Academic studies usually equal boring, dull, and lame. But there are ways you can make learning fun and exciting.

For starters, you need a game that allows all students to participate. You cannot limit them. Next, choose games that involve teamwork. Even the teacher should participate in the game.

Among the many features, look for games that help students solidify their skills, especially ones you have been working on. For example, pick games that improve their vocabulary and number concepts.

Last, but not least, look for games that allow players to play in small groups and large groups. Remember that some students do not feel comfortable playing in a large setting.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some popular classroom games.

How to play:

1. Divide the class into teams of 2-4 students each.
2. Provide each team with a whiteboard and marker.
3. Choose a student or teacher to be the first “artist” on the first team.
4. The artist draws a picture related to a vocabulary word or concept being studied, while the other members of the team try to guess what it is.
5. Set a time limit, such as 1 minute, for the artist to complete the drawing and the team to guess.
6. Teams earn points for each correct answer, and the team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
7. Rotate the artist position to a different member of the team for each turn.

How to play:

1. One student is designated as “Simon” and stands at the front of the class.
2. The other students line up or stand in a designated area.
3. Simon gives commands, starting each command with the phrase “Simon says.” For example, “Simon says, touch your toes.”
4. Students must follow the command only if it starts with the phrase “Simon says.” If Simon gives a command without using the phrase “Simon says,” students must not follow it.
5. Any student who follows a command without “Simon says” must sit out for the remainder of the round.
6. The game continues until only one student remains, who then becomes Simon for the next round.

3. Printable Escape Room Kits

Printable escape rooms have soared in popularity in the past few years. And there is a big reason why. There are so many themed kits, you can find an escape room for any topic. But most importantly, these escape room games help kids and students learn more about teamwork and solving puzzles.

Nobody can win the game on its own — they need to work together as a team to solve the puzzles and “escape.” For example, Houdini’s Secret Room helps creative people experience a thrilling story with puzzles that bring the excitement to a whole new level.

And you can easily set it up in the classroom. Just think about it — you can turn your classroom into a Houdini workshop. How cool is that?

Our ready-to-play game kits

How to play:

1. Choose a vocabulary word or concept related to the subject being studied.
2. Write the word or concept on the board or write it on a piece of paper and place it in a hat.
3. Divide the class into teams of 2-4 students each.
4. Teams take turns asking “yes” or “no” questions to try to determine what the word or concept is.
5. Teams have 20 total questions to ask between them to determine the answer.
6. Points can be awarded for correct answers, and the team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

How to play:

1. Arrange chairs in a line facing the same direction, with one less chair than the number of students playing.
2. Play music, and have students walk or dance around the chairs.
3. When the music stops, students must quickly find a seat.
4. The student who does not find a seat is eliminated.
5. Remove one chair and repeat the process until only one student remains, who is the winner.

How to play:

1. Choose vocabulary words, concepts, or information related to the subject being studied.
2. Write the words or concepts on slips of paper and place them in a hat or bowl.
3. Divide the class into teams of 2-4 students each.
4. Teams take turns selecting a slip of paper and acting out the word or concept without speaking.
5. The other team members try to guess what the word or concept is.
6. Teams earn points for each correct guess, and the team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

11. Concentration

This memory game is a fan favorite in the classroom. Young kids, teenagers, older kids — they all love it. It is a challenging memory game you can use to review anything you can think of.

What is the goal? Well, students have to find matching pairs before their classmates. The team with the most pairs wins the game.

How to play:

1. Prepare cards with vocabulary words, concepts, or information related to the subject being studied.
2. Divide the cards into pairs and shuffle them.
3. Lay the cards face down on a table or the floor.
4. Divide the class into teams of 2-4 students each.
5. Teams take turns flipping over two cards, trying to find a matching pair.
6. If a match is found, the team keeps the cards and earns points.
7. If no match is found, the cards are flipped back over and the next team takes a turn.
8. The game continues until all of the pairs have been found.
9. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

12. Scattergories

Here is another educational game that will encourage students to think outside of the box. The game helps them to improve their creative thinking.

For this game, you need pieces of paper, pens, and a list of subject-specific categories. Notice a pattern? Most games can be used to improve subject-specific lessons. For example, in this vocabulary game, if Earth and Space are topics, categories include solar system, weather, and so on.

How to play:

1. Choose categories related to the subject being studied (e.g. types of animals, colors, parts of speech, etc.).
2. Write the categories on slips of paper and place them in a hat or bowl.
3. Divide the class into teams of 2-4 students each.
4. Choose a letter of the alphabet.
5. Teams have a set amount of time (e.g. 1 minute) to come up with as many words as they can that fit the categories and start with the chosen letter.
6. Points are awarded for each unique word that fits the categories.
7. Repeat the process with a different letter for each round.
8. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

How to play:

1. Choose a concept or problem related to the subject being studied.
2. Write the problem on the board or a piece of paper.
3. Divide the class into teams of 2-4 students each.
4. Each team works together to solve the problem.
5. Once a team thinks they have the solution, they write it in the form of a square on the board or paper.
6. If the solution is correct, the team draws a line around the square, separating it from the rest of the board or paper.
7. The next team then tries to solve another piece of the problem, writing their solution in another square.
8. The process continues until the entire problem is solved and the board or paper is filled with connected squares.
9. Points can be awarded for correct solutions, and the team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

14. A-to-Z Game

For this simple activity, all you need is a whiteboard and pen. Students need to think of a word for each letter that fits into a certain topic.

How to play:

1. Choose a subject or topic related to what the class is studying.
2. Write the letters A to Z on the board or a piece of paper.
3. Divide the class into teams of 2-4 students each.
4. Each team takes turns naming an item related to the subject or topic that starts with the next letter of the alphabet (e.g. “apple” for A, “book” for B, etc.).
5. If a team can’t think of an item, they are out of the game.
6. The game continues until all 26 letters have been used.
7. Points can be awarded for each item named, and the team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

How to play:

1. Divide the class into four teams.
2. Draw a large square on the floor using masking tape or chalk.
3. Assign each team a corner of the square.
4. Divide a rope into four sections, with one section going to each team.
5. Have the teams stand in their designated corners, holding their section of the rope.
6. The objective of the game is for each team to pull the rope towards their corner while the other teams resist.
7. Teams must work together to coordinate their efforts in order to successfully pull the rope towards their corner.
8. Points can be awarded for each successful pull, and the team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

How to play:

1. Provide each student or group of students with a marshmallow and a set of toothpicks.
2. Give the students a set amount of time (e.g. 10 minutes) to build the tallest, strongest structure they can using only the marshmallow and toothpicks.
3. The structure must be free-standing and must not be supported by anything other than the marshmallow and toothpicks.
4. Points can be awarded for height, strength, and creativity, and the student or group with the highest score at the end of the game wins.

20. Error Correction Relay Race

This ESL game has a lot of educational value. The goal here is to take a boring thing like error correction and turn it into something amazing. To do that, we set up a relay race.

This ESL activity uses speed and competition, but all students have to be quite familiar with finding and correcting errors in a sentence.

To prepare for this activity, create a worksheet with several errors. Focus on vocabulary errors, like misusing words in sentences.

How to play:

1. Divide the class into teams of 4-6 students each.
2. Prepare a set of sentences with grammatical errors or spelling mistakes, and write each sentence on a separate card.
3. Arrange the teams in a line, with each student standing about 10-15 feet away from the next student in their team.
4. The first student in each team is given a card with a sentence and must correct the errors or mistakes in the sentence.
5. Once the student has corrected the sentence, they must run to the next student in their team and pass the card to them.
6. The next student must then correct any remaining errors or mistakes in the sentence, and then run to the next student and pass the card.
7. This process continues until all students in a team have corrected the sentence and the last student runs to the finish line.
8. The first team to have all students complete the relay wins.

How to play:

1. Choose a subject or topic related to what the class is studying (e.g. famous people, historical events, etc.).
2. Write the names of several items related to the subject or topic on slips of paper.
3. Place the slips of paper in a hat or box, and have each student take one slip without looking at it.
4. The objective of the game is for each student to figure out who or what they are based on the clues they receive from their classmates.
5. Students can only ask yes or no questions to figure out their identity.
6. Points can be awarded for the fastest guess, and the student with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Our ready-to-play game kits