Haven’t you ever thought that our students need to spend more time learning and having fun without a screen in front of them all the time?
Don’t you think the classroom should be that place? A place of interaction, constant buzz, laughter, eye contact… and real human connection?
I love technology, and I use it a lot. But as a fully grown human being, I know when it’s time to put it aside and push myself to do things without it.
Actually, it would be much easier for me to sit at my computer right now, open ChatGPT and prompt it to write this article for me. But I categorically refuse to do so!
You know what this is called? Cognitive offloading.
But well… that’s a topic for another post!
The point is that I want my students to play games in class that make them think, have fun and interact without a screen mediating between them.
I want them to experience how beautiful it is when we genuinely connect with one another. When we look each other in the eye. When we laugh together. When the whole classroom suddenly erupts because of something that has just happened in a game.
Those little moments that computers will never replace.
And yes, I also use online quiz platforms occasionally. There’s nothing wrong with them. But believe me when I tell you this: my students enjoy these screenless games much more than any Kahoot I could prepare for them.
1. The 7/10 Escape
This is probably the simplest “escape room” you will ever organise. I prepare ten revision questions, each of which can be answered with just one word. Students work individually and try to solve as many as possible.
The challenge is simple: Get at least 7 out of 10 correct and you can escape the classroom. That’s it.
No padlocks. No hidden QR codes. No elaborate clues that take three hours to prepare.
Just ten carefully selected questions and a very clear goal. That’s it!
2. Hit the Buzzer!
There is something about putting a buzzer in front of students that instantly transforms a revision question into a game-show challenge.
I divide the class into teams, ask a question, and students race to hit the buzzer before giving their answer. But you absolutely do not need to buy buzzers. Students can clap, slap the desk, ring a small bell, stand up or race to grab an object placed in the middle of the table. The buzzer itself isn’t what matters.
What matters is the anticipation: listening carefully, thinking quickly and waiting for that moment when you know the answer.
One small warning, though: speed should never become more important than thinking. That’s why I usually tell my students that every correct answer earns them one point, but every incorrect answer means minus one point.
Suddenly, hitting that buzzer becomes a decision rather than an impulse to be the first to answer just to earn a point — whether they actually know the answer or not.
3. Pac-Man
If you like quiet classrooms, you may want to skip this one. If you don’t mind a little chaos, keep reading.
Students stand or sit in a circle and pass two balloons around. One balloon always travels in the same direction while the other can suddenly change direction and try to “eat” the other one. When one student ends up with both balloons, everything stops, and that student has to answer a revision question.
There is usually shouting. There is definitely laughing. There are students desperately trying to send a balloon in the opposite direction.
But hidden underneath all that apparent chaos is something very useful: students are repeatedly returning to the content we have been learning.
4. Dancing Bingo
This activity combines movement with short bursts of focused work.
I place different revision worksheets or challenges around the classroom and divide students into groups. When the music starts, students move or dance around the desks. When the music stops, they immediately sit at the nearest task.
Then the atmosphere completely changes.
For the next few minutes, they work in silence and try to complete as much of the task as possible. Then I play the music again, they stand up and dance around their desks again.
Music off: sit and solve.
Each time the music stops, students find themselves facing a different task and continue working from where another student left off.
What I love about this activity is the contrast between energy and concentration. There is movement and music, but there are also very clear moments when students have to stop, think, and focus.
5. Steal The Question
Divide the class into two or three teams. Ask Team A a revision question. If they answer correctly, they get the point. But if they don’t know the answer, another team can STEAL IT.
Correct steal = +2 points
Incorrect steal = –1 point
6. The Last One Standing
All students stand up. You ask quick-fire questions one by one around the classroom.
Correct answer → stay standing.
Incorrect answer → sit down.
Last student standing wins.
As you can see, none of these activities is particularly sophisticated, and students really love them. You just need some questions, a bell, some music…or two balloons.
During my webinars and teacher training sessions, I usually share lots of practical, low-prep games like these — the kind of activities that can be absolute lifesavers when you need to revise content and bring some energy back into the classroom.
And if this is the kind of training you would like for you, I have just opened my agenda for February 2027 onwards (2026 is already fully booked!). Feel free to get in touch if you would like to organise a webinar, workshop or teacher training session for your school or institution.
In the meantime, I hope you give some of these games a try. And if you do, let me know how they go!
Stay curious, stay resourceful.