Guess the word

I wanted to find a way to check students' vocabulary in a way that doesn't feel too stressful and boring to them. With this game, they can practice words in a competitive and fun way. 

Preliminaries 

Number of players: min. 4 Age/ 

Proficiency Level: any 

Preparation Time: 1 minute 

Play Time: depends on the number of words & the enthusiasm of the participants (~10-20 min.) 

Preparation 

I clear the board and take a student's vocabulary book. 

Object of the game 

To guess as many words as possible, and to explain words to your teammates in a way they can easily guess it. 

Roles

All players take both roles during the game: a student has to guess the words, and once their round is over, they have to explain them to a teammate. 

Rules of Play

I divide the class into two teams. Team A delegates a person who will stand in front of the board, facing the class. I write a word on the board, and team A has to explain it to the student who is standing with their back to the board. If (s)he can guess the word, team A gains a point and the student can stay for the next round, in which I write a new word on the board. If (s)he cannot guess it, team A doesn't get a point, their delegated student sits down and it's team B's turn. The game goes on until all students had the possibility to guess. Alternatively, a student from each team can stand in front of the board and compete with each other – in this case, the fastest student's team gets the point, and team A and team B take turns in explaining the words. 

Scoring 

The team with the most points is the winner. They can ask 5 words from the other team.