canvas if you want to start over. On touch screens, pinching with two fingers adjusts brush size without lifting your drawing hand.

Step 5 — Guessing the word

When you are not the drawer, your job is to watch the canvas and type your guesses into the chat box at the bottom right as fast as possible. Type any word you think it might be and press Enter to submit. You can guess as many times as you want — there is no penalty for wrong answers, so type whatever comes to mind as the drawing develops.

When you guess correctly, the game tells you privately and your chat messages become hidden from other players so you cannot accidentally give the answer away. You will still be able to see the chat from everyone else, so you can watch how close other players are getting.

If your guess is very close to the correct word — one or two letters different — the game tells everyone in the chat that you are close, without revealing your guess. This is a useful signal both for you (keep refining) and for the drawer (they know the room is nearly there).

How scoring works

Points are awarded to both guessers and the drawer at the end of each turn.

Guessers receive between 50 and 350 points depending on how quickly they guessed. The first person to guess correctly always earns the most. Later correct guesses earn progressively less. If nobody guesses the word before the timer runs out, guessers earn nothing for that turn.

The drawer earns 50 points for every player who guesses the word correctly. If all three other players guess correctly, the drawer earns 150 bonus points on top of their regular score. A clear, legible drawing that the whole room figures out is the highest-scoring outcome for the person with the pen.

After each turn a brief results screen shows everyone how many points were earned that turn and what the total scores look like. The game then moves to the next player's drawing turn automatically.

End of game

After all three rounds are complete, a final podium screen shows the top three players with their scores. The player in first place has their avatar featured prominently. After about twelve seconds the room resets and a new game begins automatically.

Tips for guessers

Start typing immediately, even before the drawing looks like anything recognisable. Early guesses that turn out to be wrong still help you think through possibilities faster. Pay attention to the blank dashes — counting letters narrows down the options significantly. When a hint letter appears, use it. If your guess comes back as "close", try variations of the same word — plural forms, different tenses, or related words. Watch what other players type too; even wrong guesses from others can help you think laterally.

Tips for drawers

Start with the most distinctive feature of the word, not a generic shape. If the word is "lighthouse", draw the striped tower first — not a generic rectangle that could be anything. Use colour to add information quickly. If the word is "grass", making it green instantly communicates more than an uncoloured shape. When you see a close guess in the chat, add more detail around whatever feature the guesser might be focusing on. Check the drawing tips page for a full guide on technique, tool use, and strategies for the most challenging word categories.

Room codes and playing with friends

Every room has a five-character code shown at the bottom of the player list. To play with specific people, share that code with them. They enter it into the code box on the home page and press Join to land in the same room as you. Room codes remain valid as long as the room is active. Once everyone leaves a room, it closes and the code expires.

Chat rules

All chat in doodlz.app is public within the room. Keep messages suitable for all ages — the game is played by children and adults alike. You can mute any player by clicking their name in the player list. If a player is seriously disrupting the game, the votekick option allows the room to vote them out. Repeated rule-breaking can be reported using the report function on the same menu.

Now that you know how everything works, the best next step is simply to play. Return to the home page and press Play to jump into your first game. Good luck, and try not to draw a horse that looks like a table.