Top 10 Classroom Games That Actually Work
Most “classroom games” lists are written by people who have not stood in front of a class at 2:40pm on a Friday. These are ten I have actually used, ordered by how often I reach for them rather than by how clever they are.
A few things worth saying before the list. The best classroom game is usually the one that needs nothing, because the moment you need to hand out equipment you have lost the room. Six of these ten need no equipment at all. The second best is the one that ends cleanly, which is why so many of them are elimination games: a game that finishes by itself is a game you do not have to shut down.
Looking for the full list?
This is a personal ten. If you want every game in the library that qualifies, see Group Games With No Preparation.
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Heads Down Thumbs Up
Start here. Every teacher knows it and every class will play it, which makes it the safest thing to reach for with a class you have not met before. It also has the rare quality of being quiet by design rather than by enforcement, so it settles a room instead of winding it up. Runs out of steam after about fifteen minutes.
Classic classroom game where thumb taggers sneak around and tagged players must guess who got them.
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Silent Ball
The one to use when you need the room quiet and you need it now. The rule does the work for you, so you are not the one asking for silence. Be strict in the first thirty seconds and the rest of the game runs itself. Use a soft ball, not a tennis ball.
A silent passing game where any noise, dropped ball, or failed tag gets you eliminated.
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Bang
Pure reflex, no thinking, and it gets a laugh in the first round. Good for the last ten minutes of a Friday when nobody has anything left. The two players either side are the ones who get it wrong, which is the whole joke, so make sure the group is watching them and not the caller.
A Western-themed reflex game where players must duck when pointed at, and the two people beside them shoot each other. Last to call bang is out.
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Murder Winks
The best of the circle games because the deaths get progressively more theatrical and the group starts playing to each other. Works from about Year 3 up and keeps working with teenagers, which very few games do. Set the expectation on how dramatic a death is allowed to be before you start.
A circle game where a secret murderer winks people to death while a detective tries to identify them before everyone is eliminated.
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Do This Do That
Deceptively useful. It is an elimination game, so it is short, and it demands the kind of listening you actually want back in the room afterwards. Best with younger classes. Older groups will work out the pattern quickly, so speed it up rather than playing it longer.
The caller performs actions saying 'do this' and everyone copies. On 'do that', everyone must freeze. Move on 'do that' and you're out.
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Heads or Tails
The one I would pick if the whole year level is in the hall. It scales to a hundred without breaking, needs nothing, and everyone is either in or out with no scoring to track. Also doubles as a revision game if you make the statements about what you have been teaching.
A true or false elimination game. Hands on head for true, hands on bottom for false.
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1 2 3 4
Five minutes, in pairs, no equipment, works from six years old. This is the filler you use when the bell has not gone and you have run out of lesson. Nobody needs to move furniture and everybody is playing within about ten seconds.
A quick reflex game played in pairs. On '4', try to trap your partner's finger on your palm while pulling your own away.
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Drawing Whispers
The payoff is at the end when the sheets get read out, so leave time for it and do not let anyone look early. Needs paper and pens, which is why it is not higher, but it is the one students ask to play again. Keep the drawing time short or it drags.
A drawing game where each person draws what the previous person drew, passing it around the circle until the original picture is unrecognisable.
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Stomps
Physical enough to burn off energy but contained in a circle, which is a hard combination to find indoors. Watch the footwear and put a rule in about stomping near rather than on. Fifteen minutes is the limit before someone gets over-competitive.
A circle game where players take turns jumping to stomp on someone else's foot while others jump to avoid being stomped.
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Straw Towers
The only one on this list that is really a lesson in disguise. Teams, constraints, a measurable result and a genuine reason to argue about method. Worth the twenty five minutes when you want the group working together rather than just occupied.
Teams race to build the tallest freestanding tower using only straws and sticky tape.
More from the library
Browse all games- 1 Classroom Games
Heads Down Thumbs Up
Classic classroom game where thumb taggers sneak around and tagged players must guess who got them.
- 2 Classroom Games
Silent Ball
A silent passing game where any noise, dropped ball, or failed tag gets you eliminated.
- 3 Games to Play with No Resources
Bang
A Western-themed reflex game where players must duck when pointed at, and the two people beside them shoot each other. Last to call bang is out.