Classroom games
Quick games for the classroom, brain breaks and end-of-term parties.
All classroom games
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Back-to-Back Drawing
One partner describes a picture using only shapes and directions while the other, facing away, tries to draw it.
- 2+ players, make game
- 15 min
- Ages 7+
- Calm
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Categories
Pick a category and a letter, then race to name things that fit before the rhythm or the timer catches you out.
- 2+ players, think game
- 15 min
- Ages 7+
- Calm
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Freeze Dance
Everyone dances while the music plays and freezes like a statue the instant it stops. Wobble and you are out.
- 3+ players, move game
- 10 min
- Ages 3+
- Rowdy
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Hot Potato
A ball or beanbag is passed around the circle as fast as possible. Whoever holds it when the music stops is out.
- 5–25 players, move game
- 10 min
- Ages 4+
- Lively
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Marshmallow Tower
Teams have a fixed time to build the tallest free-standing tower they can from dry spaghetti and marshmallows.
- 3+ players, make game
- 20 min
- Ages 7+
- Lively
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Memory Tray
Study a tray of small objects for one minute, then write down as many as you can remember once it is covered.
- 2+ players, think game
- 10 min
- Ages 5+
- Calm
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Musical Chairs
Players circle a ring of chairs while the music plays and scramble for a seat when it stops. There is always one chair too few.
- 5–25 players, move game
- 10 min
- Ages 4+
- Rowdy
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Pin the Tail
Blindfolded and spun around, each player tries to stick a tail in the right place on a picture. Closest wins.
- 3–20 players, move game
- 15 min
- Ages 3+
- Lively
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Scavenger Hunt
Teams race to find everything on a list, hidden or in plain sight, before the time runs out.
- 2+ players, move game
- 30 min
- Ages 5+
- Lively
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Secret Santa
Everyone draws one name in secret and buys a single gift for that person, so the whole group exchanges presents for the price of one.
- 4+ players, think game
- 30 min
- Ages 6+
- Calm
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Telephone
A whispered sentence travels around the circle and comes out the other end as something else entirely.
- 6+ players, talk game
- 10 min
- Ages 5+
- Calm
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Twenty Questions
One player thinks of something and the rest have twenty yes-or-no questions to work out what it is.
- 2+ players, think game
- 10 min
- Ages 7+
- Calm
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Two Truths and a Lie
Each player makes three statements about themselves and everyone else votes on which one is false.
- 3–20 players, talk game
- 15 min
- Ages 10+
- Calm
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Wink Murder
A secret murderer picks off the circle one wink at a time while a detective tries to catch them in the act.
- 6–20 players, talk game
- 15 min
- Ages 8+
- Lively
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Would You Rather
Players choose between two equally tempting, or equally awful, options and then have to defend their choice.
- 2+ players, talk game
- 15 min
- Ages 6+
- Calm
How to choose
In a classroom the limits are noise, floor space and the bell. Look for games that need little or no equipment and can stop at any point without spoiling the result. Check the energy level on each card: a calm game suits a five-minute break at the desks, and a lively one needs the furniture moved first.
Not sure which of these fits your group? The game picker asks how many people you have, how old they are and where you are, then deals three games.