Tag Archives: puzzle

Get hip with Hapland – A Live Listening

Level: Intermediate Topic: Vocabulary within the game Hapland Listening Focus: Instructions & directions Time: 20 – 30 minutes Game: Hapland Screenshot of the game Hapland (what you see is what you get) Hapland is a point and click game which takes place over the space of one screen.  Basically, in the screenshot above you can see [...]

Tube Crisis – puzzle game for conditionals

Tube Crisis is a short point-and-click puzzle game that is good for stimulating conversation with (upper-intermediate + ) learners if you are lucky enough to teach in a connected classroom (i.e. one equipped with a computer and data projector and/or interactive whiteboard) Language: descriptions of people, relative clauses and the difference between first and second [...]

Dictionary work with online point-and-click game ‘Blue Beanie’

Level: Pre-intermediate Topic: Doing a crossword/ Using a dictionary. Focus: Vocabulary in an online game walkthrough. Time: 1 hour/ 1.5 hours Preparation: Download a copy of the walkthrough for yourself and a copy of the crossword and crossword clues for each pair of learners. Game: Blue Beanie A young ghost has his blue beanie hat [...]

Machinarium – a phrasal verb gap fill activity

Machinarium is an incredible hand drawn online video game with engaging puzzles, a little humour and a walkthrough that is great for a phrasal verbs gap fill activity. The Game You are a robot and you find yourself in a scrap yard and you need to get back to the city.  First of all you [...]

Gateway – a puzzle game for whole class activity

Gateway is a short, absorbing and entertaining puzzle game with ten levels that can be used to generate language in the ESL classroom, especially if you have access to a connected classroom (with an internet enabled computer and a data projector). The Game You have to guide a robot through a number of different rooms, [...]

Narrative Tenses With Grow Cube

Level: Intermediate Topic: Writing stories Writing Focus: Narrative tenses Time: 30 – 40 minutes Game: Grow Cube Key Language: canal    pool    pot    pipe    waterfall    dish    steps    cave    tower    skull    springs    dug    planted   flowed    built    grew    cut down    lit    added    threw [...]

‘Word up’ with fun, free and engaging vocabulary games

Here’s a brief description of ten word games that require very little preparation and some tips on how to use them.  All these games were chosen because they are free, easily accessible, engaging and fun for English Language Learners. 1)                 Fowl words – Seven hens have laid an egg each with a letter on.  Use the letters [...]

A Creative Writing Activity Using an Online Game

  Level: Upper-intermediate Topic: Planning stories Writing Focus: Fictional story Time: 1 hour/ 1.5 hours Game: Arcane Season: The Miller Estate part 1    Key Language: cellar, path, lantern, chest, hook, matches, well, rope, bucket, firewood, crate, rug, trapdoor, wine rack, barrel. Preparation: Connected classroom or computer room. One printed copy of the flashcards. One [...]

How to Use ‘Escape the Room’ games

An Escape the Room game is a type of adventure game that lends itself well to the language classroom because they are very difficult to complete without help. The objective of such games is to (surprise! surprise!) escape from a room (or a series of rooms), and this is usually done by completing a number of puzzles.