Word game for class

The acquisition of new vocabulary is essential in terms of overall language advancement. However, there is always a need to review active words from time to time in order to use them fluently in speech. Here, we will present a couple of great vocabulary revision games which will perk up every classroom. Through these games the learners will feel how fun, entertaining and effective the learning process can be.

1. Charades

Charades is a fun and cool revision game. Students need to practice their acting skills to explain the words. This game is extremely easy to organize with minimal advance preparation. The only thing to be ready for is to keep a collection of vocabulary cards for the words you have studied.

The class is divided into two teams. Each team member takes turns acting out one of the words from the vocabulary set and explains it by acting out the word. If his or her own team can’t guess the word, the opposite team gets the chance to guess it. Each right answer equals one point.

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2. Pictionary

Pictionary is also an  entertaining game to play for vocabulary review. The rules are similar to those of charades except that instead of acting out the word, it is drawn on the board.

3. Bingo

Bingo can serve as a good revision game. From my experience, most of the groups/students like playing bingo because it gives them the chance to  reflect on the words they have digested.

Students are given a blank bingo board and are asked to put the review words into the squares randomly. The teacher puts the active words in a hat or a box, takes them out one by one and defines them. If the student has a word corresponding to the definition, he crosses it out on his bingo board. When someone gets five squares in a row, they should shout, “Bingo!”

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4. A memory style

A memory style card game can be another effective way for reviewing vocabulary. It requires some preparation before the game starts. For each word to be reviewed, one card should have the target vocabulary word and another card should have the definition of the word. You also need to have a big playing grid where you put the words and their definitions face down.

Each person turns over two cards each turn trying to find a match. If the cards do not match, he turns them over again and the next person tries to find a match. If he succeeds, he keeps the cards and gets an additional turn. The player with the highest number of cards at the end of the game wins.

The game can be modified even further. If you have accumulated enough synonyms or antonyms to the target vocabulary, you can practice matching target words to their antonyms or synonyms.

5. Categories

Categories is another awesome revision game which will make students energized and empowered. What they need for the game is to draw 4-6 columns on their paper and write a category at the top of each column. Categories fit the topics covered during the course. For example, if you have covered the business topics of Marketing, Work and Leisure, Ethics, Human Resources, Travel, you write these topics as categories.

You time the students and ask them to write as many words as possible under each category. As a further modification, choose a random letter and write it on the board. Give students enough time to write down a word for each category that starts with that letter.

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6. Letter scramble

Letter scramble will make students really competitive and super fast. What you need is to take a list of words that your students have recently learned and write a scrambled version of each on the board. Students need to unscramble the words on their paper. The first one to finish deciphering all the words wins.

7. Stop the bus

Stop the bus is a cool game my students adore.  I usually divide the class into 2-3 teams. One student from each team. This student sits on a chair facing his peers. Then from behind the student in the hot seat, show the other students a word from the lesson. The other students must try to describe what the word is without saying the actual word. And the student in the hot seat must guess.

The student who guesses the word shouts out “stop the bus” and checks the word with the teacher. If correct, the team gets a point. If wrong, other teams have the chance to guess the word by writing their versions on a piece of paper and passing the papers to the teacher.

8. Puzzles

Puzzles  is another cool and easy tool to review the material in an effective way. What I like about this way of vocabulary revision is that students can work in pairs or groups while trying to find words matching the definition in the crosswords. They learn by listening to each other, cooperating to find the right answer. In this way, they both review the material and improve their teamwork skills.

Follow this link to get templates of different types of puzzles.

We also recommend watching a video with Alexei Konobeev. The speaker shared games to help your students remember new vocabulary. These games do not require special training and you can adapt them to any age and level.

We hope that all these games would serve their best to liven your vocabulary revision sessions and make them more meaningful and effective.

Which of these games have you tried? Which ones have you picked up for your next revision slot?

FAQ: Vocabulary Games

Here are answers to common questions about vocabulary games and activities.

What are vocabulary games?

Vocabulary games are word and language games you can play with students, coworkers, or family and friends. These games challenge players to hunt for words or definitions, brainstorm terms, deduce phrases based on clues, or create words under certain conditions. Language games are a great way to teach new vocabulary and help students practice recognizing and using new words. These activities are also known as “vocabulary building games” and “vocab games”, and are similar to “word games” and “letter games”.

What are some fun word games for groups?

Some fun word games for groups include Pictionary, Tree or Bob Ross, and word scrambles.

What are some online vocabulary games?

By using virtual meeting software like Zoom, you can play any word game online. Some good virtual vocabulary games include Scrabble, Scattergories, and online crossword puzzles.

What are good ESL word games?

The best ESL word games are easy to understand and play yet expand the vocabularies of participants. Good ESL word games include word association, word searches, and hangman.

What are fun ways to teach vocabulary?

Word games are one of the most fun and easy ways to teach vocabulary. While some kids get frustrated with straightforward reading or language exercises, word games disguise vocabulary lessons as a fun challenge. Plus, playing language games together is a great teamwork exercise.

Word games are an engaging way not only to practice vocabulary and spelling in class but also to hone important language skills such as defining and describing. They’re fun, too, make ideal warmers and fillers, and generally don’t require much preparation – especially if you get the students involved in setting them up. Plus, many work well as competitions and can easily be adapted to suit different ages and levels. Here are 6 easy word games for the English language classroom. Why not give them a try?

***Call my Bluff***

If you want to challenge your advanced learners, get them into teams to play this competitive word game based on a popular old-time British quiz show. Give each team a set of dictionaries and a list of words, making sure to choose vocabulary that is useful but unlikely to be familiar. Teams look up the definitions of the words on their list and then – this is where the game gets tricky – invent two alternative but plausible definitions for each one. The contest involves the teams taking turns to read out their words along with the three definitions and asking their opponents which definition is correct. Award points not only for correct answers but also for the most inventive alternative definitions. Here’s an example:

distraught – a) completely ruined   b) extremely worried   c) blown down by the wind

***Tailcatcher***

Get your younger learners into a circle and see how quickly they can play this simple spelling game without getting dizzy or confused. The first student says a word at random – let’s say, ‘cheese’ – and then the student to his or her left has to say a word beginning with the last letter of the that word – for example, ‘elephant’. The game carries on with students taking turns to say a word beginning with the last letter of the previous word – ‘elephant’, ‘tennis’, ‘stick’ and so on. If the word starts and ends in the same letter – say, ‘kick’ – then the direction reverses. Give students a time-limit to come up with a word to avoid elimination, or make things more challenging by sticking to categories, such as food, animals or sports.

***Here comes the shark! or Bang!***

Everyone knows how to play Hangman, and it works well with younger learners not only to practice spelling but also to practice the names of the letters, but why not replace the traditional gallows and prisoner set-up with something more unusual? The burning fuse on a bomb that ends the game in an explosion or a swimmer and a Jaws-like approaching shark-fin are guaranteed to amuse the students (see image). You might even let them come up with their own version.

***Half a crossword***

This is an excellent way for students to learn the all-important language skill of describing or defining something for which they lack the particular item of vocabulary. Create a crossword (there are plenty of crossword-creator sites online) and give one half of the answers to student A and the other to student B (you can prefill in the answers on the separate handouts). Rather than provide clues, the pairs of students have to work together – without showing their half of the crossword to their partner – to complete the puzzle by giving definitions of the words their partner is missing.

***Ring-ding-dong**

Here’s another game that works well with young learners and requires no preparation. Board a simple word such as ‘shoe’ and give teams of students a couple of minutes to come up with as many new words as they can from that word by changing one letter at a time. Step – stop – shop – shoe – show – chow – chop – chip etc. It’s not easy, but you can vary the rules by allowing the addition or subtraction of a letter instead of a replacement. The team with the most words wins.

***Taboo***

Here’s a well-known word game that can even be challenging for native speakers. In teams, players attempt to get a teammate to guess a particular word on a card by giving clues or definitions. The challenge is that they are forbidden from using the most obvious clues, which are laid out in a list on the card. They might have to define ‘exam’, for example, but without using the words ‘test’, ‘study’, ‘pass’, ‘fail’ or ‘grade’. It’s an excellent way to hone those skills of definition, as well as a sure-fire means of raising the volume in class. If you have teams prepare the cards for their opponents, you could even join in yourself.

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If you teach English to kids you probably know that young learners get bored easily. So, how do you get young learners interested in learning vocabulary? The best way is through fun and exciting ESL vocabulary games and activities. That’s why we put together this list of the best ESL vocabulary games to get your students excited about learning English.

For more classroom game ideas, check out our other post, 10 Fun Guessing Games for Young Learners.

1: Pass The Ball

This classic classroom game is incredibly fun and a great activity to get your students motivated and energized. It’s also a fun way to introduce or review vocabulary with students. All you need is a soft ball and some flashcards.

How To Play: 

Students will pass the ball around the class and when the music stops, the student with the ball must answer a question from the teacher. For example, if you are teaching vocabulary to do with colors, the teacher might ask ‘What color is it?’.

Another way to play is, when the music stops, the student with the ball can ask the question and all the other students must answer. This way all students get to practice the vocabulary while playing the game.

2: Line Bingo

This ESL vocabulary game is a great alternative to regular bingo. Most textbooks these days come with small picture / word cards at that back that students can use for this game. If you don’t have these cards, visit our flashcard page where you can download and print these ‘student cards’ for free.

How To Play: 

Give each student or pair of students one set of vocabulary cards. Ask them to place them in a horizontal line in any order they want. Once students have placed their cards in a line, the game can begin.

The teacher should say one of the words and if that word is on the left end or the right end of the line then students can turn that card over. If the card is in the middle of the line, students cannot turn it over.

For example, if you are teaching the present progressive / continuous tense you can ask students to shout out ‘What are you doing?’. Then the teacher can answer using one of the words on the card (e.g. ‘I am painting.’). Then students should look at their line of cards and check if ‘painting’ is on the left or right end of their line.

The first student / pair of students to turn over all their cards is the winner. To make this vocabulary game more fun, invite your students one by one to the front of the class to choose the next word.

3: Hot Seat

This simple no prep game is a great way to get students to utilize all their existing vocabulary while learning new words at the same time.

How To Play: 

To play this game, you can divide the class into 2/3 teams or you can just play as a whole class. Choose one student to sit in the ‘Hot Seat’. This is a seat at the front of the class facing the other students.

Then from behind the student in the hot seat, show the other students a word from the lesson. The other students must try to describe what the word is without saying the actual word. And the student in the hot seat must guess.

Kids absolutely love this game and it is a great way to review vocabulary that your students have learned that lesson.

4: ‘1 2 3 Go!’ Game

For this vocabulary game you can use flashcards or you can simply write the words on the board.

How To Play: 

Put the flashcards (or write the key words) on the board in a line. 6-8 words is the best. When the teacher says ‘ 1, 2, 3, Go!’ one student must jump up and shout the first word. Then another student must jump up and shout the second word. Then another student must jump up and shout the third word. And so on until all 6/8 words have been called out.

Any student can jump up and say any word at any time, but if 2 students jump up at the same time, then they lose.

This game can be played as a whole class, or if you have a large class, divide the class into teams.

5: Matching Games

These PowerPoint Games will test your students’ memories. Matching games are simple to make and great for reviewing vocabulary.

How To Play: 

Divide the class into 2 teams. The aim of the game is to find two matching words / pictures. The teams will take turns choosing TWO numbers. Click on the square to reveal the word beneath. If the two words are the same, then that team gets a point. If they are different then click on red circle to hide the word again.

The game becomes more and more fun as it progresses because students start to remember where they saw the words. Download ready to use matching games and a blank template here.

6: The 4 Corner Game

This no prep classroom game is great to review vocabulary and as a listening activity.

How To Play: 

Assign a word to the 4 corners of the classroom. Then, choose one student to come to the front and close their eyes. Then the other students have 5 seconds to move to one of the corners of the classroom. After the time is up, the student at the front will choose one of the words while keeping his/her eyes closed. The students standing in the corner with assigned with that word are out, and must sit down.

The game continues like this until one student is left. That student is the winner, and can be the next student to come to the front and close their eyes.

TIP: Many students moving around the class can be quite dangerous. For safety, instruct students not to run and make sure there are no bags, coats, books, etc, on the floor that the student can trip on.

7: Printable Board Games

Printable board games are easy to prepare and a great way to get kids talking using the vocabulary from that lesson. Download many printable board games and board game templates, and find detailed instructions on how to play them, here.

8: Hangman

If you’re not familiar with hangman, its a game where the teacher would think of a word and then draw a line for each letter of that word. Then students must try to guess what the word is by guessing letters of the alphabet.

In the traditional hangman game, if students guess wrong too many times, then the teacher would draw a man hanging from his neck on the board. Even though it is just a stick figure drawing, the idea seems quite gruesome and maybe not appropriate for children. That is why we made a fun alternative to hangman, ‘Save The Teacher’.

How To Play: 

Think of a word and draw lines on the board corresponding to the letters in that word. Then ask students to guess letters of the alphabet to try to guess what the word is.

If students guess wrong, play the video and the fuse will get closer to the rocket. Pause when you see the pause sign and ask students to guess again. If students guess wrong too many times, then the rocket and the teacher will blast off into space.

Don’t worry, at the end of the video the teacher is okay and just went for a fun ride.

9: Hidden Picture Games

These PowerPoint games are easy to make and a great way to introduce or review vocabulary. Download ready made hidden picture games and an editable template here.

How To Play: 

Click on the color shapes to make them disappear. As the shapes disappear the picture beneath is slowly revealed. When students are ready to guess what it is, they should raise their hand and guess while using the target language.

For example, if you are teaching vocabulary about animals, when the student guesses they should say ‘Is it an (elephant)?.

10: Whisper Game

This is a very fun classroom game and all you need is a board and chalk / a pen.

How To Play: 

Write many words from the lesson on the board (at least 10). Then divide the class into two teams and ask them to make two lines in front of the board. Give the student at the front of each line a board eraser.

Next, the teacher should whisper one of the words to the students at the back of the lines. Then those students should quickly whisper the word to the next student in line, and then that student should whisper to the next student, and so on down the line.

When the word is whispered to the student at the front of the line, he/she should quickly run to the board and erase that word. The quickest one to erase that word wins a point for their team. Then change the student at the front and play again.

Learning new words can help with the cognitive development of a child. Learning new vocabulary impacts different areas of the brain, leading to a sharp memory. But simple dictation or word cramming will not help kids. Instead, you must play fun vocabulary games with your class to teach them a new word in an engaging manner. 

A study published by the American Psychological Association shows that games in learning improve children’s participation, emotional involvement, and social skills. Thus, by hosting classroom vocabulary games, you can better develop your students’ language skills. 

This guide will walk you through fifteen simple educational games you can play in class without hassle to improve kids’ vocabulary.

Looking for more online Math games and ELA games to educate and engage your kids? Here are more games to check out!

15 Best Vocabulary Games for Kids (Fun and Educational)

Are you planning to organize a small word game competition in your classroom? Then, you have so many great vocabulary games online (and offline options) to entertain and educate your students. Some of the best vocabulary word games for kids, based on our research, are:

1. SplashLearn

Material Required: Computer or mobile phone

Appropriate Age: 4 to 12 years

SplashLearn is a free learning gaming platform with over 4000 games. You can download this app on your mobile phone to play quick vocabulary games with your class. The animated characters and interesting storyline help to keep students engaged in improving their vocabulary. Your students will improve their vocabulary without even realizing.

How to Play:

• Pick free reading games and ask all your students to play it.
• Students who score the highest marks or complete the level fastest will win the prize.

Rules: Give 10 minutes to play a game daily. 

Rewards: You can share the score of the best player on your school social media pages with their pictures and gameplay screenshot.

2. Checkers

Material Required: A checkerboard

Appropriate Age: 5 to 12 years

Checkers is a classic board game. However, you can reinvent checkers to improve the vocabulary skills of your students. This game can allow teachers to show students how to use words correctly. Simply download a checkerboard and give a checker sheet to each of your students.

How to Play:

• Write a word in the white block of the checker sheet. 
• Then, whenever a student moves to a white block, you can ask them a question related to the word written in the block, like its definition or usage in the sentence.

Rules: Students will lose the game after two wrong answers. 

Rewards: Stickers or badges

3. Pictionary

Material Required: Pictionary Junior cards

Appropriate Age: 5 to 10 years 

Pictionary is a common family night game, so everyone knows how to play it. However, you have to improvise a bit to use it to improve the vocabulary of your class. For this, you have to order some Pictionary Junior cards and divide your class into two groups.

How to Play:

• Call a member from each team and give them a cue from your Pictionary Junior cards. 
• Give a chalkboard or marker to draw a clue to guess the word on the chalkboard or on a sheet of white paper so the entire class can see the clues. 

Rules: If the team member guessed the word, they would get one point. If the other team member guessed the word, they would get the point. 

Rewards: 10 minutes longer lunch break. 

4. Go Fish Vocabulary

Material Required: Go Fish Vocabulary cards

Appropriate Age: 3 to 15 years

This is the perfect game if you want to organize a vocabulary game competition with other classes or grade students. You have to first get Go Fish Vocabulary cards. 

How to Play:

• Select the ten word cards matching your students’ vocabulary level. 
• Then, you can divide your class into groups and assign them cards based on the number of groups you have created. 
• The fun part is that when a student asks for the card, they don’t say the word. Instead, they define the word that the other person has to guess. 

Rules: Nobody will say the word mentioned on the card. 

Rewards: Anything you find appropriate

Related Reading: Best Educational Games for Kids by Subjects & Grades

5. Memory Cards

Material Required: Memory cards

Appropriate Age: 3 to 12 years

This is a simple card-matching game. However, instead of matching things on the cards, students must match words with their definitions. You can order word memory cards online or create appropriate ones for your students’ vocab level. 

How to Play:

• Divide your class into small groups. 
• Lay down all definition cards on a table in the center of the classroom. 
• Give a word card to each team member and ask them to find the correct definition cards from the table.

Rules: Give the students 2 minutes to match the card. 

Rewards: Anything you find appropriate 

6. Verb Charades

Material Required: Paper slips

Appropriate Age: 3 to 10 years

It is one of the greatest English vocabulary games for young students who aren’t good at writing. It is similar to Pictionary, but it has simple verbs that young children can guess faster. Besides this, it involves physical activity to keep children engaged in the game.

How to Play:

• Divide your class into groups. 
• You can either write a verb on a piece of paper or say it in a student’s ear such that no one else can hear what you have said. 
• Then, ask the student to act so that other team members can guess the verb.

Rules: No speaking while acting the word. 

Rewards: One point for the right guess 

7. Word Association

Material Required: Nothing

Appropriate Age: 3 and above

It is the best word game for classrooms. Teachers need nothing to play this game, so it is suitable to organize impromptu game sessions. 

How to Play:

• Divide your team into two groups. 
• A player from a team will say a word. 
• Other team players will respond with the word that first comes to their minds. 
• It continues until one player repeats a word or pauses too long. 

Rules: Prompt replies. 

Rewards: A whole team gets no homework for a day. 

8. Vocabulary Hangman

Material Required: Chalkboard 

Appropriate Age: 8 to 12 years

Hangman is one of the classic ESL vocabulary games you can play online using virtual whiteboards. It is a perfect game to teach difficult words to kids, like razzmatazz or shenanigans! 

How to Play:

• Give one word to a player. 
• The player has to draw a series of blanks equal to the number of letters in the word. 
• Other players guess letters. 
• The first player will fill in the blank if the letter is in the word. If not, the player draws one portion of the gallows.  

Rules: The game ends when the player guesses the word or when the picture is complete. 

Rewards: Anything you find appropriate  

9. Pyramid

Material Required: Pyramid worksheet

Appropriate Age: 6 to 14 years 

This is a game that needs multiple players to promote cooperation and strengthen your students’ vocabulary. To play this game, download the worksheet and give it to your students and get started! 

How to Play:

• Divide your class into teams. 
• One player from each team draws a pyramid and adds six categories in three rows. 
• Players with the pyramid must give clues to their teammates to guess the correct category. 

Rules: Make the game time-bound. 

Rewards: No homework for the week 

Related Reading: Best First Day of School Activities for Students

10. Synonyms

Material Required: Pen and paper 

Appropriate Age: 10 to 16 years 

This game is appropriate for older kids who know more words. It can help to test the language level of your class. 

How to Play:

• Write a word on the blackboard. 
• Give a paper and pen to your class to write similar words to the blackboard word. 

Rules: Give 5 minutes to write similar words. 

Rewards: Extra marks on the annual school test 

11. Headbanz

Material Required: Waste hairbands, sticky notes 

Appropriate Age: 4 to 8 years 

It is a DIY word game. First, you must get some hairbands and put a sticky note on them with a food item’s name. Then, you can take your class’s parents’ help to create Headbanz. 

How to Play:

Give a Headbanz to each student and make them stand in front of the class one by one. Then, a player must guess a word based on the hints given by classmates. 

Rules. No one can say the word mentioned on the hairband. 

Rewards: A player who correctly guessed the food item’s name got a chance to eat that item 

12. Basketball Vocabulary

Material Required: A ball and trash can 

Appropriate Age: 5 to 10 years 

This game can work both the brain and arm muscles of your students. It is perfect for engaging young kids. 

How to Play:

• Simply use a trash can as a basket to throw the ball. 
• Write a few words on the blackboard. 
• Allow a student to put a ball into the basket. One who scored a basket gets to select the word of his or her choice to define. Otherwise, you can give a word of your choice. 

Rules: Only chance to put a ball in the basket. 

Rewards: Anything you find appropriate 

13. Rolling Words

Material Required: A dice and word cards

Appropriate Age: 10 to 16 years 

You need to order some word cards to play this game and make it appropriate to your class’s level. Then, roll the dice to improve your students’ vocabulary. 

How to Play:

• Put all word cards face down on your table. 
• Allow each student to roll a dice and place the same number of cards face up as the number they roll on the dice. For example, 3 points on the dice would mean three cards will be turned face up. 

Rules: A player who defines maximum words wins the game. 

Rewards: A trophy 

14. Crossword

Material Required: A crossword sheet 

Appropriate Age: 10 to 15 years 

When you want to keep your class busy while you mark their test sheets, download a crossword sheet online and give it to your students.  

How to Play:

Give a crossword puzzle and pen to your students. 

Rules: Give 20 minutes to solve the puzzle. 

Rewards: Anything you find appropriate 

15. Word Search

Material Required: A word search puzzle sheet 

Appropriate Age: 8 to 15 years

Depending upon your students’ reading and writing levels, download a word search sheet online and give them each copy to find the words. 

How to Play:

You can either print a word search sheet or share it online with your students. 

Rules: Give them time to solve a sheet 

Rewards: The player who finds the most words in a month becomes the class monitor 

Related Reading: Best Puzzles For Kids Of All Ages

Why Play Fun Vocabulary Games in Your Classroom?

Playing word games in your classroom is not only entertaining, they can also improve your students’ learning, thinking, and cognitive abilities. Thus, playing vocabulary and language games in your class will have the following benefits:

1. Master a Language

The obvious benefit of playing word games is learning a language better. Through games, children learn many new words they might not ever know otherwise. 

Moreover, they can learn the correct word usage in a sentence. The rich vocabulary also allows kids to better express their thoughts in written and verbal ways.

2. Improve Spelling

Games will not only help to teach new words to your students. It can also help you improve kids’ spelling and grammar skills.

For example, games like Scrabble and doing crosswords can improve spelling. These games also help students understand the words’ real meanings and where they can use them in the real world.

3. Improve Concentration

It requires concentration to play games. So, when your students focus on finding new words in the dictionary, they will learn to focus on a task. This can help them in other parts of learning as well. 

4. Develop Cognitive Skills

Language games put your brain muscles to work. Even when playing fun games like Rolling Words, you use your brain to identify the right word to complete the sentence. 

So, when you put your students’ brains to work, it will improve their cognitive skills. They learn to process information faster and find solutions without your help. 

5. Sharpen Memory

While playing word games, students also put pressure on their memory. They must dig into their memory lane to find the right word definitions, spellings, and sentences to win the game. 

Moreover, most word games are strategic and time-bound. When a player recalls information with a clear goal, it makes it easy to organize and remember things. 

6. Healthy Competition

Games always ripple a competitive vibe. Players will not only compete with their opponents, but also compete with themselves. The competition can motivate your students to improve their vocabulary and learn new words to win classroom games.

7. Self-Satisfaction

Scoring high in word games improves the confidence level in kids. As a result, they feel more satisfied with themselves. This confidence booster can also help them grow in other academic areas.

Related Reading: Amazing Writing Prompt For Kids To Improve Confidence

Vocabulary Games For The Win!

Children enjoy playing games. When you devote time to game-based or play-based learning, your child will develop critical thinking skills, motivation, and goal-setting abilities. As they play games that improve vocabulary and literacy, their confidence will also grow. 

Want more ideas to inspire your child to enjoy learning? Then, test out SplashLearn Reading Games!The animated and fun online games will improve your students’ vocabulary skills. All the games are free, so don’t forget to try.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

When does a child begin to develop vocabulary and language skills?

Your child may know and use 20–100 meaningful words by eighteen months. Every day, you’ll notice your child using new words. Around the age of two, your child will begin to combine two words, such as “mummy car” or “me go.”

How can good vocabulary help children in life?

A large vocabulary helps with all aspects of communication, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Vocabulary is important for a child’s success for the following reasons: Vocabulary development is directly related to academic achievement. For example, in kindergarten, the size of a child’s vocabulary predicts their ability to learn to read.

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.