Lists

Games to Play in the Classroom: Covid 19 Edition

Over the last month, I have received countless requests from educators all over the country asking for recommendations of games they can play in the classroom that follow their new covid regulations.

First off: I have to say just how grateful I am for the phenomenal educators out there completely kicking butt during this time. Whether you’re in a large school, small school, or new to homeschool — school looks a lot different this year than it ever has before and that change has been….stressful, to say the least.

But I’m excited to hopefully help give you some fun and innovative ways to bring games and game-schooling into the classroom this year!
With a little ingenuity, we can do this!

Plus! I’ve got a special discount code to help you bring some of these games into your school or homeschool!

I’ve heard from a lot of teachers in various parts of the country and everyone’s situation is a little different so some of these games may not work for the regulations in your area.

Some classrooms allow students to use materials within the room, others allow it in small groups with sanitization in-between, while still others don’t allow any sharing of materials whatsoever.

So I’ve got these games broken down into two categories: No Contact & Minimal Contact + Easy Sanitization

This list is just the beginning. Be sure to follow us on Instagram where I’ll continue to share ideas of games that would work in a classroom setting throughout the year as we find them!

No Contact

Here are some games that you can modify to play with no contact. Most all of these will require the use of an overhead projector and the ability to duplicate or laminate player sheets. You could also use dry erase packets! (Here are our favorites!)

Illusion

This is a spatial reasoning card game where you will try to determine proportions of colors on cards compared to other cards and order them. Illusion is easily modified so that only one person (most likely you the educator) has to touch the cards. Use an overhead projector to display the cards on a screen. Call on students to help verbally rearrange the cards so that they are ordered in a specific way according to the goal.

5er Finden

Laminate a player board for each student to keep with their materials. When you are ready to play, the teacher facilitates the game by rolling the dice so they are projected on the screen (or write them on the board) then give everyone 90 seconds to find up to 5 shapes.

Don’t worry about having a winner, just go for you personal best!

Trophies

This word game is one of my favorites to pull out for that “need a game in a pinch” moment and it would be so easy to play with your class to help pass 10-15 minutes! Stand in the front of the room and hold up the letter cards, give the category and see which student can say a word beginning with the letter on the card in that category first. It’s a fun, fast, and simple! Everyone can tally their own score and you’re golden!

This is also easy to modify to create your own categories that are in line with whatever you are studying! History, Science, Literature; the possibilities are endless!
(Read our full review here.)

Color It!

Great for younger elementary students! Make a copy of the coloring sheet for everyone and then roll the dice on the over head projector. Not only a great choice for indoor recess but also when you need some precious quiet time!
(Read our full review here.)

Welcome To…

This Flip and write would be perfect for the older students in Jr High or Highschool! This plays up to 100 so print off or laminate a sheet for each student and you’re set to jet!

Minimal Contact + Easy Sanitization

These games work for smaller groups when your classroom has indoor recess or free time where students can choose activities. They are easily cleaned or modified to make cleaning quick.

Ctrl

This cute area control game is made entirely of plastic! Three cheers being easy to clean! Ctrl plays up to 4 and takes about 20 minutes or less. This is a great spatial game for students in both elementary and upper grades to play. Perfect for ages 8 and up!

Qwinto

We absolutely love this roll and write! It has minimal components and would be so easy to spray or wipe down after play. Simply laminate 6 of the paper sheets, have everyone use their own dry erase marker, put it in a small plastic box or drawer and you’re set!

Similo

This is a simple deduction game that comes in a variety of themes. We have been playing the animal version on the iOS App with the kids. (an easy way to try it out and see if it would work with your classroom!) Similo is both a game that could potentially be played with the class as a group, projecting the cards onto a screen and calling kids up one at a time to remove cards according to your clues, or its simple enough for you to hand to kids to play on their own in a small group. You could put the cards card sleeves to help with wiping down afterwards.

We think the History or Fables version would be a great choice for any classroom – especially if you have been exploring those topics in your studies!

TEAM3

This party game is a perfect fit for smaller groups and limited contact! Three players assume the roles of monkeys who have started a construction company. One player has a set of blue prints but can’t speak; through gestures they must relay the blueprint to the player who can speak who must then tell the player who can’t see how to build the structure with the blocks they have.

Only one person touches the plastic blocks which are easily sanitized so players can either keep the same roles throughout the whole game, wipe the pieces down before switching roles, or wipe everything down after they are done playing.

Wavelength

This would be fun as a group activity where you could divide the classroom into two groups and facilitate the game in the front. It’s an innovative game that can easily be modified to include minimal to no touching by students based on what your classroom needs.
(Read our full review here.)

Concept or Concept Kids: Animals

This is always a favorite and great for a small group activity or if you have the ability to project the image of the board onto a screen you could probably play this with the whole classroom.

For the kid version, you can even remove the cards and just have kids think of animals in their head to give clues for. While the cards help, they aren’t necessary.