Review · trivia · whole class

Classroom Quiz Games

Twelve quiz games for revision, test prep and end-of-topic trivia. Play in teams on the board, or let every pupil answer on their own device.

A team quiz board with tiles and a Steal power-up card QuizmasterTwo to four teams pick tiles and answer. Power-ups swing the score.Board only A live quiz question with four coloured answers on a laptop, tablet and phone Lightning RoundEvery pupil answers on a device, and quick right answers score more.Pupils' devices A hot air balloon photo half hidden behind numbered tiles Behind the TilesEach right answer lifts a tile off a hidden picture. First to name it wins.Board only A runner on a grassy level heading for the finish flag ParkourA platform race where right answers make each runner's perk stronger.Pupils' devices A bingo caller showing a clue, with the words already called underneath BingoUnique printed cards. The board shows a clue and pupils mark the answer.Board only A star character beside an open chest and a scroll in a small 3D world Scavenger HuntTeams search a 3D world for ten scrolls, each with a puzzle on your topic.Pupils' devices A mountain photo asking where in the world is this GeoMysteryA real photo to place: the continent first, then the country, then the region.Board or devices Historical event cards placed along a timeline Timeline GameSix events from any topic to put in order before the dates turn over.Board or devices

Plus Grudgeball, Crack the Word, Slope Riders and Higher or Lower →

Classroom quiz games for review and trivia

A good classroom quiz game gets the whole class answering at once, shows you what has really stuck, and is ready to play in under a minute. The twelve on this page do that in two ways. Board games split the room into teams around one screen, with no devices to hand out. Device games put each question in front of every child on a tablet, laptop or phone.

Questions get in three ways. Most of the games have ready-made sets for when there is no time at all. Most also let you type your own, which is the right choice when you are checking this week's teaching. And all twelve will write a set on any topic you type, pitched to the age of your class. In every game with a question set, the questions land on a preview screen first, so you can fix a wrong answer before thirty children see it.

Quiz games with no devices

For a quiz game with no devices, play in teams on the board and let each team answer aloud or on a mini whiteboard. Quizmaster is the full quiz show: two to four teams take turns to pick numbered tiles, and hidden power-ups such as Steal, Shield and Double down mean the team in last place is never out of it. Grudgeball plays for lives instead of points. A right answer lets a team take two lives off its rivals, then take a shot at a real bin for more. Behind the Tiles hides a picture behind 9, 16, 25 or 36 numbered tiles and lifts one for every right answer. Bingo is the quietest of the four: print a unique A4 card for every child, switch on clues, and the board shows a clue while pupils work out which word on their card it points to.

Quiz games like Kahoot, with every pupil answering

For a live quiz like Kahoot, where each child answers on their own screen, use Lightning Round. The question and four answers go up on the board, every device shows four coloured buttons, and quicker right answers score more. Children join with a QR code or a 5-digit code and never make an account. There is no limit on how many join, which helps if your school has hit Kahoot's player cap; the Kahoot alternative page compares the two in full.

Three more games use the quiz to power something else. In Parkour each pupil runs and jumps through platform levels, and the questions they answer at each flag make their next perk stronger. In Slope Riders right answers earn ink to draw a sledging slope, and wrong answers never take any away. In Scavenger Hunt teams explore a small 3D world for ten hidden scrolls, each holding a different kind of puzzle on your topic. All three take up to 50 pupils. If your class used to play Gimkit, the Gimkit alternative page goes through each one.

Review games before a test

The best review game before a test uses your own questions, so the class revises exactly what will come up. Quizmaster, Lightning Round, Parkour and Slope Riders all take questions you type in, so the quiz matches what you taught. When you need to know who is unsure rather than which team wins, choose Lightning Round: after each question the board shows how many picked each answer, so a popular wrong answer is there for everyone to talk about.

For a whole revision lesson, Grudgeball is hard to beat, because a team that falls behind can win lives back with a good shot. Bingo with harder clues turns a vocabulary list into a quiet test of meaning. For spellings, Crack the Word hides a word from this week's spelling pattern and the class reasons its way to it, letter by letter, in four to six guesses.

Trivia for the end of a topic

End-of-topic trivia works best when each answer starts a conversation instead of closing one. GeoMystery shows a real photo and asks where in the world it is, then the map zooms in on the spot. Type the places from your geography unit and it finds a photo and a map pin for each. Timeline Game deals six events for the class to put in order; type the six from your history topic and the dates and pictures are found for you. Higher or Lower compares real numbers, such as the height of a giraffe or the year of a discovery, and builds a deck for whatever you are teaching. For a lighter finish, Behind the Tiles with a ready-made round has the room shouting guesses at a half-hidden picture.

Classroom quiz games by year group

Questions teachers ask

Are these classroom quiz games free?

They are free to try. Every account gets 20 free tokens and starting a game uses one. Pupils who join on a device never sign in.

How many pupils can join a device game?

Lightning Round has no player cap. Parkour, Slope Riders and Scavenger Hunt take up to 50. The board games have no limit at all, because the class plays in teams and nobody joins.

Can I use my own questions?

Yes, in Quizmaster, Lightning Round, Parkour and Slope Riders. Timeline Game takes your own events, GeoMystery your own places and Bingo your own word list. Grudgeball and Scavenger Hunt use a ready-made set or write one from your topic.

Is there anything to print?

Only for Bingo, which prints the cards, and Crack the Word, which can print a play-along grid. Everything else runs on the screen.

Written by a practising primary school teacher, and part of the free-to-try Sage Teachers apps.