Psych Up Your Life

6 Best Classroom Games

6 Best Classroom Games that Require no Prep

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by @DavidePUYL

in , ,

It’s that time of year again. Your subjects have wrapped up, but there’s still 2 weeks to go. You need to keep these kids occupied, but you’re painfully aware you’re competing against free time. There’s no worse feeling than picking something you think will be ‘fun’ and still getting no buy-in!

I’m here to save you from this headache, with the 6 best classroom games that require no prep and are proven to work (even in rowdy classrooms).

1. Name a Country Knockout

This is the most recent activity I’ve gone with and it’s been a resounding success in all secondary school year levels. It’s the reason I decided to write this article — that’s how much I like it. The game can be found on JetPunk.com.

Having this screen visible on a projector helps the student see which countries haven’t been said yet.

You’ve probably already worked out how the game works but I’ll explain it anyway. The aim is to name as many countries as you can, that’s it. But it can be turned into a fun, engaging and sufficiently educational class game. Here’s how I do it:

How to Play:

  • Students begin standing up.
  • Go around the room, with each student naming a country (you sit at your computer entering in the countries as they are said).
  • If a student can’t name one within a reasonable time, they’re out (I allow one incorrect guess per turn).
  • The game continues until there’s one winner standing.

While I like the countries game the most, the same website has heaps of topics which can all be played in this same style.

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2. Would I Lie to You?

Based on the UK television show of the same name, this is a fantastic game for creativity, storytelling, teamwork, acting and pure laughs. I love this game because you don’t need any computers (you know what i think of them!), books or pens and it’s guaranteed to cause laughter. That’s really what we want at this time of year! Read my piece on just how valuable laughter can be.

This segment is called “This is my…” where contestants claim they know the guests and are interrogated by the opposing team to work out who is telling the truth. My version of the game is like this, but instead of a guest, we choose a story.

How to Play:

  • Choose three students to stand at the front.
  • They secretly agree on an unusual story that happened to one of them.
  • Each student tells the story to the class as if it happened to them.
  • The rest of the class asks questions to figure out who is telling the truth.
  • The class vote on who they are going to choose.

You can also play this game with one contestant at a time. It’s the same concept, but this time a single student will come to the front of the room, choose either their own story (truth) or a lie from a list on my computer.

Use my list of fake stories as your potential lies.

3. Scattergories

This classic game is made even easier with the website Swellgarfo Scattergories. No need to come up with your own lists anymore, everything you need is on the screen and it’s as simple as getting out a paper and pen and pressing go.

How to Play:

  • Divide the class into pairs or small groups (or let them play solo for maximum competition).
  • Use the website to generate categories and a random letter for each round.
  • Students must think of a word for each category that starts with the chosen letter. For example, if the letter is “B” and the category is “food,” valid answers could include “banana” or “bagel.”
  • At the end of each round, teams swap answers to score. Unique answers get bonus points!


As an added bonus, it’s always fun debating whether “chicken” counts as something you eat with your hands, or if “dog needed toilet” counts as a reason for being late, starting with D!

4. Bottle-Flip Challenge

It’s hard to argue the educational value here, but that’s not really the point. This is a proven winner, that will leave your class wanting to play again and again. It’s competitive, exciting and requires nothing but two plastic bottles and a table.

It’s a craze that has sort of come and gone, but the students still love it.

How to Play:

  • Divide the class into two teams. I like to select captains and let them choose for an added competitive aspect.
  • Each team lines up behind a table with a bottle on it, filled with water to the level of their choice.
  • The first person in each team attempts to flip the bottle until they are successful and then they leave the line.
  • The first team to have all successfully flipped their bottle, wins.

It’s active, fast-paced, competitive and often comes down to the wire!

5. The Great Debate

I love anything that gets the students showing some passion. So, if it takes putting them up against each other to debate contentious issues, then that’s what I’ll do.

Nothing gets the blood flowing like a good old face-off.

How to Play:

  • Set up the room so the two teams can sit and face each other (allow space for an ‘undecided’ group to observe)
  • Introduce the debate topic and ask students to sit on either the agree or disagree side. (use my list to get you started)
  • The debate begins with one student on each side stating their position
  • From here, the sides take turns making their case and responding to the opposition (one speaker at a time)
  • Use your own judgement to determine when to wrap it up.
  • Undecided participants will vote to decide the winner of the debate.
  • Introduce next topic. Repeat.

I like saving this one for the end of the year, so that any bust-ups have the entire summer holidays to blow over!

6. What’s that Song?

Music is always a great mood booster and this game does just that. It’s a simple concept and this Youtube channel makes it super easy to run. Just don’t be offended when the students inevitably call your favourites from the early 2000s, “so old.”

This channel has many different quizzes so make sure you pick one that your class will know and like, even let them choose.

How to Play:

  • Divide the class into 2-4 teams.
  • Students need to buzz in if they know the song.
  • 3 points are given for correct artist AND song, 1 point if just the artist OR song.
  • If a team buzzes in but doesn’t get both the artist and the song, another team can steal for 3 points.
  • You will need to be ready to pause the video to allow guesses to be made.

The scoring system can unnecessarily complicate this game. I’ve found that the students enjoy playing it so much, that they forget about the scores pretty quickly. See how it goes in your class and adjust accordingly.

Final Thoughts

These are the 6 best classroom games that you can play when you’ve forgotten to plan anything or bring in any resources. They’re simple to learn, easy to run and fun to play.

While these are my 6 favourites, I would love to hear what your go-to games are. Jump on X (@DavidePUYL) and be part of the conversation.

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