This article is about the American game show. For the version seen in the United Kingdom, see Lingo (British game show).
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| Genre | Game show |
| Created by | Ralph Andrews |
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| Original language | English |
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| Original release | September 28, 1987 – present |
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Lingo is an American television game show with multiple international adaptations. In it, contestants compete to decode five-letter words given the first letter, similarly to Jotto, with each correctly guessed word earning number draws to attempt filling in a Bingo card.
Four Lingo series have aired in the United States. The first was aired in daily syndication from September 28, 1987, until March 25, 1988, and taped at the BCTV studios in the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby, British Columbia; initially hosted by Michael Reagan, series creator Ralph Andrews took over beginning in February 1988. On August 5, 2002, Game Show Network (GSN) premiered a revival of Lingo, which was hosted by Chuck Woolery and ran for six seasons through 2007.[2] On June 6, 2011, GSN premiered a second revival hosted by comedian Bill Engvall,[1] running for one season.
On February 11, 2022, CBS announced that it had ordered a primetime revival of Lingo, with RuPaul as host and executive producer,[3][4] which premiered on January 11, 2023.[5]
Gameplay[edit]
1987 version[edit]
An example of a Lingo puzzle
Two teams of two contestants, one of them usually a returning champion, compete. To start the game, each team receives a randomly generated «Lingo» card, similar in manner to a Bingo card, with some spaces already filled in. The 1987 version started with seven spaces filled in, while all other versions start with ten.
The team is then given the first letter of a five-letter mystery word and must make attempts at guessing the word by spelling it out. To assist in figuring out the word, each letter lights up. A letter that turns red is in the mystery word and in the right place, one that is yellow is in the mystery word but in the wrong place, and one that does not light up is not in the mystery word at all. If the team did not come up with the right word on the first try, they were shown which letters were correctly-placed as well as those in the word but not correctly placed. A team has five turns in which to guess the word.
Control passes to the opposing team if the team in control either fails to make a guess before five seconds expire; makes an invalid guess (a misspelled word, a proper noun, a contraction, a hyphenate, or a word not five letters in length), or guesses incorrectly on the fifth turn. Passing control to the opposing team also reveals another letter in the word, unless doing so would fill in the word completely. If the opposing team still fails to guess, then the word is discarded and a new one generated.
After correctly guessing a word, a team draws balls from a hopper in front of them. Most of the balls contain numbers, which correspond to those on each team’s respective Lingo board. The 1987 version also featured «prize balls,» which awarded trips or cash if drawn. Also present are red balls, which if drawn, immediately forfeit control to the opposing team. Starting with the 2002 version, the red balls were known as «stoppers.» The goal of the Lingo board is to achieve five covered spaces in a row in any direction, known as a «Lingo». Doing so awarded $250 cash on the 1987 version, with the first team to complete a Lingo being declared the winner.
2002 version[edit]
Gameplay on the GSN version was largely similar to that of its 1987 counterpart, though with several changes. Unlike the 1987 version, the 2002 version used a point system, and did not feature prize balls. Each correctly guessed word awarded 25 points, while scoring a «Lingo» awarded 50 points, a new Lingo board, and a letter in the bonus round. all point values were doubled in the second round of each game. In addition, the 2002 version introduced «mystery balls» in the second round; drawing one of these allowed a team to mark off any one number on their board. The team with the most points after the second round won the game. Ties on the 2002 version were broken by revealing a seven-letter word, starting with the first and last letters then working inward one letter at a time until a team gave the correct answer.
Bonus round[edit]
No Lingo (1987 version)
The No Lingo board used the same pattern of marked numbers for each game.
The bonus round of the 1987 version had the exact opposite objective of the front game, with teams working to avoid completing a line. Before the round started, the team was shown a Lingo card with all even numbers on it. Sixteen were covered to start the round. The champions were staked with $500 to start. For each mystery word, the team was given five chances to guess and were shown the first letter and one additional letter to start. If the team guessed the word on the first try, they drew one Lingo ball; one more was drawn for each subsequent guess, with a total of seven drawn if the word was not correctly guessed by the fifth turn.
After guessing words, the team drew balls from the hopper one at a time. If a number was already covered or not on the board, it was discarded. Each turn in which a Lingo (five in a row) was not achieved doubled the cash available. At any time after a draw, the team could choose to stop and collect their cash, or attempt another draw. Should any draw make a Lingo, all cash was forfeited. The maximum payout for surviving five turns without making a Lingo was $16,000. Regardless of whether or not the team won No Lingo, they would return to compete again the next day. Should the same team return to Double Lingo for a second or third day, the cash values would become $32,000 or $64,000 respectively. Teams stayed on the show until they won three games; this was later changed to staying on until the team won four times or lost twice.
Bonus Lingo (2002 version)[edit]
The first season Bonus Lingo board.
On the 2002 version, the winning team had two minutes to guess as many five-letter mystery words as possible. Two letters were initially revealed in each word, one of which was always the first letter. If the team failed to guess a word in five tries, it was revealed and the team moved on to the next word. The team won $100 for each correctly guessed word, up to $1,000 for ten words.
A Lingo card was then revealed with thirteen numbers marked off. The hopper contained twelve balls, one for each uncovered space on the board, and the team drew a ball for each mystery word successfully guessed in the first half of Bonus Lingo. Forming a Lingo won the team a $4,000 prize package consisting of an Argus digital camera, a Borders gift card, a Croton watch and a Cassiopeia EM-500 Pocket PC plus the money earned in the first half of Bonus Lingo.[6]
From season two onward, teams were also given «bonus letters:» one for winning the game, and an additional one for each Lingo scored in the main game. Teams could elect to use a bonus letter at any time to fill in an unrevealed letter in a word, even if doing so would reveal the word. In addition, the layout of the Bonus Lingo card was changed so that twelve numbers were marked off and a Lingo could be achieved in only one draw. Doing so awarded a large prize, in seasons two and three, it was a trip and $5,000, in season four, it was a flat $10,000, in seasons five and six, it was a jackpot that began at $10,000 and increased by $1,000 each time it was unclaimed. In any case, achieving a Lingo in two or more draws awarded a flat $5,000. Failing to achieve a Lingo still awarded $100 for each correctly guessed word. Unlike the 1987 version, this version did not feature returning champions.
An example of the Bonus Lingo board layout in season two. On this board, the 16 is required to win on the first draw.
Tournaments and special episodes[edit]
GSN held a tournament of champions with particularly successful contestants from its second and third seasons. Instead of playing Bonus Lingo in the final tournament episode, a third round was played in which points tripled, meaning teams earned 75 points for a completed word and 150 points for a Lingo. The question mark balls from the second round carried over to the third round. At the end of the show, the team with the most points won a Suzuki Verona for each teammate.
A special episode that aired on April Fool’s Day in 2003 had the entire roster of GSN’s six original show hosts together playing for charity. While Woolery hosted, Mark L. Walberg (Russian Roulette) and Marc Summers (WinTuition) played against Kennedy (Friend or Foe?) and Graham Elwood (Cram), with Walberg and Summers shutting them out 500–0. The sixth host, Todd Newton (Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck), served as the show’s announcer.
2011 version[edit]
Logo used for the 2011 version
Each team begins the game with nine numbers marked off on their own board. At the start of the show, a member of each team draws a Lingo ball, and the team with the higher number gets to play first. Unlike in previous versions, the number balls are on a rack and not in a hopper. If the ball is a number ball, it is also marked off as the tenth number on the team’s board. If the ball is a stopper or a prize ball, no number is marked off. Also unlike the previous versions, the host gives a clue as to the word’s meaning.
Correctly identifying words in round one earn $100, $200 in round two and $500 in round three. Completing a five-number Lingo awards the same payouts as correct words in each round. When a new board is issued to a team, nine numbers are pre-marked. Three words each are played in rounds one and three, while four words are played in round two. The team with the most money after round three keeps it and plays Bonus Lingo. If a team is mathematically unable to catch up, the game ends once the balls have been drawn for the last word.
In Bonus Lingo, the winning team has 90 seconds to correctly guess five words, receiving two letters in each word. The team wins the identical amount earned in the main game for the first correct word and that amount is then doubled for each additional correct word until the fifth one, which earns the team $100,000. The amount earned in Bonus Lingo is added to the team’s total winnings.
2023 version[edit]
The 2023 revival does not use any bingo mechanics and consists only of word guessing. Each episode features two semi-final matches between two teams each, consisting of the following rounds:
- In the first round, each team plays three five-letter words. Guessing a word correctly on the first try (called a «Golden Guess») earns $5,000, with subsequent guesses worth $2,500, $2,000, $1,500, and $1,000, respectively. An invalid guess gives the opposing team a chance to steal. If the opposing team gives an invalid guess, play on that word ends.
- In the second round, «Super Lingo,» each team is given a clue towards a ten-letter mystery word whose letters are revealed over time: each word is worth up to $5,000, with its value decreasing as more letters are revealed. Before they play their word, each team chooses from one of two hoppers of «Lucky Balls,» from which a ball is drawn: gold «money balls» add a cash bonus (either $100, $500, or $1,000) on top of the value of the word if solved, while white «letter balls,» numbered between 1 and 10, reveal the corresponding letter in the word before the money starts decreasing.
- In the third round, the «Lingo Battle,» the two members of each team are assigned to five-letter and six-letter words respectively, with all values from round one doubled. If a contestant’s guess for a word does not reveal a new correctly-placed (green) letter, control of that word passes to the opposing player. After the conclusion of this round, a twelve-letter Super Lingo word is played between both teams, which starts at $10,000. If time expires or no one solves it, the team with the most money wins.
- In the event of a tie game, one more Super Lingo word is played as a tiebreaker to determine the winner of the match.
The two winning teams advance to «Lingo Showdown» to compete for the episode’s jackpot, which consists of $50,000 and the total scores of both teams in the main game. Each team attempts to solve as many words as they can in two minutes, alternating between five- and six-letter words worth 5 and 10 points respectively. The team who won more money in their match is given the option to either pass or play first. Teams can pass on words as often as needed. If the team gives an invalid guess on a word, the word in play is thrown out, and a new word is played. The team that scores more points wins the jackpot.
Broadcast history[edit]
The first version premiered on September 28, 1987, with Michael Reagan, adopted son of then U.S. President Ronald Reagan, as host and Dusty Martell as co-host. Beginning on February 22, 1988, executive producer Ralph Andrews took over as host and Margaux MacKenzie replaced Martell as co-host. New episodes aired until March 25, 1988, with repeats airing until September of that year. The show was produced by Ralph Andrews Productions (in association with Bernstein/Hovis Productions) in Canada for syndication by ABR Entertainment in the United States.
On August 5, 2002, Game Show Network revived the program with Chuck Woolery as host. In season three, a co-host was added to reveal the puzzles and provide banter. Woolery’s co-host was Stacey Hayes in season three, while Hayes had Paula Cobb as another co-host for the first two episodes of the season. Hayes was later replaced by Shandi Finnessey for the remainder of the series. Randy Thomas, known for her work in Hooked on Phonics ads, was the offstage announcer in season two, with Hayes also acting as announcer in season three. For the remainder of the series, the role of announcer was eliminated.
The first 20 episodes were recorded in the Netherlands on the set of the program’s Dutch counterpart; subsequent episodes were produced in the United States. Five more seasons, filmed in Los Angeles and each consisting of 65 episodes, began in December 2002, December 2003, August 2005, April 2006, and April 2007. GSN held back five unaired Hawaiian-themed episodes from season four, and these episodes later aired beginning January 1, 2007.
In 2011, GSN announced the show would restart production after a nearly four-year hiatus, with Bill Engvall as the new host.[7] One season of forty episodes premiered on June 6, 2011.[1] The last first-run show aired on August 1, 2011.
On February 11, 2022, CBS announced that it had ordered a primetime revival of Lingo, with RuPaul as host and executive producer;[3][4] it was filmed at Dock10 in Salford, England (where the current British version is filmed) with American contestants. RuPaul also signed on to host a series of Celebrity Lingo episodes for broadcast in the UK.[8] It premiered on January 11, 2023.[9][5] On February 21, 2023, the series was renewed for a second season.[10]
Episode status[edit]
The rights to the 1987 version of the show are held by Ion Television.[citation needed] Ion included it in a February 2007 «viewers vote» on its website, with site visitors being able to vote for the show to be included in the network’s schedule. Despite this, Ion has not aired this or any other game show (except the previous year’s Family Feud episodes by special arrangement) since 2005. The 2002 and 2011 versions of Lingo remain owned by Game Show Network.
International versions[edit]
| Country | Name | Host | Channel | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Canada
|
Lingo (in English) | Michael Reagan (1987) Ralph Andrews (1988) |
Syndication | 1987–1988* |
| Lingo (in French) | Paul Houde | Télévision de Radio-Canada | 1998–2001 | |
 France[11][12]
|
Motus | Thierry Beccaro | Antenne 2 France 2 |
1990–2019 |
 Germany[13]
|
5 mal 5 | Bernd Schumacher | Sat.1 | 1993–1994 |
 Indonesia
|
Cocok – Coba-Coba Kata | Denny Chandra | SCTV | 1996–1998 |
 Israel
|
לינגו Lingo |
Gil Alon Assaf Ashtar |
Channel 2 | 1994–1996 1997–1998 |
 Italy[14][15]
|
Lingo | Tiberio Timperi | Canale 5 | 1992–1993 |
| Una parola di troppo | Giancarlo Magalli | Rai 2 | 2021 | |
| Lingo – Parole in gioco | Caterina Balivo | La7 | 2022–present | |
 Jordan
|
Lingo | Abdallah Amara | Jordan 1 TV | 2019–present |
 Netherlands[16]
|
Lingo | Robert ten Brink (1989–1992) François Boulangé (1992–2000) Nance (2000–2005) Lucille Werner (2005–2014) Jan Versteegh (2019–present) |
Nederland 1 (1989–1991, 2006–2013) Nederland 2 (1991–1992, 2000–2006, 2014) Nederland 3 (1993–2000) SBS6 (2019–2021) Net5 (2022–present) |
1989–2014 2019–present |
 Norway[17]
|
Lingo | Anders Hatlo (1992–93) Truls Nebell (1993) |
TVNorge | 1992–1993 |
 Poland[18]
|
5×5 – wygrajmy razem | Marek Grabowski | TVP2 | 1995–1999 |
| Lingo | Paweł Orleański | TV4 | 2007 | |
 Portugal[19]
|
Lingo | Heitor Lourenço Tânia Ribas de Oliveira Isabel Angelino |
RTP1 | 2006–2007 |
| Lingo-Eu Gosto do Verão | José Carlos Malato | 2007 | ||
 Slovenia
|
Lingo | Mito Trefalt Eva Longyka |
TV Slovenija | 1990s |
 Spain[20]
|
Lingo | Ramoncín Eduardo Aldán Ana Ruiz Aitor Albizua (May 2, 2022 – September 30, 2022) Jon Gómez (October 3, 2022 – December 1, 2022) |
TVE2 Punto TV Canal Sur ETB2 |
1991–1996 2002 2021–2022 2022 |
 Sweden[21]
|
Lingo | Martin Örnroth Harald Treutiger |
TV4 TV4 Plus |
1993–1997 2003 |
| PostkodLingo | Henrik Johnsson | TV4 | 2013 | |
 United Kingdom[22]
|
Lingo | Martin Daniels Adil Ray |
ITV | 1988 2021–present |
| Celebrity Lingo | RuPaul | 2022 |
* Aired in both the U.S. and Canada for both audiences
Merchandise[edit]
In late 2021, Two Way Media launched a mobile version of Lingo available for iOS and Android users. The game follows a similar format to the 2002–2007 format of Lingo. However, there are some slight differences. Players have a choice of playing either a four letter, five letter, or six letter round. If the player correctly guesses a word, they win coins and have the option to play bingo. This version of Lingo does not feature a bonus round.[23][24]
See also[edit]
- Wordle
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Grosvenor, Carrie (January 13, 2011). «GSN Bringing Lingo Back with New Host». about.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
- ^ Stelter, Brian (March 6, 2008). «As Went Love Connection, So Goes Lingo«. The New York Times. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
- ^ a b Michael Schneider (February 11, 2022). «Step Aside, Wordle: RuPaul Is Reviving the ‘Lingo’ Word-Based Game Show at CBS». Variety. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ^ a b Swift, Andy (February 11, 2022). «Hot Off Wordle Craze, CBS Reboots Game Show Lingo With RuPaul as Host». TVLine. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ^ a b Schwartz, Ryan (November 14, 2022). «CBS Midseason Schedule: True Lies Reboot, RuPaul Game Show Lingo Set Premieres; The Equalizer Return TBD». TVLine. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ Lingo. Season 1. Episode 1. August 5, 2002. Game Show Network.
- ^ «Lingo, the Brand New Mystery-Word Game Show Hosted by Comedian Bill Engvall, Offers Players a Shot at $100,000″ (Press release). GSN Corporate. May 16, 2011. Archived from the original on August 23, 2011.
- ^ Maidment, Adam (July 27, 2022). «RuPaul to film new Lingo TV series in Salford — and here’s how to get tickets». Manchester Evening News. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- ^ Paramount Press Express | CBS Entertainment | Releases
- ^ White, Peter (February 21, 2023). «‘Survivor’, ‘The Amazing Race’, ‘Tough As Nails’ & ‘Lingo’ Renewed At CBS». Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
- ^ «Motus émission n°1 – 25/06/1990». Archived from the original on 2021-12-21 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ «Liste des invités des 25 ans de». www.jeuxteleactu.com.
- ^ «5 mal 5 bei Fernsehserien.de».
- ^ «Canale 5: «Lingo»«. AdnKronos. 1992-10-02. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ «Canale 5: «Lingo»«. AdnKronos. 1993-02-05. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ SBS6 programma’s: Lingo (in Dutch).
- ^ VG – NEBELL BLIR «LINGO»-SJEF (27.05.1993 – Side: 56)
- ^ «Nowy teleturniej w TV4» (in Polish). wirtualnemedia.pl. 2007-03-19. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
- ^ MarkTest. «Um mês a fazer Lingo» (in Portuguese). 31 de agosto de 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
- ^ Diario ABC, ed. (26 June 1993). «Concursos y humor, bazas de las cadenas de TV en la batalla de la audiencia veraniega».
- ^ http://smdb.kb.se/catalog/search?q=titel%3ALingo+typ%3ATV&sort=OLDEST Lingo
- ^ «Lingo – UKGameshows». www.ukgameshows.com.
- ^ «Lingo – official mobile game». App Store. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
- ^ «Lingo: Guess The Word – Apps on Google Play». play.google.com. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
External links[edit]
- Lingo at IMDb (1987–88)
- Lingo at IMDb (2002–07)
- Lingo at IMDb (2011)
- Lingo at IMDb (2023)
| Host |
| Clifton Fadiman |
| Announcer |
| Bern Bennett |
| Broadcast |
|
CBS Primetime: 7/22/1954 – 9/9/1954 |
| Packager |
| Peter Arnell Productions |
What’s in a Word? was a short-lived panel show where they tried to guess a word being thought of from a member of the studio audience.
Regular Panelists[]
Faye Emerson
Audrey Meadows
Carl Reiner
Jim Moran
Gameplay[]
A celebrity panel tried to guess a pair of rhyming words being thought of by a member of the studio audience. The panel was given a one-word clue to the noun portion of the rhyme and, to narrow down the possibilities, the panelists tried to make an association that was correct. Players received $5 for each clue given to the panel before they figured out the noun. At this point, Fadiman gave a definition of the adjective, and the contestant won an another $5 for each wrong guess until the panel correctly identified the adjective to complete the rhyme.
Taping Location[]
New York City, NY
A word guessing game taking the world by storm has been compared to 1980s game show Lingo.
Josh Wardle, who lives in Brooklyn and graduated from Royal Holloway, University of London in 2006, created the game Wordle to play with partner Palak Shah.
Having first played the game with Ms Shah, Mr Wardle then shared it with his family on WhatsApp, where it proved so popular that he opened it up to the world.
On November 1, Wordle had 90 players. Last Sunday, more than 300,000 people took part in the daily challenge, with game spreading rapidly on social media.
However, it has now been compared to game show Lingo, which aired in the US and the UK in the 80s. A recent UK revival show has aired on ITV since 2020.
In the game show, Lingo contestants took turns guessing five-letter words.
Similarly, in Wordle, players are invited to guess a five-letter word once a day.
Upon submitting their guess, Wordle tells you whether any of your letters are in the secret word and whether they are in the correct place.
Players are then given six attempts to guess what the secret word is.
Play the game yourself — click here
Wordle is a daily word game puzzle where users have six attempts to guess the 5 letter word. It has been compared to a 1980s game show
Wordle has been compared to 1980s game show Lingo. In the game show, Lingo contestants took turns guessing five-letter words in a grid similar to Wordle’s
A 2020 reboot of Lingo starring Adil Ray has also been described as looking similar to Wordle
Josh Wardle created the game for his partner before opening it to the public. It is now played by hundreds of thousands
Lingo aired in the US and the UK in the 80s. A recent UK revival show has aired on ITV since 2020
ITV’s relaunched Lingo — hosted by Adil Ray- sees three pairs of contestants try to work out words appearing in grids and puzzlewords.
The Lingo computer gives them the first letter of words of different lengths — and they can cash in if they can guess the full word correctly.
Fans were quick to point out the similarities between Wordle and Lingo.
One wrote: ‘Is there any connection between Wordle and the TV quiz show Lingo? Or it is just a massive coincidence that they are exactly the same, right down the choice of colours?’
Another said: ‘So this Wordle thing everyone’s doing, it’s just Lingo, right? Someone just stole Lingo and made it an app?’
While a third added: ‘Hold up. So this Wordle thing I keep seeing recently is actually just Lingo?’
Wordle creator Mr Wardle, a former software engineer for Reddit, created a similar prototype in 2013 but abandoned it after friends were unimpressed.
How does Wordle work?
- Players visit the Wordle website everyday to try and guess that day’s five letter word.
- You are given six turns to guess the word.
- After each guess, correct letters in the right place turn green, while correct letters in the wrong place turn yellow.
- Any letters that turn grey can be ignored as they are not in the word.
- Players are able to share their attempts on social media in the form of coloured grids.
- There is just one Wordle per day.
However, during the pandemic, he revisited the game, after he and his partner ‘got really into’ the New York Times spelling bee and daily crossword.
It is not the first time that Mr Wardle has created something that has caused a storm online.
In 2015, he created Reddit’s The Button, a bizarre game where a button appeared on a website with a 60-second countdown.
Every time someone pressed the button the clock would reset, but each person could only press it once. Despite there being no prize for clicking it, the simple reward of being able to press it saw millions of people click it.
He is also the creator of Place, a collaborative social experiment that caused waves in April 2017.
Place was a shared online space that allowed users to fight over what was drawn there.
It resulted in huge, sprawling communities battling over space on an online canvas.
Now based in New York, Mr Wardle says he enjoys ‘building unique products that focus on human interaction’.
Ms Shah says she now wakes up every day to play Wordle. Though it is now shared with the world, she said she appreciated that Mr Wardle originally created it for her.
‘It’s really sweet,’ she said. ‘This is definitely how Josh shows his love.’
Mr Wardle graduated Royal Holloway, University of London in 2006 after studying Media Arts. He then studied Digital Arts at the University of Oregon.
His education was followed by two years as an artist for Reddit, before becoming a senior product manager and later an adviser for the company.
Mr Wardle spent nearly two years as a software engineer for Pinterest before returning to Reddit in the same role in January 2020.
Discussing the success of Worlde, Mr Wardle, told The New York Times: ‘I think people kind of appreciate that there’s this thing online that’s just fun. It’s not trying to do anything shady with your data or your eyeballs.’
Josh Wardle, who lives in Brooklyn and graduated from Royal Holloway, University of London in 2006, created the game Wordle to play with partner Palak Shah
Having first played the game with Ms Shah, Mr Wardle then shared it with his family on WhatsApp, where it proved so popular that he opened it up to the world
Wordle is a daily word game puzzle where users have six attempts to guess the 5 letter word
Hundreds of thousands of fans are playing Wordle – in which the aim is to guess a single five-letter word known as the ‘Wordle’ within six attempts
Today’s Wordle, ATTEMPT ONE: For the first effort, we tried the word SHORT, discovering that S was the first letter of the Wordle
ATTEMPT TWO: We tried the word SMALL, only to discover that none of the other letters were in the word
ATTEMPT THREE: The word SIZED told us that I was the second letter of the Wordle and that it also had an E
ATTEMPT FOUR: Trying the word SINCE didn’t unveil any new letters — but it did tell us that the Wordle ended with an E
ATTEMPT 5: Knowing it began with an S and I, ended with an E and with several other words ‘greyed out’ and removed, on the fifth try, our guess of SIEGE proved to be correct
He added that the game also attracts players because it takes up just three minutes a day.
Mr Wardle said: ‘It’s something that encourages you to spend three minutes a day. And that’s it. It doesn’t want any more of your time than that.’
His partner was the first player to play the game and played a key role in getting it ready for the world
Wordle’s initial list of all of the five-letter words in the English language — about 12,000 — contained obscure words the couple thought would have been near impossible to guess.
Mr Wardle eventually narrowed the list of Wordle words to about 2,500, which should last for a few years.
However, fans have already complained about some words, saying that the words REBUS and TAPIR were not familiar enough.
Guessing games are great to use as warmers, fillers, and review activities. Not only are they a lot of fun, but they are also fantastic for learning vocabulary and grammar.
On this page we list the 10 super fun guessing games for kids. Although these activities are mainly aimed at young learners, many of these guessing game ideas can be easily adapted to use with adults and teenagers.
For more classroom game ideas, check out our other post, 10 Incredibly Fun Vocabulary Activities For ESL Kids.
1: Guess the Word Games
Whichever topic you are teaching, a simple guess the word game, although simple, can be very effective. Show students some flashcards and ask them to repeat after you. Once students have practiced enough, choose one flashcard, and don’t show the students. Then ask them to try to guess what the word is while using the target expression.
For example, if you teaching animal words, when students guess they can ask the teacher ‘Is it an elephant?’, and the teacher can respond ‘Yes, it is. / No, it isn’t.’.
2: Hidden Picture Guessing Games
In this guessing game there is a picture hidden behind some color squares. As you click the squares the image is slowly revealed and students must try to guess what it is.
This guess the picture game is a great way to introduce or review new words with students and can be used with any vocabulary. For hidden picture PPT games on many topics, and an editable template, click here.
3: Guess the Picture (Pictionary)
This simple guessing game idea needs little to no prep. All you need for this game is something to draw on. To play as a whole class, ask a student to draw something on the board from the lesson and ask students to guess what the picture is of.
To make it more fun, divide the class into two / three teams. Give each team 30 seconds or so to guess as many pictures as they can. This game is a lot of fun and young learners especially love showing off their artistic skills.
4: Guess the Mystery Object
Using real objects in the classroom is a great way to connect the vocabulary and grammar that students are learning to the real world. A great way to do that is with this guess the object game. To play, you need a bag or a box to put the mystery objects in.
Invite students one by one to come up to the front of the class and reach into the bag/box and feel the object inside. Without looking at the object, they must try to guess what the mystery object is. This can lead to some hilarious guesses! This activity is great for both kids and older ESL students.
5: Online Guessing Games
In these online guessing games, students must use ‘Telepathy’ to read the teacher’s mind and find out the answer. Of course, your students can’t really read minds, but kids love pretending that they can.
In these guessing games each answer as two possible answers and students must choose ONE and write it down. If they get it correct, they get a point. If they get it wrong, they don’t. Many online guessing games can be found on our Activity Videos page.
This game can be played individually or in pairs / small teams. For a Telepathy game PPT template, and a printable answer worksheet, click here.
6: ‘I Spy’ Guessing Games
When you were a child you probably played a variation of this game at one time or another. In the classic (British) version of I Spy, one person would look around and choose an object that they can see and then say ‘I spy with my little eye something beginning with (b).’. At which point the other people must try to guess what object beginning with the letter b he/she is thinking of.
This kind of guessing game can be used in your English class to review many different words and topics. For example, if teaching colors, one student can look around and choose an object and then say ‘I see something (green)’. The other students must then guess what green thing they are thinking of.
Or, if you are teaching adjectives, one student can look around and choose something and then describe it using adjectives. For example, ‘I see something big and heavy.’.
7: ‘Act It Out’ Guessing Game (Charades)
In the classic version of charades people would use actions instead of words to act out the title of a movie, book, play, or song. In the English classroom, this kind of activity can be used to review key vocabulary and expressions that students have learned.
To play, write down the key words / phrases from the lesson on pieces of paper and put them all in a small container. Then divide the class into 2/3 teams. One person from each team will choose a piece of paper and act out the word without speaking or making any noise. If the team guesses correctly, then they get a point.
8: Guess The Word To ‘Save The Teacher’ (Hangman)
Hangman is a classic classroom game in which students must try to guess the word the teacher is thinking of by guessing letters of the alphabet. If students guess the wrong word then the teacher would begin drawing a picture of a hanging man. If students get it wrong too many times and the teacher completes the picture, then the students lose.
Although this drawing is just a simple stick figure, the idea of showing children a drawing of a man hanging from his neck seems quite gruesome to me, and not appropriate for kids. As a fun alternative to hangman, try ‘Save The Teacher’ using the video above. The rules are exactly the same as hangman.
To play, think of a word and draw a small horizontal line corresponding to each letter of that word. Then ask students to guess the word by first guessing letters from the alphabet. If they guess correctly, then write it in the correct space on the board. If students guess wrong play the video and the fuse will get closer to the rocket. When students guess wrong too many times, the teacher and the rocket will blast off into space!
9: ‘What Am I?’ Guessing Game
In this guessing game, the teacher would think of something and then give students 3 clues as to what it is by saying sentences as if he/she is the object. For example, if the word the teacher is thinking of is ‘The Sun’ then the 3 clues he/she might say “I am hot. I am bright. You can’t see me at night. What am I?” This is a great way to reinforce students’ understanding of the lesson’s vocabulary and a fun review activity. For more ‘What am I? quizzes check out these ’40 What Am I?’ questions.
10: Guessing Games With Cards
Most ESL textbooks these days come with small word/picture cards at the back. If you’re not so lucky, you can download and print free mini-flashcards from our flashcards page. To play this game, ask students to make groups of 3/4. Then give each group a set of cards. Then one student from each group should close their eyes while the other members of the group point to one of the cards.
Then the student should open his/her eyes and guess what card they chose while using the target language. If he/she guesses correctly then they can keep that card. Then it’s the next students turn. The game finishes when all the cards are gone and the students with the most cards is the winner.
Thanks for reading. I hope you found some useful guessing game ideas for your next class. Before you go, don’t forget to check out our free other free games and activities including PowerPoint Games, Online Quizzes, and Online ESL Games.
Blankety Blank
ESL TV Game Show — Grammar and Vocabulary: Gap-fill, Sentence Completion, Guessing — Group Work — Pre-intermediate (A2-B1) — 25 minutes
In this fun ESL TV game show, students try to complete sentences in the same way as another student. One student from each team comes and sits at the front of the class. Read a sentence to the class using the word ‘blank’ for the missing part of the sentence, e.g. ‘It was so hot yesterday my ‘blank’ melted’. The aim of the game is for the team members to complete the sentence in the same way as their teammate at the front of the class. Everyone secretly writes down their missing word or phrase, without talking. When everyone has written an answer, the team members take it in turns to say or show their word or phrase. The student at the front then reveals their answer. For every matching answer, teams score a point. Two new students then come up to the front and so on. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Blockbusters
ESL TV Game Show — Vocabulary: Guessing Vocabulary from Clues — Group Work — Intermediate (B1-B2) — 25 minutes
This ESL vocabulary game comes from an English TV game show. The game can be used as a general knowledge quiz or to revise vocabulary. Draw a five-by-five hexagon on the board. Write a different letter of the alphabet in each hexagon. The two teams then decide which direction they want to play — top to bottom or left to right. The aim of the game is to connect the hexagons from one side of the grid to the other. Tell the students that this is a fairly strategic game, and they need to choose their moves carefully in order to win the game, blocking the other team when necessary. Start with the center hexagon. Give a clue for the letter in the hexagon, e.g. if the letter was B, the clue might be: A person who bakes bread. The two teams then race to answer, e.g. baker. The first team to answer correctly wins the hexagon and it is coloured accordingly. The winning team then chooses the next hexagon. Give a clue for the letter in that hexagon, and both teams race to answer as before. The first team to connect their hexagons from top to bottom or left to right wins the game.
Countdown
ESL TV Game Show — Vocabulary and Spelling: Forming Words from Letters — Group Work — Any Level — 25 minutes
This engaging ESL word game has been adapted from a famous TV game show. The first team chooses nine letters by saying either ‘vowel’ or ‘consonant’. Each time the team says vowel or consonant, write a corresponding random letter on the board. Alternatively, you could have a set of letter cards that you stick on the board. Next, set a time limit of one or two minutes (depending on the students’ level) for teams to come up with the longest word possible using the nine letters. Each letter can only be used once. While the teams are writing, play some music that lasts as long as the time limit. Afterwards, the team with the longest word gives their answer. If the word has the correct letters and spelling, that team scores the same amount of points as there are letters in the word, e.g. a six-letter word scores six points. If the team has made a mistake, go to the next team with the most letters in their word. The second team then chooses vowels and consonants and so on, until every team has had a chance to choose letters. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Family Fortunes
ESL TV Game Show — Vocabulary: Guessing — Group Work — Intermediate (B1) — 25 minutes
This fun ESL TV quiz game is adapted from a famous television game show with the same name. The aim of the game is for a team to guess the top five answers to a survey. If they do this, they win the round and score 100 points. Each round begins with one member from each team coming to the front of the class and trying to guess a top five answer to a survey question. The first student to give a top five answer can choose for their team to play or pass, depending on the difficulty of the category. The students in the playing team then take it in turns to guess the other top five answers. The playing team gets three lifelines per round. If an answer is not in the top five, the team loses a life. When this happens, draw a big X in one of the three boxes and say the phrase ‘Uh-uhhh.’ If a team loses all three lives, the other team has one chance to name one of the other top five answers. If they manage to do this, they steal the round and win all the points. If not, the team that gave the three incorrect answers scores 20 points for each answer they got right. The game is then repeated with a new survey question. The family with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Mastermind
ESL TV Game Show — Vocabulary And Spelling: Guessing — Group Work — Any Level — 20 minutes
This ESL word game is based on the TV game show ‘Mastermind’. Begin the game by choosing a secret word you want the students to revise, e.g. hospital. The length of the word depends on the level of your students. Draw one line on the board for each letter in the word, e.g. eight lines. One team goes first and tries to guess the word by choosing a word that has the same amount of letters, e.g. elephant. If a letter from their word is in the secret word, but in the wrong place, put a cross under the letter. If a letter from their word is in the secret word and in the right place, put a tick under the letter. The other team then uses the information to make another guess. The first team to guess the secret word scores a point. Repeat the process with a new secret word and so on. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Strike it Lucky
ESL TV Game Show — Grammar and Vocabulary: Answering Questions — Group Work — Any Level — 25 minutes
This ESL TV game show is ideal for asking revision questions. Draw the game grid on the board. Hidden throughout the 30 squares are ten arrows, ten ‘Hot Spots’ and ten questions. The aim of the game is for each team to get from one side of the board to the other without hitting three ‘Hot Spots’. The first team chooses the top, middle or bottom square in column 1. The teacher checks their game grid to see what goes in that square. If it’s an arrow, the team gets a free move, moves forward to column 2 and chooses another top, middle or bottom square. If it’s a question, the team selects one team member to answer. The teacher asks the student a revision question or question based on a flashcard. If the student answers correctly, the team moves forward. If not, the square changes to a ‘Hot Spot’. This is counted as one of the three ‘Hot Spots’. If a team picks a square that’s a ‘Hot Spot’, the team moves forward, but if the team gets three ‘Hot Spots’, they lose and are out of the game. If a team gets to the other side of the board without hitting more than three ‘Hot Spots’, they move on to the next round. The game continues until there is one ultimate champion.
The Price is Right
ESL TV Game Show — Vocabulary: Estimating — Group Work — Any Level — 20 minutes
This ESL shopping game has been adapted from a famous TV game show. The game can be used when teaching shopping, prices or numbers. Show the teams a picture of a product. The aim of the game is for the teams to estimate the price of the product. Estimates must be the actual cost or lower to win. Each team then estimates how much the product costs and writes down their answer. Each team then gives their price. Write each team’s price on the board. When all the teams have guessed the price of the product, reveal how much it costs. Teams who over-estimated the actual price are out of the round. The team that guessed closest to the actual price wins the round and scores ten points. Repeat the game with a different product and so on. The team with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.
The Weakest Link
ESL TV Game Show — Speaking: Answering Questions — Pair Work — Any Level — 20 minutes
This ESL TV game show is great for asking revision questions. Explain that the aim of the game is for the teams to collectively make as many points as possible. Ask the first team of two a question. The two students discuss the question and then give their answer. If the team answers correctly, add 10 points to a group pot. Then, move on to the next team. If they answer correctly, add 20 points to the pot. The next team plays for 30 points and so on. However, if a team answers incorrectly, all the points scored by the teams are removed from the pot. Before a team has their turn, they can choose to bank the points on the board. If they bank the points, they can only answer for 10 points. After each team has answered two questions, teams vote off the weakest link (team). That team is out of the game. The game then continues as before and after each round the weakest link is voted off. The last two teams left in the game win.
Who wants to be a millionaire?
ESL TV Game Show — Listening and Speaking: Answering Questions — Group Work — Any — 20 minutes
Here is a fun ESL adaptation of the famous TV game show ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?’ A player from each team comes and sits in a chair at the front of the class. Give one player a multiple-choice question for $100. Give the player time to think about their answer and encourage them to talk about their thought process aloud. Then, ask the player for their final answer. If the player gets the answer right, put a tick next to $100. Then, repeat the process with the other player. When both players have answered correctly, two new players come up and answer a question for $200 and so on. Each team also gets three lifelines to use when a player is unsure of the answer. Fifty-Fifty: This is where two of the four answers are eliminated, so only two possible answers remain. Ask a friend: The player chooses someone in the class to help them answer the question. Ask the team: The player asks their team which answer they think is correct. This can be done as a vote. When one player answers a question incorrectly, their team loses the game. The winning team then continues to play to see if they can become a millionaire.
