Word game for adults

FAQ: Word games

Here are some frequently asked questions about fun word games.

What are some fun word games for adults in English?

Some fun word games for adults in English include The Alliteration Game, Random Word Game, and The Word Spell.

How do you play word games as an adult?

To play word games as an adult, choose fun verbal games that test and challenge your spelling, vocabulary, and language skills. Choose a group of friends or teammates to play with and ensure that you have a fair point system to select winners easily. It is also essential to have plenty of paper and pens handy to play these games. You can play these games in person or online using the screen sharing feature, whiteboard feature or have responses sent via the chat box on your video conferencing software.

If you want to improve your writing, maybe it’s time to ditch all the writing books and podcasts and play some word games instead.

Yes, seriously! Word games and writing games are great ways to develop your vocabulary, to help you think more deeply about words, to have fun with story and structure, and to get a lot of fun out of writing.

But games can be a great way to:

• Develop your vocabulary
• Help you think more deeply about words
• Become more fluent in English (if it’s a foreign language for you)
• Invent and develop characters

… and much more.

After the list of 50 writing games, I’ve given you a top ten that I think are particularly great for kids who want to practice their writing skills. Many of the other games are suitable for children, too, so by all means try out other games as a family if you want to.

Of course, there are loads of online games (and quizzes and tools) that you can use to improve your writing skills, and I will be talking about some of the best of those. But there are also lots of tried-and-tested classic games that you can play with pen and paper, or using cards and dice … and we’ll be taking a look at those first.

5 Pen and Paper Word Games

I’ll start with the simplest games: pen and paper ones that you can play pretty much anywhere, so long as you have a pen.

All of these are suitable for children, and some (like crosswords) are enjoyed by many adults too.

#1: Hangman (2+ players)

Hangman is a classic word game for two players. One player thinks of a word and writes down dashes to represent the number of letters. The other guesses letters of the alphabet. Correct letters are inserted into the word; incorrect letters result in another segment of the “hangman” being drawn.

This is a great game for developing spelling and vocabulary. If you’re playing it with small children, you can do it without the perhaps rather unpleasant “hangman” element, and just count how many guesses each player takes!

#2: Crosswords (1 player)

A crossword is a grid of white and black squares, where each white square is one letter of a word. The words intersect. You can find crosswords in many newspapers and magazines (on all sorts of subjects), and you can buy booklets and books full of them. Some crosswords are “cryptic”: great if you like brainteasers. Others have more straightforward clues.

Crosswords are great if you want to learn new words and definitions, or (at the cryptic end of the scale) if you enjoy playing with words and language. Simple ones are suitable for fairly young children, with a little help.

#3: Word searches (1 player)

A word search has a grid (often 10×10 or more) filled with letters, and a number of words written alongside or beneath the grid. The person completing the word search needs to find those words within the grid.

Most word searches are easy enough for children, though younger children will struggle with backward and diagonal words. They’re a good way to get used to letter patterns and to improve spelling – and because word searches rely on matching letters, even children who can’t read well will be able to complete simple ones.

#4: Consequences (2+ players, ideally 4+)

This is a fun game with a group of people, as you get a wild and wacky mix of ideas. Each player writes down one line of a story and folds the paper over before passing it around the table to the next player. The very simple version we play has five lines: (1) A male name, (2) The word “met” then a female name, (3) “He said …” (4) “She said …” (5) “And then …”

Once all five stages are complete, the players open out the papers and read out the results. This can be great for sparking ideas, or as a way to encourage reluctant writers to have a go.

#5: Bulls and Cows (2 players)

This game, which can also be called “Mastermind” or “Jotto” involves one player thinking up a secret word of a set number of letters. The second player guesses a word; the first player tells them how many letters match in the right position (bulls) and how many letters are correct but in the wrong position (cows).

Our five year old loves this game, and it’s been a great way to develop her spelling and handwriting as well as logical thinking about which letters can or can’t be the correct ones after a few guesses.

10 Board and Dice Games

These are all games you can buy from Amazon (or quite probably your local toyshop). They’re fun ways to foster a love of writing within your family, or to share your enjoyment of words with your friends.

#1: Scrabble (2+ players)

A classic of word games, Scrabble is a game played with letter tiles on a board that’s marked with different squares. (Some squares provide extra points.) Letters have different points values depending on how common they are. The end result of scrabble looks like a crossword: a number of words overlapping with one another.

If you want to develop your vocabulary (particularly of obscure two-letter words…) then Scrabble is a great game to play. It’s suitable for children too, particularly in “Junior” versions.

#2: Boggle (2+ players)

This is less well known than Scrabble, but it was one I enjoyed as a child. To play Boggle, you shake a box full of dice with a letter on each side, and the dice land in the 4×4 grid at the bottom of the box. You then make as many words as you can from the resulting face-up letters.

Again, this is a good one for developing vocabulary – and it can be played by children as well as by adults. You need to write down the words you come up with, which can also be good for developing handwriting.

#3: Pass the Bomb (2+ players)

It’s very simple to play: you deal a card for the round pass a “bomb” around the table and when it goes off, the person holding it loses. Before you can pass the bomb on during your turn, you need to come up with a word that contains the letters on the card.

It’s a fun family or party game, and can work well with a wide range of ages. It’s a great way to help children think about letter patterns, too, and to develop vocabulary and spelling.

#4: Story Cubes (1+ players)

There are lots of different versions of these available, and they all work in a similar way. The open-ended game has a set of cubes that you roll to create ideas for a story that you can tell along with the other players. If you prefer, you can use them to come up with stories that you’re going to write on your own.

There are lots of different ways you can use them: as writing prompts for a school class or group, to make up a bedtime story together with your children, for getting past your own writers’ block, or almost anything you can think of.

#5: Apples to Apples (2+ players)

Apples to Apples has red cards (with the name of a person, place, thing, etc) and green cards (with two different descriptions): the player with a green card selects one of the descriptions, and others have to choose a card from their hand of red cards. The judge for that game decides which red card best matches the description.

If you want to develop your vocabulary (or your kids’), this could be a fun game to play. There are lots of expansions available, plus a “junior” version with simpler words. (If you’re playing with adults, you might also want to consider Cards Against Humanity, a decidedly not-kid-friendly game that works in a very similar way.)

#6: Letter Tycoon (2+ players)

In this game, you have a hand of 7 cards which you can use in conjunction with the 3 “community cards” to create a valuable word. It’s a more strategic game than some others, with aspects of finance (like patents and royalties) involved too – if you’re a budding tycoon, you might really enjoy it.

Because not all the game strategy depends on simply being good with words, it doesn’t matter if some players have a larger vocabulary than others. It’s suitable for children, too, so you can play it as a family game.

#7: Dabble (2+ players)

Dabble is a family-friendly game where you compete with other players to be the first to create five words (of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 letters) using your 20 tiles. It’s very simple to get the hang of … but coming up with the words might be more challenging than you expect!

If you enjoy Boggle or Scrabble, you’ll probably have fun with Dabble. It’s a great way to develop both spelling and vocabulary, and to have fun with words.

#8: Upwords (2+ players)

Upwords is like 3D Scrabble: you can stack tiles on top of other tiles to create new words. The board is smaller than a Scrabble board (and doesn’t have double and triple word score squares) so it’s not as complex as it might initially sound.

Like similar games, it’s a great one for building vocabulary and for developing your spelling. It’s suitable for kids, too, so it could be a great game for the whole family.

#9: Tapple (2+ players)

Tapple has a wheel, with most of the letters of the alphabet on it, and lots of different “topic cards” that cover 144 different categories. There are lots of different ways you can play it – the basic rules are that each player has to think of a word that fits the topic within 10 seconds, but that word can’t start with a starting letter that’s been used previously.

While small children might find it a bit too challenging or frustrating, due to the short time limit, this could be a great game for older children looking to extend their vocabulary. All the categories are suitable for kids.

#10: Last Word (2+ players)

In Last Word, players have to come up with answers to “Subject” and “Letter” combinations, racing to get the last word before the buzzer. It works a bit like a combination of “Tapple” and “Pass the Bomb”.

You can easily play it with a large group (there are tokens for up to 8 players, but you could add more without affecting the gameplay). It’s a great way to develop vocabulary and, to some extent, spelling.

5 Roleplaying Games

While my geeky tendencies have been reined in a bit since I had kids, I’ll admit I have a great fondness for roleplaying games: ones where you come up with a character (often, but by no means always in a magic-medieval setting) and play as them. These are some great ones that you might like to try.

#1: Dungeons and Dragons (3+ players)

Although you might never have played Dungeons and Dragons, I’m sure you’ve heard of this classic roleplaying game that’s been around since 1974 and is now onto is 5^th edition. It takes rather longer to get to grips with than a board or card game: to play, you need a “Dungeon Master” (essentially the storyteller of the game) and at least two players (who each control a character), plus rulebooks and a lot of different dice.

It’s a great game for developing the “big picture” aspects of writing, like the ability to construct a plot and a story (if you’re the Dungeon Master) and the skills involved with creating a character, giving them a backstory, and acting “in character” as them (if you’re one of the players).

#2: Amazing Tales (1 parent, plus 1 or 2 children)

This is a kid-friendly RPG aimed at parents who want to create a story with their child(ren). It’s like a very simple version of Dungeons and Dragons, and has straightforward but flexible rules. You can play it with a single six-sided dice – though it’s better if you have four dice (with six, eight, ten and twelve sides).

If you want to encourage your child’s creativity and have fun creating stories together, this is a wonderful game to play. The rulebook contains lots of ideas and sample settings, with suggested characters and skills … but you can come up with pretty much any scenario you like.

#3: LARP (Live Action Roleplay) (lots of players)

Over the past decade or so, LARP has become a bit more mainstream than it once was. It’s short for “Live Action Roleplay” … which basically means dressing up as your character and pretending to be them. It’s a bit like Dungeons and Dragons crossed with improv drama.

The nature of LARP is that it needs quite a lot of people, so unless you have loads of friends to rope in, you’ll want to join an organised LARP – there are lots out there, covering all sorts of different themes, from traditional fantasy ones to futuristic sci-fi ones. Some are suitable for children, but do ask event organisers about this. They won’t necessarily involve any sort of writing, but can be a great way to explore characters and dialogue.

#4: MUDs (lots of players)

MUDs, or “multi-user dungeons” have been around since the early days of networked computing in the ‘70s, and are the forerunners of games like Fortnite and World of Warcraft. They’re now distinctly retro-looking text-based online games, where players create a character and interact with other characters and the world.

Like other types of roleplaying game, they’re a great way to practice storytelling and character-development skills. They also involve a lot of writing – so they can be useful for things like vocabulary and spelling. Some are suitable for children, but as with anything online, do ensure your children know how to be safe (e.g. by not giving out their full name, address, etc).

#5: Online Forum Games / Forum Roleplaying (2+ players)

Some fan communities write collaborative fanfiction through forums (here’s an example), with different people posting little pieces as different “characters” to continue a story. These can be quite involved and complex, and they can be a great way to learn the skills of telling a long, detailed story (e.g. if you’re thinking of writing a novel).

They’ll probably appeal most to writers who are already producing fanfiction on their own, and who have a fair amount of time for the back-and-forth required for forum roleplaying. Again, if your child wants to get involved with this type of roleplaying, do make sure you monitor what they’re doing and who they’re interacting with.

10 Word Games You Can Play on Your Phone

These days, many writers are more likely to have their phone to hand than a pen and paper … and to be fair, there’s nothing wrong with that. You can easily make notes on a phone, whether by tapping them in or by recording them. If you find yourself with a bit of time on your hands, why not try one of these writing-related games?

Note: all of these are free to download, but most allow in-app purchases, and you may find you need to make a purchase to get the most out of them.

#1: Bonza Word Puzzle

This game is a bit like a deconstructed crossword: you get bits of the puzzle and you drag them together to form words that will all match with the clue. If you’re a fan of crosswords and want something a bit different, you might just love it.

It’s a great way to think hard about letter patterns and how words are put together, so it might be a good game for older children who’re looking to develop their spelling and vocabulary, too.

#2: Dropwords 2

Dropwords 2 (a rewrite of the original Dropwords) is a word-finding puzzle where letters drop from the top of the screen: if you remember Tetris, you’ll get the idea. It’s a bit like Scrabble or Boggle, and you have to race the clock to make letters out of the words on the screen.

With six different modes (“normall”, “lightning”, “relax”, etc), it’s suitable for children and for people who are learning English, as well as for those wanting to really challenge their vocabulary skills.

#3: Spellspire

Spellspire is a fantasy-style game where you select letters from a grid to create words: the longer the word, the bigger the blast from your magic wand! You can kill monsters, buy better equipment, and make your way to the top of the Spellspire.

If your kids aren’t very motivated to practice their spelling, this could be a great game for them. (Or, let’s face it, for you!) You can also choose to play it against your Facebook friends, adding a competitive element.

#4: TypeShift

This is a relatively simple game that lets you create words from letters arranged on different dials. There are a couple of different ways you can play: by trying to use all the letters on the dials at least once to create words, or by tackling the “Clue Puzzles”, which are a bit like crossword clues.

Again, if you want to develop your spelling and vocabulary, this is a straightforward game that you can use to do so. You can buy extra puzzle packs at a fairly reasonable price, if you find that you want to play it a lot.

#5: Wordalot

This crossword app uses pictures rather than written clues, which is a fun twist. You can use coins to get hints (you can earn these through the game, or purchase them with real money).

If you enjoy doing crosswords but want something a bit different, give this one a try. You might find that as well as helping you develop your spelling and vocabulary, it’s a great way to develop your lateral thinking as you puzzle out the clues.

#6: WordBrain

This game is another one where you have to find hidden, scrambled words within a grid. There are loads of different levels (1180!) and so this could keep you busy for a long time. You can purchase hints – this could potentially see you clocking up quite a spend, though.

All the words are appropriate for children (though some are tricky to spell), so your kids might well enjoy this game too, as a way to develop their spelling and vocabulary.

#7: Ruzzle

Ruzzle works like Boggle, with a 4×4 grid of letters that you use to make words (the letters must be adjacent to one another). You can play it against friends, or simply against random players.

Like the other apps we’ve looked at, it’s a good one for developing your vocabulary and spelling. Some players said it included too many ads, so this is something to be aware of if you plan to use the free version rather than upgrading.

#8: WordWhizzle Search

This is a word search type game with loads of different levels to play. If you enjoy word searches, it’s a great way to carry lots around in your pocket! You can play it alone or with Facebook friends. It’s easy to get to grips with, but the levels get increasingly tricky, so you’re unlikely to get bored quickly.

As with other apps, this is a great one for developing your spelling and vocabulary. Each level has a particular description (words should match with this), so you have to avoid any “decoy” words that don’t match.

#9: 7 Little Words

This game works a bit like a crossword: each puzzle has seven clues, seven mystery words, and 20 tiles that include groups of letters. You need to solve the clues and rearrange the letter types so you can create the answers to the mystery words – so it’s also a bit like an anagram.

There are five different difficulty levels (“easy” to “impossible”) and each game is quick to play, so this could be a good one for kids too. Again, it’s a great way to develop vocabulary and spelling.

#10: Words With Friends

This classic word-building game is hugely popular, and you can play against your Facebook or Twitter friends, or against a random opponent. It works just like Scrabble, where you have seven letter tiles and add them to a board.

You can chat with the opponent in a chat window, so do be aware of this if you’re allowing your kids to play. The game is a great way to develop vocabulary and spelling, and you can play it fairly casually because there’s no time limit on your moves.

10 Word Games You Can Play in Your Browser

What if you want a writing-related game you can play while taking a break at your computer? All of these are games that you can play in your browser: some involve a lot of writing and are essentially story-telling apps, whereas others are essentially digital versions of traditional pen and paper games.

Unless otherwise noted, these games are free. With some free browser games, you’ll see a lot of ads. If this annoys you, or if you’re concerned that the ads may be unsuitable for your children, you may want to opt for premium games instead.

#1: Wild West Hangman

This is a digital version of Hangman, which we covered above. You choose a category for words (e.g. “Countries” or “Fruits And Vegetables”) and then you play it just like regular Hangman.

It’s simple enough for children – but it only takes six wrong guesses for your cowboy to be hanged, too, so it could get frustrating for younger children.

#2: Word Wipe

In Word Wipe, you swipe adjacent tiles (including diagonals) to create words, a bit like in Boggle. The tiles fall down a 10×10 grid (moving into the blank spaces you’ve created when your word disappears from the grid) – your aim is to clear whole rows of the grid.

Since the easiest words to create are short, simple ones, this is a great game for children or for adults who want to get better at spelling.

#3: Sheffer Crossword

As you might expect, this is a crossword game! There’s a different free puzzle each day, and you can choose from puzzles from the past couple of weeks. It looks very much like a traditional crossword, and you simply click on a clue then type in your answer.

The clues are straightforward rather than cryptic, though probably not easy enough to make this a good app for children or for English learners. If you’re a fan of crosswords, this will definitely be a great way to develop your vocabulary, though.

#4: Twine

Twine is a bit different from some of the other games we’ve looked at: it’s a tool for telling interactive stories (a bit like the old “Choose Your Own Adventure” books, or a text-based adventure game). You lay out your story as different cards and create connections between them.

If you want to experiment with interactive fiction, this is a simple, code-free to get started – as reviewer Kitty Horrorshow puts it, “if you can type words and occasionally put brackets around some of those words, you can make a Twine game”. It’s a great way to deepen your understanding of story, plot and narrative.

#5: Storium

Like Twine, Storium is designed to help you tell stories … but these stories are written in collaboration with others. (There’s a great review, with screenshots, here on GeekMom.) You can either join a story as a character within it, or you can narrate a story – so this is a great game for building lots of different big-picture fiction-writing skills.

It’s suitable for teens, but probably involves a bit too much writing for younger children. If you’d like to write fiction but the idea of creating a whole novel on your own seems a bit overwhelming, or if you enjoy roleplaying-type games (like Dungeons and Dragons), then you might just love Storium.

#6: Words for Evil

This game combines a fantasy RPG setting (where you fight monsters, get loot, gain levels and so on), with word games to play along the way. It could be a good way to encourage a reluctant young teen writer to have fun playing with words – or you might simply enjoy playing it yourself.

The word games work in a very similar way to Word Wipe, so if you found that game frustrating, then Words for Evil probably isn’t for you!

#7: First Draft of the Revolution

This game is an interactive story, told in the form of letters (epistolary). It comes at writing from a much more literary angle than many of the other games, and if you’ve studied English literature or creative writing, or if you teach writing, then you might find it particularly interesting.

The graphics are gorgeous – playing the game is like turning the pages of a book. To play First Draft of the Revolution, you make choices about how to rewrite the main character (Juliette’s) draft letters – helping you gain insight into the process of drafting and redrafting, as well as affecting the ongoing story.

#8: Writing Challenge

Writing Challenge can be used alone or with friends, creating a collaborative story by racing against the clock. You can use it as an app on your phone, as well as on your computer, so you can add to your stories at any time.

If you struggle to stay motivated when you’re writing, then Writing Challenge could be a great way to gamify your writing life – and potentially to create collaborative works of fiction.

#9: Plot Generator

Plot Generator works a bit like Mad Libs: you select a particular type of story (e.g. short story, movie script, fairytale) then enter a bunch of words as prompted. The website creates the finished piece for you. There are also options for story ideas (essentially writing prompts), character generators, and much more on the site.

If you’re stuck for an idea, or just want to play around a bit, Plot Generator could be a lot of fun. Some of the options, like Fairy Tale, are great to use with young children – others may not be so suitable, so do vet the different options first.

#10: The Novelist ($9.99)

The Novelist follows the life of Dan Kaplan, a struggling novelist who’s also trying to be a good husband and father. You can make choices about what Dan should do to reach his goals in different areas of his life – and the decisions you make affect what happens next in the game. You are a “ghost” in the house, learning about and influencing the characters.

While there’s not any actual writing involved in the game, it could be a thought-provoking way to explore how writing fits into your own life.

10 Games to Help You Learn to Type

Typing might seem like an odd thing to include on a list of writing games. But so much of writing involves being able to type – and if you’re a slow typist, you’ll find that your fingers can’t keep up with your brain! While most people find that their typing does naturally improve with practice, these games are all quick ways for you (or your kids) to get that practice in a fun way.

Obviously, all of these games should help to improve typing skills: those which involve whole words may also help with spelling and vocabulary. Unless otherwise mentioned, they’re free.

#1: Dance Mat Typing

This game is designed to teach children touch type (type without looking at the keyboard). It starts off with Level 1, teaching you the “home row” (middle row) keys on the keyboard. Other letters are gradually added in as the game progresses.

It’s very much aimed at kids, so teens and adults may find the animated talking goat a bit annoying or patronising! Unlike many other free games, though, it doesn’t include ads.

#2: Spider Typer

This typing game took a while to load for me: you too many find it’s a bit slow. In the game, you type the letters that appear on chameleons that are trying to catch a spider (the chameleons disappear when you hit their letter). The spider keeps rising up into a tree, and if it safely gets there, you move on to the next level.

It’s suitable for kids, and starts off very easy with just letters: if you set it to a harder difficulty, you need to type whole words.

#3: NitroType

This is a competitive typing game where you race a car against friends (or total strangers) by typing the text at the bottom of the screen. It’s a good one for practicing typing whole sentences, including punctuation – not just typing letters or words.

Older children might enjoy it, and any adults with a strong competitive streak! You can compete as a “guest racer”, or you can create an account and login so you can level up and gain rewards like a better car.

#4: TypeRacer

TypeRacer is similar to NitroType: you control a racing car and the faster you type, the faster your car moves. You can practice on your own, enter a typing race, or race against your friends if you prefer.

If you create an account and login, other users can see your username, score, average speed and so on – and they can also send you messages. This could potentially open you up to receiving spam or unwanted communications, so do be aware of this, particularly if you’re allowing your child to play.

#5: The Typing of the Ghosts             

In this game, you destroy ghosts by typing the word on them. The graphics are pretty rudimentary, though it is a free game and a good way to practice quickly typing words. It’s suitable for children, and the sound effects (there’s a noise for every letterstroke) may appeal to kids.

You don’t need to create an account or login: you can simply start playing straight away.

#6: Typing Chef

In this game, you type cooking-related words (usually types of equipment). It involves single words and a few double words with a space between at the early levels.

There’s nothing particularly unusual about this game compared with others, though it wasn’t so ad-heavy as some and doesn’t require any registration. It’s good for teaching words and phrases, but not for helping you to learn to type whole sentences.

#7: TypeTastic

This is a fun typing game aimed at young kids, so it starts with the fundamentals. You start by building a keyboard from letter blocks, then learn how to spot letters on the keyboard quickly before learning where those letters are located.

Teachers or parents might be interested in reading about why the game starts with mapping the keyboard. The interface and graphics are pretty good, given that it’s a free game, and it’s designed specifically with young children in mind.

#8: Typer Shark! Delux

This is a free typing game, where you’re a diver exploring the seas. You can choose from different difficulty levels, and – in a mechanic that’s probably by now quite familiar if you’ve played any of the other typing games – you get rid of creatures like sharks by typing the word written on them.

Again, this can help you with your typing speed and accuracy. I found it was a bit slow to load, but it’s not full of ads like some other games.

#9: Typing Attack

In this game, you’re a spaceship, facing enemy spaceships – each with a word written on them. I expect you can guess what you need to do: type the word correctly to destroy the spaceship. Some words are shorter, some longer, and as with other games, there are multiple difficulty settings.

You’ll need to watch an ad before the game loads, which can be annoying, and means that it isn’t necessarily suitable for children.

#10: The Typing of the Dead: Overkill ($14.99)

This game is definitely aimed at adults rather than kids, because it’s a bit gory. It also costs $14.99, so it’s probably one that’ll suit you best if you’re really keen to improve your typing speed – perhaps you do transcription, for instance, or you’re a freelance writer.

To play the game, you type the words that appear in front of the enemies and monsters: each type you type a letter correctly, you send a bullet at them. If you like horror games and films, it could be a fun way to learn to type faster – but it won’t necessarily improve your accuracy with whole sentences.

10 Word Games that Are Particularly Suited to Kids

While I’ve tried to indicate above whether or not the games are suitable for kids, I wanted to list the ten that I’d particularly recommend if you want to help your children get a great start as budding writers.

Several of these are games I play with my five-year-old already; others are games I’m really looking forward to using with her and my son as they get older. I won’t repeat the full descriptions: just scroll back up if you want those.

#1: Word searches (pen and paper) – you can buy whole books of these, or print off free ones. Older kids might have fun creating their own for their friends or siblings.

#2: Bulls and Cows (pen and paper) – you can play this with just a pen and paper (or if you’ve got a really good memory, with nothing at all).

#3: Boggle (board game) – this is simple enough for quite young children to get the hang of it: my five-year-old enjoys playing it with her Granny.

#4: Story Cubes (dice game) – your child can use these on their own to come up with ideas for a story, or you could use them with a group of children – e.g. in a classroom or as part of a club.

#5: Amazing Tales (roleplaying) – this child-friendly RPG is a great way to introduce big-picture storytelling skills, particularly developing a character.

#6: Spellspire (phone app) – a fun spelling/word-creation game your child can play on your phone (and probably a bit more educational than yet another game of Angry Birds).

#7: Wild West Hangman (browser game) – if your child likes hangman but you don’t always have the time to play it with them, this is a good alternative.

#8: First Draft of the Revolution (browser game) – if your teen is interested in writing and/or the French revolution, they might really enjoy this intriguing game based around redrafting letters.

#9: Dance Mat Typing (typing game) – this game from the BBC is high-quality, and designed to appeal to young children. It teaches good typing practice from the start, by explaining correct finger placement on the keys.

#10: TypeTastic – this is another typing game aimed at young children, and this one starts with putting together a keyboard – a great place to begin.

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Do you have any favourite writing games – of any type? Share them with us in the comments.

What are your methods for teaching vocabulary?

Drills? Flashcards? Yuck! Boring!

While these can certainly be effective, they can be a quick way to lose your student’s attention if you spend too much time on them in a class.

So what can you do then? The answer?

Play some fun ESL vocabulary games with them!

In this huge listicle, you’ll find 17 great ESL vocabulary game ideas (suitable for adults, teens, and kids) with detailed instructions to include in your lessons.

Games are a great way to get your students to engage and use the language without fighting for their attention every few minutes.

Well, that’s great for children I hear you saying, but what about adults?

Well, as surprising as it may sound… Adults enjoy having fun too!

In fact, a number of the games here are what adults often play while socializing with friends or family anyway so they may already be familiar with them in the native language.

That being said, while some of these vocabulary games can be great for adults, this isn’t the case for all of them.

Some games on this list can be a little silly and adult students would most likely feel more than a little patronized if they were to play them. The same could be said for some games which may be too “boring” for children.

For that reason, this list also has information about the appropriate target student. It mentions:

• student level (from beginner to advanced)
• type of lesson (group and/or one-to-one)
• student type (children and/or adults)

Make sure to read each game carefully before trying it in your class. Make a note of any realia/resources you may need and if possible practise how you will run the class so there aren’t any surprises in the classroom! Let’s get started.

1. Whispers

• Student level: Pre-Intermediate to Advanced
• Type of lesson: Group
• Student type: Children & Adults

The idea of “whispers” is to get a message from one end of a line of people to the other. To start: –

1. Person 1 needs to whisper a message to person 2 (without anyone else hearing)
2. Person 2 then needs to whisper the message to person 3 etc until we reach the end of the line.

This game can get difficult because some mistakes creep into the message which can lead to a message which is vastly different at the end than it is at the start.

Once the message reaches the end, the final person reveals what they think it is. This often results in hilarity!

This game trains the students to be able to understand messages in situations that aren’t so clear. It also trains them to try to understand a sentence using context. As long as the students can form sentences then they will be ok with this game.

2. Describe It

• Student level: Intermediate to Advanced
• Type of lesson: Group or Individual
• Student type: Adults

With “describe it” the idea is to give a student a word. This can be anything you want really but nouns and verbs are going to be easier than things like adverbs and prepositions. Once the student has their word, they then have to describe it without using the word itself!

Whoever manages to guess this correctly then gets to go next and you can keep going until everyone in the class has had a turn.

The benefit of this game is that it forces students to use synonyms/antonyms that they might not use usually. It also helps them to develop the skill of using the language to try to express something even if they don’t have that particular word in their vocabulary.

This game is a little more difficult than the others and is better suited to intermediate to advanced learners. Coupled with the fact that you may lose some attention from children, this is better aimed at adults.

3. Tongue Twisters

• Student level: Pre-Intermediate to Advanced
• Type of lesson: Group or Individual
• Student type: Children & Adults

Tongue twisters are a fun way to practise new vocabulary!

In case you don’t already know what they are; A tongue twister is a sentence (or several) that is very difficult to say (usually due to a sequence of similar sounds).

An example of this would be “she sells seashells by the seashore”.

These are both great fun and extremely useful as they can be used to train pronunciation for new vocabulary. They are effective with adult students but due to their silliness, it’s no surprise that kids love them!

While there are already plenty of tongue twisters out there, you will likely have to create your own, specific to the vocabulary you are learning. (hint – don’t try to cram all of the TL into one sentence, pick one new word for each tongue twister.)

To add a more competitive element to it, (besides just saying the sentence without mistakes) you can time the students and get them to try to go faster and faster each time!

4. I went to the supermarket…

• Student level: Beginner to Advanced
• Type of lesson: Group
• Student type: Children & Adults

This game is a great one to flex those memory muscles! It goes something like this:

1. Create a circle of students.
2. Student 1 starts by saying “I went to the supermarket and I bought [some bread].” (this [ ] can be anything they choose.)
3. Student 2 then says “I went to the supermarket and I bought some bread and [an apple].” (They have to say what the previous student said but then they choose a new object for themselves.)
4. Student 3 then says “I went to the supermarket and I bought some bread, an apple and [some cheese].”
5. You then continue around the circle with the students adding more and more items until somebody isn’t able to remember all of the list.

You can choose to either reset the game once the list can’t be remembered or… for a more competitive element you can choose to reset the list minus the student who couldn’t remember. You can then repeat this until there is a “definite winner”.

As this game is more to do with memory and doesn’t necessarily involve complex vocabulary, it is suitable for students of all ages and levels.

5. I Spy

• Student level: Beginner to Pre-Intermediate
• Type of lesson: Group or Individual
• Student type: Children

“I spy with my little eye…” If you didn’t play this as a child then you missed out! But fear not, you have a chance to catch up with this fun game now.

1. Student 1 first picks an object in the room (without saying what it is). For example, maybe they see a “clock”.
2. They then have to say the phrase “I spy with my little eye, something beginning with…” and say the first letter of the word [c].
3. The other students have to guess what it is and whoever is correct becomes the next person to play.

Keep going until everyone has had a turn to play. This game can be fairly simple if there are common words such as “pen”, “book” etc.

However, if you really want to bring more of a challenge, then bring some props with you or load up an image on a projector with many items.

This game is good when learning basic vocabulary and is better suited to beginners and more specifically children.

6. Word Association

Student level: Pre-Intermediate to Advanced
Type of lesson: Group or Individual
Student type: Children & Adults

This one is great to stimulate some creativity. It is also a very simple idea.

1. Student 1 says a word. It can be anything but for this example, we will say “green”
2. Student 2 says a word that is related to Student 1’s word. “Grass”.
3. You can then continue around the chain with each student adding a related word to what the previous person has said.

The rules are simple. You have to be able to explain why a word is related. You also can’t repeat a word that has already been said! To make this one harder you can also include a timer.

7. A-Z Categories

Student level: Pre-Intermediate to Advanced
Type of lesson: Group or Individual
Student type: Children & Adults

In this game, the teacher picks a category such as (fruit, countries, languages, etc). The idea is then for the students to think of something for each letter of the alphabet.

So if we picked the category “countries” then it would go like this:

1. Student 1: “America”
2. Student 2: “Belgium”
3. Student 3: “China”

You can then continue until all of the letters have been completed. Some beginners will be fine with something like “food” but some categories can be more difficult so bear this in mind when picking a topic.

You may also want to consider cultural backgrounds. “Countries” is a good topic because although they have different names in different languages, they are known by everyone. However, a topic like “bands” can become more difficult as students may want to pick their local favourites which might not be known by others.

8. Match

Student level: Beginner to Pre-Intermediate
Type of lesson: Group or Individual
Student type: Children

For this game, you need two sets of cards. The first set of cards will have pictures of various things (e.g ball, house, etc), the second set will have the vocabulary on. As you probably have guessed by now, the student’s aim is to match the pictures up with the vocabulary.

You can vary this one a bit depending on how many are playing.

1. With just one student playing you can simply time how long it takes them to match them all and then get them to try and beat that record the second time around.
2. With more students, you can divide them into two teams. Whichever team gets the most pairs wins. (You may prefer to have the teams have one student up at a time to make sure things don’t get too crazy!)

This one is for children. It works especially well with complete beginners because the explanation needed is minimal, demo the game to them and they will take to it like ducks to water!

9. Word Grab Race

Student level: Beginner to Intermediate
Type of lesson: Group
Student type: Children

To set this game up you again need a collection of cards with the vocabulary on. Mix all the cards up (while still being able to see them all.) Next, divide your students into two teams. A student from each group will have their turn first.

When the teacher says the word, the chosen student from each team has to run to the front and find the correct card with the word on from the pile. Once they have brought it back to the group both teams will then switch the active player.

This is repeated until all of the cards have been captured. The team with the most at the end wins.

To make this harder, instead of the teacher saying the word you could show a picture (on a screen) or hold up an object. This forces the students to use the vocabulary and understand what it means.

10. Hangman

Student level: Pre-Intermediate to Advanced
Type of lesson: Group or Individual
Student type: Children & Adults

Hangman takes a little bit of explaining but… once your students understand it then they will love it!

The basic point of hangman is for the students to guess a word (picked by the teacher).

They take turns guessing a letter each. If the guess is correct (the letter is in the word) then the teacher will write the letter on the board, if the guess is wrong then a part of “the hangman” is drawn.

There are 8 parts to the drawing:

1. Draw the post (an upside-down “L”).
2. Draw the head (a circle) underneath the horizontal part of the post.
3. Draw the body (a vertical line under the head).
4. Draw arm 1 (a stick from the body).
5. Draw arm 2 (another stick from the other side of the body).
6. Draw leg 1 (a stick at the bottom of the body).
7. Draw leg 2 (a stick on the other side at the bottom of the body).
8. Draw the noose (a line joining the head to the post).

The students need to guess what this word is before the picture of the hangman is complete. If they guess it correctly before the hangman is complete then they win, if not then they lose.

If you want to include the students further then whoever wins the round can have a turn at drawing the hangman in the next round.

This game is fun regardless of age, group size or ability (as difficulty can be altered by using harder or easier vocabulary).

11. Stand up / Sit Down

Student level: Beginner to Intermediate
Type of lesson: Group
Student type: Children

For this game, you will need either a board and projector or some realia. First of all, make a line of chairs with the students sat down (facing the teacher).

1. You will then show either an image or hold up an object.
2. Next, you say either the correct vocabulary or a different word.
3. If what you say and what is shown is correct then the children stand up, if not then they stay sat down.

To add a competitive angle to this you can have the ones who get it wrong lose the game and leave the round, repeat this until there is a winner. Alternatively, if everyone is very good then you could do the last student to stand up / sit down lose that round.

This game is ideal for children, they love getting involved and moving around. It is a great way to win pre-schoolers back if you find you have lost their attention part way through a class.

12. Spelling Throw

Student level: Beginner to Intermediate
Type of lesson: Group
Student type: Children

The idea of this game is to get the students to spell a word out one letter at a time, each student takes it in turns saying each letter though which is what makes it difficult.

To begin, you first need to arrange the students in a circle (either seated or standing). You will also need a ball. For this example let’s say the chosen word is “tiger”.

1. Student 1 – “t” *throws the ball to student 5
2. Student 5 – “i” *throws the ball to student 3
3. Student 3 – “g” etc

This continues until the word is complete. Again, like with the other games you could do a knockout rule where if a student gets the wrong letter then they are out of that round (repeat until there is a clear winner).

If this game is slightly too easy for the students then you can introduce a timer system where they will only get a few seconds to answer, if they don’t answer in time then they are also out.

This game is best suited to children, they will enjoy using a ball to interact with. It is also more suited to beginner levels (especially when learning how to spell.) Keep this one away from adults or advanced students unless you want to hear some patronized groans!

13. Draw It

Student level: Beginner to Intermediate
Type of lesson: Group or Individual
Student type: Children & Adults

Great fun with children and adults alike. Similar to “describe it”, the idea is for the student to express a chosen word without saying it. The difference here is that we are now drawing instead of describing.

Obviously we will need something to draw with for this. Pen and paper would work fine if we are struggling for resources but it would be better to use something bigger so it’s easier for the students to see, so try to grab a whiteboard!

Once you have a chosen student, tell them the chosen word (without anyone else hearing), they then have to draw it. The other students have to guess and the first one to get it right can then have their turn. Keep going until everyone has played at least once.

The advantage of this game over “describe it” is it can be a lot easier for beginner students to draw something than to try to think of a way to describe it in English. That being said if your students are advanced, they may benefit more from the added difficulty of “describe it”.

14. Word Search

Student level: Beginner to Advanced
Type of lesson: Individual
Student type: Children & Adults

These take a little longer to prepare but when it comes to actually playing, they are as easy as they come.

For anyone that doesn’t know what a word search is, you basically have a grid of squares. Inside each square is a letter. At first glance, it will appear as if you are staring at a giant mess of random letters. However, there are words hidden inside this mess that must be found.

Although this game could, in theory, be done in groups, it is one that is better suited towards individual students. It can be hard for some students to wait for their turn without shouting out that they’ve found one (especially true with children!).

The great thing about a word search is that they are very easy to play. Even if you use advanced vocabulary, the ability to look for a word is still the same so this game is suitable for students of all levels.

15. Synonyms

Student level: Intermediate to Advanced
Type of lesson: Group or Individual
Student type: Adults

With synonyms, the point is to give a student a word, and they have to give you a synonym for that word in return. (E.g. teacher says scalding, student says hot). For this, you will need to do some research and make sure you know some synonyms for the TL of that lesson.

A very basic idea, but we have a lot of room to work with this. Here are some things we can change:

• Add a time limit (e.g the student has 3 seconds to reply)
• Time limit for the whole group (e.g how many can the group get in 3 minutes)
• In a group, the student (who just answered) could ask the next student
• Use antonyms as well
• Have the students ask the teacher

This game is dependant on the students having at least a medium-size vocabulary so I would advise sticking to medium to advanced level students. Also, while this game is fun to an extent, it is more so for adults. Some children may lose concentration with this one so only play with them if you know you can hold their focus.

16. Shiritori

Student level: Intermediate to Advanced
Type of lesson: Group or Individual
Student type: Adults

The classic Japanese game – Shiritori! You need very little to play this game, which makes it ideal as a backup activity as well.

Simply set up the chairs in the classroom so that everyone can see and hear each other clearly. A circle arrangement is a great choice as it allows everyone to hear each other and there’s an obvious order to whose go it is.

1. Choose a student or go first yourself
2. The first person (A) says a word. This can be something that was taught in the class if you want to reinforce that. Or, if this is a backup activity then it can be any word.
3. The next person to the left (B) will then say a word that starts with the last letter of A’s word. So if A said “boat” then B could say “three”.
4. The game carries on around the circle until you reach the original student again.
5. At this point you can either end the game there or carry on if you have time.

A very basic idea but we have a lot of room to work with this. Here are some things we can change:

• Add a time limit (e.g the student has 3 seconds to reply)
• Time limit for the whole group (e.g how many can the group get in 3 minutes)
• In a group, the student (who just answered) could ask the next student
• Use antonyms as well
• Have the students ask the teacher

This game is dependent on the students having at least a medium-size vocabulary, so I would advise sticking to medium to advanced level students. Also, while this game is fun to an extent, it is more so for adults. Some children may lose concentration with this one so only play with them if you know you can hold their focus.

17. Charades

Student level: Beginner to Intermediate
Type of lesson: Group
Student type: Children & Adults

In case you haven’t played charades before, this is how to play:

1. Select a student to be “a word”, e.g. red, an apple
2. Without speaking, this student has to get the other students to guess the word.
3. They can elicit the answer by using body movements, pointing to things in the room etc. Basically anything, as long as they do not speak.
4. Whoever guesses the answer first gets to be “it” in the next round.

This is a great game for beginners as it works better with beginner vocabulary (run, sit, 4 etc.) 

Beware, you may struggle with more complex vocabulary… (try acting out the word situational!)

18. Vocab Bingo

Student level: Beginner to Intermediate
Type of lesson: Group
Student type: Children & Adults

Prepare Bingo sheets with grids and add one word to each square. Select the grid size (from 3×3 to 6×6) and the words according to the level of English of your students and the expected duration of the game.

Write all words you’ve added to the sheets on a list; maybe add some more. Call out the words in random order, and have the students mark the words when they hear it.

They can use a pen, or better: put little items on the squares. This is more fun, and you can reuse the sheets.

The first person to mark each word on his sheets wins.

You can make this ESL vocab game a bit harder: Don’t call out the exact words in the squares, but synonyms, or opposites, or any kind of related words (for example when you call “rain”, they have to mark “umbrella”).

Conclusion

So, there we have it, 18 games for you to try in your classes.

Make sure to pay attention to the suitability for each game and most importantly practise these before you get in the classroom.

Hopefully, these will also have sparked your creative juices so you will be able to think up some of your own.

Remember to keep it fun, educational and engaging!

If you want to find activities to build classroom community, you can have a look at this article.

All of us have played word games in our school days. They are exceptional for learning new words and making our vocabulary rich. But improving and enriching your vocabulary should not just be confined to childhood. 

English has a large number of words, and learning them to expand your vocabulary should be a continuous process throughout your life, even as adults! But at the same time, learning new words and amplifying your vocabulary should not seem like a task. Vocabulary learning is not only for children; it can be life long pursuit of happiness and adults can learn it too through various games available.

In this post, we will talk about how games can be pivotal for uplifting vocabulary and learning new words to sound confident, poised and sanguine.

Vocabulary games for adults: Functional or not?

Learning is important, but we all need some relaxation as well, And the key to maintaining brain health is to learn new skills in a fun way to keep yourself engaged and updated. Games for adults can be fun to keep them healthy and fit(both mentally and physically). 

Also playing Games:

• Makes you happy: It’s quite obvious that vocabulary games are fun to play with. According to studies^[1], playing games promotes a feel-good hormone in the human brain. The fun, excitement, and enthusiasm during games make your vocabulary rich and provide a good feel.

• It improves your social skills: Word games are an effective tool when played in a group. It boosts your social skills as you spend time together, with a competitive zeal, and solving some problems creates a social bond with others.

• Learning vocabulary in gaming way is a stress buster: When you play vocabulary games and engage in them, your stress goes away, and you feel stress-free and light. Games are an excellent tool to get rid of stress. To make you stress-free, games are best.

• Boosts concentration and cognitive: Sometimes, adults feel that by the time their concentration level is reducing and they are unable to memorise things. But, by playing vocabulary games, you do brain exercise. The more you play, the better your brain would perform. Games boost both your Cognitive and concentration.

• Makes vocabulary rich: This is the most obvious point: playing a vocabulary game makes your vocabulary rich with new words.

Games & grown-ups: Breaking the notion

Adults and games, what comes to your mind first when you get to hear that? The first notion that crosses your mind is that grown-ups can’t play games; it’s a child thing. Yes, playing games is important for children’s growth, yet it is also beneficial for adults. 

Games are a stress buster, adding joy and glee to life with some learning and connecting with others. It’s not late to develop your playful side as an adult. The notion that games are not for elders makes them worried about being childish. But nothing is wrong with being a little childish, children have incredible creative abilities, and they learn so many things while playing. Then why not the same thing is applicable for adults. Wouldn’t it be good to be a little childish and learn while playing games? 

Maria Kambouri^[2], in her research, states how games make a person more playful, productive, and knowledgeable. We need to break the notion and to do that, keep aside your self-consciousness and start playing games, a thing you haven’t done since the past many years, and enjoy the new pace. 

The game-based learning for grown-ups can be a source of relaxation and learning more. Playing with partners, mates, or family members is a great way to fuel your energy levels, cognitive creativity, problem-solving skills, and mental health. As an adult, allow yourself to play games, and you’ll reap oodles of benefits like health, fitness, relaxation, and knowledge at the same time.

Let’s take a look at some games adults can play that will help them to improve their vocabulary while having fun at the same time.

1. Word Dumb Charades

We all have played the game of dumb charades where we guess movies based on the actions of the player. This is a similar game, but with words! People can divide themselves into two groups to play this game. 

A good number of chits can be made with different 6-8 letter words on them. The teams can play their turn alternatively. Basically, one player from one team will come to the other team and pick up one chit and then enact the word for their team to guess.

For example, if the word on the chit says ‘facebows,’ the team member needs to enact it for their team to guess it and get a point. But the catch here is, the team needs to guess it, and spell it too! Only then would they be getting the point for the answer.

2. Be a poet

Be a poet is a fun game for adults and challenges them to craft the words on the spot to make the poetry more interesting. Select poetry from any book or the internet and provide a few words to participants to use within the poetry. Allow them some time (5 or 10 minutes for an individual or group). 

Ask them to read the poetry aloud. This game can be substantially beneficial for adults; it will boost their confidence and make their vocabulary strong. To add more fun to the game, ask other participants to show scorecards when reading his poetry.

3. Tell Me One More Name

In the game, first, you need to divide the group into a team of two. The point here is that one participant from the first team will say a word and another one from the second team has to tell one synonym for the word. Set a time limit to make the game entertaining. For example. If 1 person from team A says ‘understand’. Another team member from Team B can tell the synonym for the word, by saying ‘comprehend.’

Give them a maximum of 10 to 15 seconds to think and tell, or else the participant will be out. You can even include antonyms if you wish to change the game a bit. Rules are simple to follow, and a fixed time limit makes it more interesting. 

The teams can take alternate turns to give each other words. The team that gives the maximum answers in less time wins the game.

4. Write Many Words 

The game is ideal for all ages, and even adults can have fun while playing, alongside learning new words. Each participant has to take a sheet and a pen. They have to divide the sheet into six sections. Give each section a name, such as rivers, countries, nouns, etc. 

Allow any adult participant to say a letter, and then all the players will write one word in each section, starting with that letter. Give them points for each correct word they write on the sheet. If only a few could write correct words, give them star with double points. Finally, in the end, the person with the maximum points will be a winner.

5. Let’s Make A Chain of Words

The chain of words is suitable for adults as well as for children. The rules are pretty simple to understand and follow. One participant says a word(maybe based on some theme like food), any word is fine, whatever comes to the mind first. The next adult has to say the word starting with the last letter, what the first adult said. 

The whole group will play the same way. Here you can add the twist as well, such as the next player has to say only a word related to the first word somehow (a bit tough, but you may try). The point here is to make them think and develop some new words. If they do that, give a point for each correct answer. This game is a bit challenging but fun to play with a group.

6. Move And Learn The Vocabulary

This game is good enough if you want everyone up and keep going. Try this fun rotation game. First, you need to divide the group in exactly half so that two teams can be formed. Ask both groups to form two concentric circles facing each other. 

Give them a few flashcards (flashcards should have a picture on one side and about it on the other side). Adults of both circles can test each other turn-wise. Each participant will get the chance to play and test each other. The game will make them learn a few new words.

 7. Speak But Nobody Should Listen

Players can form a line, and the person whispers a message or word to the ear of the next person and that person has to repeat the same message to the person next to them, and so on. When the message reaches the last person, they have to tell it to the entire group. Then the first person who started the game compares the original message with the final message. Usually, errors(the changed message) occurs in whispering due to unclear way of whispering and passing the message.

This game is really interesting but can be hilarious as there is a possibility that by mistake, which would lead to a completely different word or phrase. Sometimes an entirely different phrase or word brings laughter to the group.

8. Tongue Twister

This game can be played in a group. Tongue twisters are sentences made up of a sequence of the same sounds which are a little difficult to say, but adults can play this to enhance their vocabulary. For example, use a phrase like “she sells seashells on the sea shore” or make a sentence on your own (a simple and easy one). 

You can keep changing the sentences and ask each adult from the group to tell the tongue twister one by one. They are extremely useful to learn a new word and its pronunciation. You can add one or two new words to already popular and available tongue twisters. 

 9. Draw And Tell 

Drawing is fun; everyone likes to play with pen, pencil, and colours. The idea of the game is to make adults explain the meaning of a given word through their drawing and colouring abilities. They can play the game individually. Give them a word or let a ‘lucky’ one choose a word from the ongoing theme. 

The twist here is that they all have to draw something about that word, colour it, and later explain the drawing to everyone. You’ll need paper sheets, pencils, and colours for each participant Or you can simply choose a kid’s normal whiteboard with a marker. What and why do they draw a thing? Let others ask them when a person is explaining. 

10. Ball Tossing – Keep Shouting

The game is fun to play, but it requires a little time to think about a word. It also encourages coordination between group members. Th start the game; you need a ball. Start by forming a circle, telling them a theme name, such as kitchen, and tossing the ball to the first adult. 

Then that adult has to shout a word related to the theme and throw the ball to another person. If anyone repeats the word someone already said, that person will be out of the game. You can make the game more interesting by adding a few more twists like instead of a theme; you can introduce like – you say ‘red,’ and then the next person will say a word connected with red such as ‘apple.’

Conclusion

We hope with these ten vocabulary games, adults will have a gala time, and at the same time, they will be able to enrich their vocabulary with lots of new words. Most of the games mentioned above strengthen participants’ communication skills as well. 

These games are simple and easy to play and require fewer resources. And according to your requirements, you may change any rule or add any twist to make them more interesting. Concluding this post, hoping that the game list will help adults have fun and learn.

References:

1. The University of Edinburgh. “Playing board games may help protect thinking skills in old age.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 November 2019.
2. Playing the literacy game: A case study in adult education. (2006). Maria Kambouri. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439880601022015

Teaching English to adults has its own challenges. Of course, lesson plans for ESL adults often take on demanding topics, as mature students are more interested in learning Business English or communication skills for a job interview. However, surprisingly, the challenge for adult ESL often comes not from delving into complex subjects, but from teaching simple concepts.

For both beginner and intermediate students, building vocabulary remains an an essential part of learning English. With younger students, throwing in a few animal pictures is often enough to keep them engaged in the learning process. With adults, however, a vocabulary lesson is much more likely to become dull.

Why not spice up the classroom with ESL vocabulary games to enhance the adult learning experience? Give your students a break with fun ESL games!

1. Sinking Ship

The Situation: The players in this ESL game are on a boat crossing the Atlantic on the way to the Caribbean when suddenly the boat is hit. The ship begins to sink. They all run to the lifeboat,  but there are a lot of people on deck. You can see an island in the distance. The ocean is filled with deadly sharks. However, there is only enough space for 6 people in the lifeboat. Who will they take with them in order to survive?

The Sinking Ship is one of the best games to use in ESL lessons for adult conversation. The game works through oral discussion and critical thinking, as the students contemplate the people on the boat. The Sinking Ship game pack contains a list of personas and information on character that the students have to discuss:  What are the positives and negatives of each person’s age, personality? What characteristics would they have? (calm, organized, creative etc). How would their profession benefit or harm the life on the lifeboat and the island after?

2. Codenames

The Situation: Two rival spymasters know the secret identities of 25 agents. Their teammates know the agents only by their codenames.

In Codenames, two teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first. Spymasters give one-word clues that can point to multiple words on the board. Their teammates try to guess words of the right color while avoiding those that belong to the opposing team. And everyone wants to avoid the assassin.

To customize, you can make your own set of cards to fit the level of your students. Codenames can be customized as an ESL vocabulary game, if you include new words in the cards.

3. Speaking Board Game

The Speaking Board Game is great to get to know a new group of students and assess their spoken English level. The printable board includes questions like “What does your typical day look like?,” “What did you do on your last holidays?,” and “What will you have done by 2050?” It’s one of the most versatile ESL conversation games! Want to create your own questions? Use this template to make the game your own!

      4. Spyfall

The Situation: The players pretend they’re at a certain location, like a beach, cruise ship, hotel, space station, etc. One person in the group gets a different card — a spy card instead of a location. None of the players know who does or does not know the location. Players ask each other questions — «Why are you dressed so strangely?» or «When was the last time we got a payday?» or anything else you can come up with — trying to guess who among them is the spy. The player with the spy card needs to figure out everyone else’s location without letting anyone know that she/he is the spy.

The best questions for Spyfall:

— are subtle and innocent

— do not give away clues to the spy

— allow the target to provide a subtle and innocent answer

— allow the target to answer without giving clues to the spy

— make it hard for the spy to answer without raising suspicion

Spyfall encourages adult students to work on their oral English skills, as well as critical thinking and deductive reasoning.

      5. Timeline: Inventions

The premise of Timeline: Inventions is simple: place a card from your hand into the correct position of cards forming the play area in the center of the table. This central play area grows during the game, but it is merely a line of cards ordered according to the year of occurrence of the event depicted on it. You select where you want to play a card with an event in the timeline, then flip it over to see if it’s in the correct position.

For a DIY version, if you know the hobbies or favourite subjects of your adult ESL student/s, you can create a game with a similar concept. For example, if they like history, you create a flashcard with an event (or a picture) on one side, and the name of the event and the date on the flip side. Make a hundred of these on one or more topic, and then have them debate about the correct dates of each event (such as the invention of the toothbrush!).

      6. Mafia or Werewolf

 The Situation: There is a conflict between the Mafia – the informed minority – and the Innocents – the uninformed majority. The game has two phases; the night, when the Mafia might secretly “murder” an innocent, and the “day” when Innocents vote to eliminate the suspected Mafia member. Each player has a role — policeman, citizen, etc. The game ends when all Mafia members are eliminated or there are more Mafia members than Innocents. Werewolf is a thematic alternative to Mafia — the Innocents become Villagers fighting against Werewolves. 

To optimize Mafia as a game for ESL students, the narrator tells a detailed story about what happens at night, and during the day the players accuse one another of being in the Mafia. Heated debate and suspicion make for a great adult ESL activity! 

      7. Cluedo: Who Fixed it?

The objective of Cluedo: Who Fixed it? is to find out who fixed what and using what tool. Players accomplish the task through a process of elimination that involves asking questions. Students must use specific vocabulary related to common household problems, tools and tradesmen. The ESL usefulness of this game is that is it completely adaptable. You can easily change the vocabulary to focus on another theme or topic such as common holiday problems, problems at work or shopping to name a few. This PDF contains a blank board and blank player cards so that you can simple print them off and fill in with your own vocabulary!

      8. Dixit

In Dixit, the board game of imagination and creative guesswork, the players tell a brief story based on a picture card. The players take turns playing the storyteller. As the storyteller, you select a card from your hand, play it facedown, and speak a word, phrase, or sentence represented by the picture. The others play facedown the picture card from their own hand which best represents, to them, what has been described. The cards are shuffled and revealed, and each player votes for the image that they think inspired the storyteller’s brief tale.

Dixit really gets the students using the English language — sometimes even coming up with incredible stories! The ESL students are able to express themselves in complex imaginative ways that reflect their whole thinking process.

      9. Taboo or Catch Phrase

In Taboo, one player has a card listing four words: 

The first word is secret. The aim of the game is to get the player to figure out the word. The student with the card will need to describe the word as creatively as possible until another student names it. The other three words on the card are the more obvious words that can be used to describe the secret word. They are all “taboo” and cannot be used in the student’s explanation of the secret word.

This game can be played between two teams. It can also be played between partners.

You can create your own sets of words based on the topic your ESL students are studying in class, or you can find sets in your textbook and on the Internet. The game is similar to Catch Phrase, in which a player tries to get his or her teammates to guess words using verbal clues. Both get your students engaged in learning new vocabulary, while having fun!

More ESL Games and Activities

If you liked these fun English games, you’ll love using Your Agora in the classroom. We have compiled resources for even more ESL games, including ESL games for adults online and ESL speaking activities for adults both intermediate and advanced.

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Adult ESL Teaching Resources from Real Teachers

Your Agora combines teaching material from ESL teachers all over the world, scheduling and grading tools, as well as complete customization for both you and your students, all in one platform.

Whether you teach English people in a classroom or on Zoom, you should have some engaging and entertaining exercises up your sleeve. Playing games is a necessary part of language lessons to connect previous and current topics, and make the learning process smoother. Language acquisition takes concentration, which might stress some people. We need something to encourage them to use English provoking particular knowledge at the same time.

It isn’t so easy to choose appropriate activities for teenagers or adult learners. There are fat chances that they will willingly start singing or playing «Crocodile» as children. Use fillers between important exercises and help to relax for a short time. Firstly, understand the reason of a speaking activity, what skill is supposed to be trained. Even speaking activities may base on certain directions such as reading, listening, vocabulary, and grammar. We prepared some light-hearted ideas, which are sorted in terms of training skills. You may use them teaching online and personally.

Video

Vocabulary review games for adult ESL students

One of the most difficult problems that English learners face is memorizing vocabulary. Not only is it hard to remember new collocations but also to use them freely in speaking. It takes at least 15 times to come across a new word in order to remember it. That is why ESL tutors come up with different situations, which provoke particular vocabulary. The more ways we suggest using learned words, the sooner students start producing them independently.

Most games don’t require long preparation, so you can use them at any time. Moreover, all of them are flexible, just adapt rules depending on a level and a topic. Such activities are funny enough to make students laugh and compete. They are quite popular, so it is likely that learners have already played something like that in their mother tongue.

Alias

There is a quite popular board game among teenagers and adults. You can either buy cards or find an online version. The second option is flexible because if you have an online classroom, you can do such cards on your own. For example, if you have already taught food or colors, you should make such cards with appropriate words from the previous topic.

The rules are pretty simple and fit even beginners to review new words from the last session. A student takes a card and explains the word or phrase, that he sees on it. The thing is to explain words on cards with synonyms or antonyms. Pre-Intermediate students can even describe situations, which relate to phrases. That student, who guessed the word is the next speaker.

Charades

This vocabulary game works in a different way in comparison with Alias. Give a card with a word to a student. While he is showing the word from the card, his classmates are trying to guess what he is displaying. They should pronounce all options that relate to the topic. The point is learners have to remember all words from the last lesson. In this case, they don’t need to look for synonyms or antonyms to explain the word, they have to find certain. It fits lower-level students to have fun and recall such vocabulary as animals, jobs, routine, and hobbies.

Taboo

There is a fun ESL practice, which helps to master paraphrasing. You can choose a topic such as relationship. Students take turns one by one, having cards with a word they need to explain and a taboo word, which they mustn’t pronounce during their explanation. For example, the word is «love» but you can not say «people, person» because they are taboo. It might seem difficult at the first sight, but everyone will love it. Such an exercise provokes using collocations, phrasal verbs, and even idioms. It fits perfectly everyone from Intermediate to Advanced.

Password

There is a fun activity for beginners. It reminds another game, which is called Association. Pair your students up or divide them into small groups. One representative from each team thinks of a password for his secret file and gives others a hint to guess what it is. The mission of others is to name all words, which pop in their minds in order to win. The team, which guessed most of words, is the winner. The amount of words depends on how much time you set to play.

Scattergories

It seems to look like a vocabulary mind-map. Depending on the topic that students have learned recently, you determine how many categories will be. For instance, the last lesson was devoted to animals, there are two branches of it, wild and farm animals. Divide people into two teams and assign them to write down as many words as they can to fill in each category. The rule is to play against the clock. Despite players are adults, they will have fun.

Grammar oriented ESL activities for adults

Drilling exercises are important in order to excel. However, it may lead to a problem of using it appropriately in a speech. That is why a lot of Intermediate learners get stuck. They know conditionals and even Past Perfect, but when it comes to speaking, they do everything in order to avoid these tenses. Teachers’ mission, in this case, is to show how many situations require using such grammar and help to use it changing the context. And a game helps to spark a feeling of competition. It works well, especially in groups, when people are in the process of gaining points. But if you teach individually, it looks good as well, because students have a chance to share some fun facts about their life and use their imagination.

Usually, such activities don’t imply the teacher’s comments and corrections. Just observe and take some notes, what was the most difficult in a task. After it, you may draw students’ attention to their mistakes. But don’t say names of people, who made them. When it comes to making mistakes and getting feedback, people tend to take advice to heart. We don’t want to upset them. Just highlight common mistakes and ask to explain them to each other.

Alibi

This activity fits perfectly a lot of topics such as crimes, Past Simple, and Past Continuous. You need to prepare a situation to describe what happened. There is a role-play where some students are police while others are suspects. That is a good way to train coherence and understanding. One group should brainstorm to come up with appropriate and grammatically right questions, which another group will answer. If you have no time to prepare, there are a lot of templates of this game on the Internet. It suits all levels.

Never Have I ever

There is no way you haven’t watched The Ellen show. However, we should change rules to train grammar point. Instead of providing an example of a life situation, you should assign your students to do that using Present Perfect tense. Each student has 3 attempts to keep playing. For example, the first student says what he has never done, and those people, who have done it, lose one attempt. People get out of the game when they have no attempts. Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate learners will love it. It is a kind of ice-breaker, which helps to get to know each other.

Interview Pop

Another way to check knowledge is having an interview. Ask adults to choose a person they admire. They should write down ten questions about what they would like to know about him. The advantage of this activity is flexibility. You can simplify it for Elementary students, giving hints to use question words such as what, where, why, when. Write down 3 or 4 recent grammar rules, which they learned. It means, they must use those structures to make questions. Then pair students up, and each student answers the questions he wrote, assuming the person, he was planning to interview.

Jeopardy

That is free practice, where a teacher sets the rules. You can choose 3-5 topics or tenses, which you’ve recently taught. Here you let participants choose any topic to start with. Each question or task that relates to the covered topic is worth some points. And a player answers right to get them. A person with the most amount of points will win. The more difficult question is, the more points a participant gets.

Guess who or what I am

Players should choose a favorite actor, singer, or movie character, which all classmates are likely to know. They have to question each other, one by one, in order to guess who or what the person is. They ask different yes or no questions, depending on how many grammar structures they know. The winner is the learner, who understood an imaginative personality for the least amount of questions.

Would you rather…

That is a brilliant idea on how to practice the second conditional. Provide some situations and options like, «Would you rather be a happy homeless or a miserable millionaire», or «Would you rather have a cat or a dog?» Make up any examples, depending on vocabulary knowledge of your class. They paraphrase examples using the second conditional explaining their choice. For instance, «If I were a wealthy person, I wouldn’t be miserable». Let adults speak up helping them if they need.

Conversation games for adult ESL learners

These activities are supposed to encourage students to speak paying attention to fluency rather than grammar. We know how learning rules may become boring. It takes time and effort to use tenses right in speaking. Such speech is prepared. That is why we need to provide some typical life situations, where people can demonstrate their ability to talk spontaneously and be proud of themselves. It must relate to their interests and language goals. For example, an activity to solve a conflict situation with a client fits Business English students rather than General ones.

There are different ways, where you can get relevant ideas for materials. Use social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. Also, YouTube is a wonderful tool to find original TV or game shows. When it comes to responsibilities, teachers shouldn’t interrupt a speaker in order to correct or paraphrase. The significant thing here is fluency, so, listen to a speech and take some notes, where they stumble over. Usually, it works with higher-level students, because they have enough knowledge to keep the speech going. However, it isn’t outlawed to try to conduct such things with even Elementary. It may help them to see the real meaning of the language in life.

Box of lies

That is a decent way to check whether a class speaks English without preparation. A class has a minute to describe a picture, which you prepared beforehand. However, they have an option, they can either depict an illustration precisely or lie and tell about everything they want. Whatever a player has chosen, other participants listen to him for one minute and then decide, whether he told the truth or lied. The more imaginary pictures are, the funnier the game is.

Just a minute

It is similar to the previous activity and quite popular for exam preparation courses. Teachers often use it with Advanced learners to quickly review and check two things, language fluency, and vocabulary knowledge. Imagine, you have taught health and medicine last week. Prepare some questions to check how many words a person remembers and how quickly he answers. While a student is talking for a minute, the teacher and classmates mustn’t interrupt him. You can listen to all participants, and provide feedback at the end of the activity to mention common mistakes.

Video Talk

That is a way how you can combine listening and speaking practice. Choose a relevant video on YouTube and prepare preview and discussion questions, which will make a class think of something and skip to content. Then talk about the topic using post-watching questions to check listening comprehension. Highlight keywords to help learners to come up with answers. Usually, it works with higher-level students to expand vocabulary.

Debating club

When you teach linking words, you can show your learners how it works in practice. Choose some controversial topics about money, health, environment, or love, and prepare some opposite statements for each category. For example, «money makes people happy» or «zoos should be banned». Then pair participants up and give your students cards with the assignment. One player agrees with the statement, another disagrees. Both should provide examples and explain their opinion using linking words to sound polite.

Dictation

A good way to combine many skills at once, listening, reading, and writing. Adapt it depending on the level. Choose an appropriate text and pair students up. Assign one team member to read and memorize the text to retell it to his partner. The partner is supposed to write down what he has heard. This is a kind of pronunciation game. The pair, which restore the story precisely is the winner.

Conclusion

There are great ESL ways of teaching. That is important to understand that even older students don’t mind letting their hair down. Teaching requires not only professional knowledge about grammar, reading, and writing. It implies understanding of learners’ feelings and possible mistakes. A knack for languages is a daunting and energy-consuming thing. That is our duty to make it as enjoyable as possible. Find spark and motivation in learners’ eyes to take into account and use as a game. Let your young adults show their speaking skills in a spontaneous way. While they are thinking that it is just a way to have fun, you have a chance to observe and take notes regarding their struggle and mistakes.

If you don’t feel confident to adapt a course program or conduct appropriate things when it is necessary, you should improve your teaching skills. Thanks to an online TEFL/TESOL course you have an opportunity to know how to make lesson plans easily and adapt them depending on your class. Also, you’ll get feedback about your lessons from a native speaker trainer. Go to our homepage to purchase the course at a 50% discount.

We hope you found this article useful and valuable. Remember, practice makes perfect. Use these games in your lessons as soon as possible to check students’ positive reactions. Feel free to leave comments below if you have some questions about teaching.