Up for a lunch full of making weird sounds and laughing your head off while forgetting the entire English language? Then this online Scattergoties game might be for you!

I’m always on the hunt for free games that make lunches fun for my learn from home kiddos. This version of Scattergories from swellgarfo.com (direct link here) is the bees knees. It’s free, no ads, and super easy to use as long as you can share your screen. You can adjust the time, number of categories, and even create custom categories yourself. If you wanted to use this for academic purposes, personalized categories could make this a fun tool for use during class. I’m planning to play with that feature for SEL check-ins this week.

I’m all about using virtual time constructively, and sometimes that means letting kids be goofy, silly, loud fun kids for awhile. It felt great just to play a silly game, without any academic demands or goals. What a treat just to laugh together over silly words and sounds! So far, we’ve only played it as a group, racing the clock and laughing at the wacky things we come up with together but not keeping score. My students were mostly unfamiliar with the game Scattergories so we started with a few practice rounds, and then they liked the collaborative experience so much they chose to keep playing that way. But you could also easily transition to playing individually, if that’s your jam.

My very favorite is when kids play this without headphones and their unsuspecting parents walk into the room to hear everybody screaming “LOBSTER! LADDER!! LAMBORGHINI!!!!!!” Their facial expressions are priceless, and I love the way they light up watching their at-home learners acting like kids (sometimes it feels like those moments can be few and far between, especially in hybrid programs). Bring on the giggling sillliness!

Have you ever played Scattergories this way?
What are your favorite virtual games to keep students learning from home happy and engaged?