Fun Guessing Games for Kids

Try these guessing games for kids the next time you need a quick classroom activity or something to play at home. These are the games I use most with my students, and they always work well.

“What Am I?” Guessing Games

In the “What Am I?” game, kids are given clues and must guess what is being described. For example: “I am hot. I am bright. I disappear at night. What am I?” (Answer: the sun.) This game works well with the whole class, in teams, or individually. Here are 40+ questions and ready-made quizzes you can use.

If your students enjoy this game, a great extension I find works well is to have them create their own “What Am I?” questions to challenge other teams. This often leads to some hilarious clues and guesses.

Emoji Guessing Games

In these emoji guessing games, kids will see two or three emojis and guess the word they represent. For example, they might see a basket emoji and a ball emoji = “basketball.” You can play Guess the Word by Emoji online here or download versions of this guessing game below.

Hidden Picture Guessing Games

These guessing games are great if you’re teaching vocabulary to kids. Each PowerPoint has an image hidden behind colored shapes. As you click the shapes, the picture is revealed piece by piece and students must guess the word as quickly as they can.

With beginners, students can simply say the word or answer the question “What is it?”. With higher-level students, I usually extend the activity by asking them to make a full sentence or answer follow-up questions such as “Do you like ___?” or “How often do you play ___?”, turning a simple guessing game into a speaking activity.

Download 30+ ready-made hidden picture guessing games or use the editable template to create your own.

Charades (Act It Out)

In this classic guessing game, kids act out a word without speaking while their team tries to guess what it is. To play, write target words or phrases on slips of paper and place them in a container. Divide the class into teams. One student picks a slip and acts out the word while their team tries to guess it. If they guess correctly, they score a point.

Here are some useful tips to make the game run smoothly:

• Use suitable categories. Choose words that are easy to act out, such as animals, action verbs, or daily routines. Avoid abstract words or topics like days of the week, as these are difficult to act and guess.
• Set clear rules. This game can get noisy, so make sure students know that when it’s not their turn, they must stay quiet. Calling out answers can make the game feel unfair.
• Give each student a chance to act. Try to rotate so everyone has a turn, but don’t force shy students if they’re not comfortable. Instead, encourage shy students to join in guessing with their teammates and praise them for trying, even if they guess wrong.

Hot Seat Guessing Game

The Hot Seat game is similar to charades, but instead of acting out the words, students must describe the word without saying it while their teammate tries to guess. For example, if the word was “banana” students might say “It’s a yellow fruit.”

To play in class, divide the class into two or three teams and choose one student from a team to sit with their back to the board. Next, write or display a word behind them so the rest of the class can see it. Their team must then describe the word without saying it, while the student in the “hot seat” tries to guess as quickly as possible. If they guess correctly, they score a point for their team.

Here’s a free online Hot Seat Game you can use to play this guessing game in class.

20 Questions Game

20 Questions is a perfect guessing game for kids as it requires no preparation and no materials. Just think of something, and others must ask yes/no questions to try and guess what it is.

To play, choose a category such as animals, food, or everyday objects. One player thinks of a word and tells the others the category. The rest then take turns asking yes/no questions to narrow down the possibilities before making a guess. For example, they might ask “Is it an animal?”, “Is it a pet?”, or “Does it have four legs?”

When playing this game, a good strategy is to start with general questions and move to more specific ones. I usually point this out to students at the start so they don’t jump straight to specific guesses like “Is it an apple?”, as they can quickly run out of questions.

If you’re planning to play this game with kids, check out these 20 Question Game example categories and words you can use.

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