6 Low-Prep Reusable “PowerPoint” Games
Powerpoint games are entertaining for all ages, and they work well for small or large classes because everyone can have a chance to help their teammates answer a question. Here are some of my favorites, including a few that aren’t technically PowerPoint but work in the same way with minimal prep and only requiring the teacher to project something onto the board.
1. Jeopardy
We’ve all played jeopardy in school before. This easy-to-use free template can have you quickly whipping up a jeopardy board specific to your curriculum in no time. You can choose to create your own jeopardy board, or you can “find a jeopardy game.” Often another teacher will already have made a jeopardy board based on the topic you’re looking for, so it can truly be no prep!
Cost: Free https://jeopardylabs.com
2. Bamboozle
Bamboozle has a paying option that allows you to play lots of different games, but even if you just opt for the free version of the “basic” bamboozle game, where students are shown a question, an answer is revealed, and points are rewarded, it is fun. There are also lots of other teachers’ games available for free, so if you search for whatever topic you’re teaching, chances are that someone will have already made a game for you. You can also take some time and create your own if no one has.
Cost: Free, but if you use it a lot and want to try their other games, you can pay $4.99 or $7.99 a month to upgrade. https://www.baamboozle.com/games
3. Race to Mars
This silly game has students answering questions so that their rocket ship will move between the planets. Technically you should add your own questions to the PowerPoint before class starts, but if you don’t have time, you can just leave the blank “question” and “answer” slides and just ask the students questions out loud. This game works better with younger students, but it’s also quite funny to see older students get annoyed at the winding movements of the rockets.
Cost: Free https://games4esl.com/powerpointgames/race-games/
4. The Fun War Game
This is quite possibly mine and my students favorite PowerPoint review game. This game involves giving 15 soldiers to two teams by drawing them on the board, and then having students answer questions, choose a number on the PowerPoint, and seeing whose soldiers are going to die. It might seem grim, but the funny sound effects in this game really push it over the edge and kids love it. This game typically lasts 20 minutes, but there are multiple game boards, so it can be played over and over.
Cost: $3.50 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Fun-War-Game-3015334?st=c1c691755c7ca1f1af6158494a4dfd74
I’ve already described how to play a free version in my description of The Bomb/Typhoon Game here.
5. Typhoon Game
This game is not to be confused with what most teachers typically think of as Typhoon. This game doesn’t have bombs, poison, or anything else. It’s just a board with different points under each number, but occasionally students will choose a typhoon that wipes out all their points. Due to the chaotic nature of this game, it’s quite good for different ability levels. Even if one team is better at answering questions, they still might lose by choosing typhoons or boxes with low point scores. With multiple game boards to choose from, it can be reused over and over.
Cost: $3.50 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Typhoon-Powerpoint-Game-3026538
6. Online Board Game
If you’ve never checked out LearnHip, an ESL game creating platform, you should. It has a bunch of fun activities that you can adapt for your classes. My favorite is an online board game. Board games are a staple for ESL classrooms, but sometimes printing multiple custom board games, getting several dice, and lots of game pieces can be a hassle. This online board game cuts the prep in half and is great for online or hybrid classes too. Ideally, you’d enter your own questions onto each of the board game steps, but if you don’t have time, you can just leave it blank and with every roll, just ask the students a review question from your book, vocabulary list, or whatever else you need to review.
Cost: Free https://learnhip.com/boardgames/create.php
