Play the Classic Hot Seat Game with This Interactive Classroom Tool
This Hot Seat tool makes it easy to play the classic classroom guessing game with your students. Teachers can enter their own custom words or choose from a huge bank of random words, then set a timer for each round and start the game. It’s fast-paced, fun, and great for vocabulary practice, communication skills, and team play.
Here’s how it works: one student sits in the “hot seat” — facing away from the screen so they can’t see the words. The teacher clicks “Start,” and the first word is shown on screen. The rest of the class (or the student’s team) gives clues to help the hot seat player guess the word — but without saying the word itself! If they guess correctly, the teacher clicks “Correct” to score a point. If they get stuck, click “Pass” to skip and come back to it later.
How To Play
Step 1: Choose “Custom” or “Random Words”
Enter your own list of words or click “Random Words” to generate a set from our built-in word bank. These can be vocabulary words from your lesson, topics you’re reviewing, or fun categories like animals, food, or actions — whatever fits your class. You’ll need to enter at least 5 words to start the game, but for the best experience — especially with longer rounds — we recommend using 15 or more.
Step 2: Set the time limit
Choose how long each round should last — 30 seconds, 45 seconds, or 60 seconds. If you’re using fewer words or working with younger or beginner students, 30 seconds is usually best. 60 seconds can feel quite long for students in the hot seat, so adjust the time to match your class and the challenge level.
Step 3: Put one student in the hot seat
The student in the hot seat should sit facing away from the screen so they can’t see the words. The rest of the class (or their team) will see the word on screen and give clues.
Step 4: Click “Start Game”
Once the student is ready, click “Start Game.” The first word will appear on the screen, and the timer will begin.
Step 5: Give clues — without saying the word!
The rest of the class, or the player’s teammates if playing in teams, give clues to help the hot seat player guess the word. They can describe it, act it out, or give examples — just not say the actual word!
Step 6: Click “Correct” or “Pass”
If the student guesses the word correctly, click “Correct” to score a point and move to the next word. If they’re stuck, click “Pass” — the word will be sent to the back of the list and shown again later if there’s still time left in the round.
Step 7: Repeat with a new player or team
After each round, switch the person in the hot seat and play again. Keep track of how many words each player or team guesses correctly — the student or team with the most points at the end wins!
Suggested Ways to Use This Tool
The Hot Seat game can be played anytime with a set of random words — perfect for a quick warm-up or a fun brain break. But it’s also easy to adapt for different classroom activities and learning goals. Here are some of our favorite ways to use this tool in class.
Review Activity
Enter keywords or phrases from your recent lessons and use Hot Seat to review them in a fun, fast-paced way. Students will need to understand the vocabulary well enough to describe it, and the hot seat player has to recall it quickly based on the clues. Great for end-of-lesson review or a quick recap before a test.
Team Challenge
Let students come up with the word list themselves to challenge the other team. This adds an extra layer of fun and engagement — students love trying to come up with tricky words to stump their classmates! You can even turn it into a mini competition: each team creates a list, and then takes turns guessing the other team’s words.
Put the Teacher in the Hot Seat
Flip the game and let students give the clues while you sit in the hot seat. It’s a fun way to get students thinking creatively, and they’ll love the chance to try and stump their teacher. It’s also a great way to model how to give effective clues.
Describing Appearance
Enter your students’ names as the word list and use the game to practice describing people. When a name appears, the rest of the class gives clues about that student’s appearance, like “She has glasses,” or “He’s wearing a red shirt.” It’s a great way to build vocabulary for describing people, and students always get a kick out of guessing each other!