ESL Category Games
Balloon Volleyball

In this energetic categories game, students try to keep a balloon airborne while saying words from a category. Create a large space in the classroom. Divide the space in two with a row of chairs. This acts as the volleyball net. Explain that... read more
Board Races

This categories board race game helps students brainstorm their vocabulary knowledge for a given subject or topic. Each team lines up in front of the board. Write a category on the board and set a target number of 10 to 20 words, depending on... read more
Category Battleships

In this entertaining category words game, students play a game of Battleships to find words and name the category the words relate to. Give each group a category on a piece of paper. Working together, students come up with seven words belonging... read more
In the Circle

Here is a challenging category game that can be adapted to any topic or level. Ask six students to sit on the chairs and one student to stand outside of the circle. The student outside the circle chooses which player should have the ball and... read more
List of Categories

Monkey in the Middle

Here is a fun category game to play with young learners. Students stand up and make a large circle. Give one student in the circle a ball. Select another student to be the monkey. The monkey stands in the middle of the circle. The monkey's... read more
One by One

In this engaging category words game, students guess words belonging to a category as letters are gradually added to each word. Write numbers 1 to 10 on the board. Tell the two teams what the words all have in common, e.g. they are all animals... read more
Race to the Bottom

Here is a fast-paced category game for students of all ages. Draw a table on the board with teams at the top and letters down the side as shown in the PDF. All teams start on the top row. To move down to the next row, teams must say a word... read more
Scattegories

This categories game encourages students to think of unique words belonging to a category. Write ten numbered categories on the board. This game can be played individually, in pairs or small teams. Students then play a game where they think of a... read more
Seek and Destroy

This lively categories game helps students to identify words from categories. Cover the board with words from ten categories. There should be three words for each category. Next, each team lines up at the back of the room. Call out a category... read more
Stickmen

In this category game, students think of words that relate to a category. Draw three stickmen for each team on the board. The stickmen represent each team's number of lives. Call out a category, e.g. countries. The teams' task is to think of... read more
Stop

In this entertaining categories game, students try to write down uncommon category words beginning with a certain letter. Write ten categories on the board. Teams then race to write down one word for each category beginning with a chosen letter... read more
Stop the Music Game

This musical category words game is ideal for reviewing categories of words. On the board, write ten categories and number them one to ten, e.g. 1. Sport, 2 Verb, etc. In the centre of the board, draw a square and inside the square write a... read more