To jump right in and play a game you will:
- Choose a set of questions for your game.
- Choose a game to play those questions in.
- Optionally modify the game settings.
This article will teach you just the basics to quickly get started playing a game. If you would like a more detailed explanation, please read the Playing Games Tutorial.
Choosing Questions
We have a searchable library of thousands of question sets and word lists that have been created by us and by the teachers that use this platform. You can search the library on the Choose Questions page by clicking on the word Play in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
The Choose Questions page contains a search box where you can type in a skill or keywords for the type of questions you would like in your game.
After you have searched and/or used the filters below the search box, you will be presented with a list of resulting question sets. Choose one of the question sets by clicking on it and then the game selection page will open.
Choosing A Game
On the games selection page you will see a list of games that are playable with the question set or word list that you chose. If you have a Games Subscription, you will be able to play any of the games shown. Otherwise you can play one of the free games. Click on a game to play it.
Choosing Game Settings
After you choose a game, you will be taken to the Game Settings page. This is where you can change the default settings for the game to better match your needs. The Game Settings allow you to customize the game in a variety of ways. You can refine your choice of questions or words which will help you to differentiate for your learners. You can control the difficulty level by setting how the questions are displayed and interacted with in the game. You can also set a game timer to help learners stop playing and transition to new activities.
In this example I chose a CVC Words List and the Build a Monster game.
At the top of the Game Settings page you will see the questions or word list that you have chosen to play in the game. You can remove specific questions or words from the game to tailor it to your students’ exact needs. Click on the Words Selected section and it will expand to show you all of the words. If the word list has more than one category, then click on a category to expand it. To remove a word, simply click on it and it will turn grey showing you that this word is no longer included. Click on it again to add it back in. You can use the Select All or Select None options in the top right corner of the categories if needed.
Now that you have decided which words or questions to include, you can further customize the game by adjusting the rest of the available settings or you can just leave the defaults.
At this point you can either play the game with a student, group or your whole class, or save these settings so that you can play the game at a later time without having to set it up. Saving a game also allows you to assign the game to students so that they can play independently in class or at home.
If you would like a more detailed tutorial on how to search for questions, choose games and choose game settings that will explain all of the available features, please read the Playing Games tutorial.
Now that you know how to start a game you may want to: