With games, learning won’t feel like learning: It’ll feel like playtime! 9 Grin-worthy Spanish Classroom Games for All Ages. We’ve got a lot to cover here, but first we’ll explore games to amp up your students’ Spanish vocabulary. El Juego de Correr. To play this game, split your class evenly into two teams. Jun 08, 2008 One thing is the French deck (we call it like that), or its English version with 52 cards, and another one the Spanish one, with 40 cards (or the extended one with 48). I wouldn't mix them. Card games, decks, and card names vary considerably from country to country. The traditional Spanish.
Traditional games in Spanish teach language and culture. These 12 games are from Latin America and Spain, and all of them incorporate language, so they are excellent to play with children learning Spanish. In addition to vocabulary and common grammatical structures, these traditional games in Spanish are culturally relevant and fun. They are played every day by children around the world.
Popular card game with a Spanish name. Let's find possible answers to 'Popular card game with a Spanish name' crossword clue. First of all, we will look for a few extra hints for this entry: Popular card game with a Spanish name. Finally, we will solve this crossword puzzle clue and get the correct word.
These 12 traditional games in Spanish all have a significant language component that make them valuable for children learning Spanish, but they are not too difficult.
See our complete collection of traditional Spanish games for kids learning language. Also, read the Wikipedia article about more traditional games in Spanish to use with advanced learners or native speakers.
1. 1, 2, 3 Momia Es (1, 2, 3 Calabaza)
If you are looking for Spanish games for beginners, this is a good place to start. This playground game is called 1, 2, 3 Momia Es in South America. In Mexico, the same game is called 1, 2, 3 Calabaza. If you are in Spain, it is 1,2,3 Escondite Inglés and in English it is Red Light, Green Light.
In the game, one player faces a wall or a tree with the rest of the group behind her at a distance. The group tries to move forward while her back is to them. She says Un, dos, tres momia es (or 1, 2, 3, calabaza) spins around, and tries to catch someone moving. Everyone must stand perfectly still, like a mummy (or a pumpkin), while she is watching. If she sees someone move, that person must return to the starting line. The first person to reach her takes her place.
1,2,3 Momia es is one of the active, traditional games in Spanish that you can play with kids of ages.
2. Basta
This game is called Basta in Mexico, but it has lots of names: Tutti frutti, ¡Mercadito!, Stop, Lápiz quieto, Animales con E, Alto el fuego, Ensalada rusa. It is one of my go-to Spanish vocabulary games because it uses categories. Basically, it is the original, non-commercial version of Scattergories.
Spanish Playing Cards Games
Check out my printable boards for Basta for Spanish vocabulary practice and more details on how to score the game.
If you’re not using printable boards, everyone makes a game board with categories. Common categories include nombre, cosa, animal, fruta o verdura, color, país o ciudad and apellido. Categories can be anything though, including pop culture references like marca, música, famosos/as. When I play with children learning Spanish, I usually include verbo or acción as a category.
Next, players select a letter. One person says the alphabet very quickly and someone else stops her by saying basta. Whatever letter the person is saying when she hears basta is the letter for that round.
Basta is one of the traditional games in Spanish that you can use to review vocabulary. Make the categories fit the themes you have covered in class for a fun way to re-enter lots of words.
3. Tripas de Gato
Tripas de gato is one of the traditional games in Spanish you can play with a wide range of ages. Players take turns drawing lines between pairs of numbers (1 to 1, 2 to 2) without crossing or touching any other lines. This gets harder as the lines form a maze.
Of course, as teachers we need Spanish classroom games that include vocabulary other than numbers. I adapt Tripas de gato to practice lots of other vocabulary. Check out these adaptations of Tripas de gato for language learners and find more instructions.
4. A Pares y Nones
Traditional games in Spanish teach basic concepts like numbers, and well as language. This game is played in classes in Mexico. If you are looking for traditional preschool Spanish games, this is a good one to try.
To play, everyone joins hands in a circle and walks singing the song. Then, the leader (teacher) calls out a number and everyone hurries to form a group with that number of people. I have also seen the game played using other traditional songs, like Limón partido.
This video shows A pares y nones with groups of different ages, so you can get a good idea of how it works. These are words that you hear in the video:
A pares y nones / Evens and odds
vamos a jugar. / We are going to play.
El que quede solo / Whoever is left alone,
solo quedará. / will stay alone.
5. ¿Quién Robó el Pan?
This is one of my favorite Spanish learning games. Like many traditional games in Spanish it has a chant in the form of a dialog, and kids often play on a bus or when a group is waiting. Players clap and they recite a dialog that uses high-frequency vocabulary, a regular -ar verb in the preterite and the verb ser in the preterite. If you are looking for traditional Spanish games for high school, this is a good choice.
This is the dialog:
Todos – Jorge robó pan en la casa de San Juan.
Jorge -¿Quién, yo?
Todos – Sí, tú.
Jorge – Yo no fui.
Todos – Entonces, ¿quién?
Jorge – Ana
Todos – Ana robó pan en la casa de San Juan.
Ana – ¿Quién, yo?
Todos – Sí, tú.
Ana – Yo no fui.
Todos – Entonces, ¿quién?
Ana – Mari
Watch a video of the traditional Spanish game ¿Quién robó el pan?.
6. Mar y Tierra
This is one of my favorite preschool Spanish activities. This is a very simple game, and it can be played inside if you have enough space and do not mind the jumping. Kids jump between two spaces designated mar and tierra.
To play, kids line up beside a line on the ground, so that they can jump sideways over the line. They can also face the line and jump forward and back. One side of the line is mar and the other side is tierra. A person who has been chosen to call first calls out mar and tierra as the players jump across the line (or in place) to be on the correct side.
You can see videos of the traditional game Mar y tierra here.
7. Hand-clapping Games
There are many traditional hand-clapping games. The simplest are based on one word, like mariposa or chocolate. Others are much more complicated.
Hand-clapping activities are great Spanish games for class because kids practice correct pronunciation and also learn vocabulary and structures. Here are links to posts about a few of the most common that I use with kids learning Spanish.
Mariposa and Chocolate
Por aquí pasó un caballo and Estaba la Catalina
Marinero
Debajo del puente
8. Piedra, Papel, Tijera
The game rock, paper, scissors is played all over the Spanish-speaking world. In most countries it is piedra (rock), papel (paper) o tijera (or scissors). In Peru, it is called janquenpón, from the Japanese yan-ken-pon, and in Chile it is called cachipún. This is the rhythm that you chant as you play: piedra papel tijera
Card Game With Spanish Name
9. Frío o Caliente
This is a one of the most versatile traditional Spanish games. It can be played anywhere, with any number of kids. Children play Frío o caliente in Spanish the same way they play Hot or Cold in English. There are just a few Spanish phrases to learn, and you can easily adapt the game to review Spanish vocabulary.
To play Frío o caliente, choose one person who will look for something. That person leaves the room, and the others hide a small object or choose something in the room.
When the person who is guessing returns, the others call out these Spanish phrases:
– Caliente, caliente – You are close.
– ¡Te quemas! (You are burning) – You are very close.
– Tibio, tibio (lukewarm) – You are at a middle distance.
– Frío, frío – You are farther away.
– Te estás congelando (You are freezing) – You are very far away.
You may want to set a time limit of two or three minutes. The game ends when the person finds the object or time runs out. Someone else leaves the room and the game starts again.
10. Veo, Veo
Veo, veo is the equivalent of I Spy, and it begins with a simple rhyme – a question-answer exchange.
1 – Veo, veo. / I see, I see
2 – ¿Qué ves? / What do you see?
1 – Una cosita. / A thing.
2 – ¿Qué cosita es? / What thing is it?
The game is great for practicing yes-no questions and all kinds of descriptive language. Read about several variations of the game and a Veo, veo song.
11. La Traes
Tag has different names in different Spanish-speaking countries. In Mexico, it is called la traes, which translates roughly as “you have it.” In Spain, it is called pilla-pilla or tú la llevas. In Argentina, tag is la mancha and in Peru las chapadas. Of course there are many variations of tag, but these are the phrases used to play basic tag in Mexico.
Vamos a jugar a la traes. – Let’s play tag.
¿Quieres jugar a la traes? – Do you want to play tag?
¿Quién la trae? – Who is it? (Literally – Who is carrying it? / Who has it?)
>Yo la traigo. – I’m it. (Literally – I am carrying it. / I have it.)
¡Tú la traes! – You’re it. (Literally – You are carrying it. / You have it.)
Sofia la trae. – Sophia is it. (Literally – Sophia is carrying it. / Sophia has it.)
La base – safe (the place you can not be tagged)
Me salvo/ A salvo – I’m safe.
12. ¿Lobo Estás?
¿Lobo estás?, or Juguemos en el bosque, is one of the best-known traditional games in Spanish. To play, children join hands and walk or skip in a circle. One child, the wolf, remains outside the circle, a short distance away. (An adult can also play the part of the wolf.)
The children in the circle walk and sing Juguemos en el bosque mientras el lobo no está. Juguemos en el bosque mientras el lobo no está. Then they stop and ask ¿Lobo, estás? The wolf, answers by saying that he is putting on a piece of clothing and acts out putting it on: Me estoy poniendo los pantalones. The kids in the circle sing the song and ask again, until at some point the wolf answers: Estoy con hambre. ¡Me los voy a comer a todos! and chases the others.
Here are more detailed instructions for ¿Lobo estás? with adaptations for language learners and a link to a video.
Children learn language and culture from traditional games in Spanish, so I encourage you to try these at home or in class. I hope you enjoy these fun Spanish games!
Is there any sight better than a classroom full of smiling students?
Incorporating things your students love to do into language lessons will lead to effortless learning that may actually be—gasp—fun!
Chances are, the vast majority of them, no matter their ages, love games.
Whether their favorites are video games, board games, schoolyard games or some other sort, all students are jazzed to get in some playtime during classtime.
The Benefits of Spanish Classroom Games
Ever notice how the mind begins to wander and drift when it attempts to focus on boring topics?
Even if the topic itself is actually fascinating, if it isn’t presented in an entertaining and engaging way, it still feels impossible to focus and get the most out of studying said topic.
Filling your lessons with practical activities that your students will actually enjoy doing will give them a positive association with Spanish class and keep them wanting to pursue their studies. Keeping everyone motivated should be one of your primary goals as a teacher.
It’s extremely important to integrate a variety of activities involving listening, reading, writing and speaking practice into your lesson plans.
Games are extremely versatile, and can be added to most lesson plans without a second thought. They can be used as vehicles to deliver new language concepts or as a means of reinforcing recent lessons.
With games, learning won’t feel like learning: It’ll feel like playtime!
We’ve got a lot to cover here, but first we’ll explore games to amp up your students’ Spanish vocabulary.
1. El Juego de Correr
To play this game, split your class evenly into two teams. Start counting at #1 and give a different sequential number to each member of the team. Then dole out these numbers to the other team’s players as well. If there are 12 students in your class, this means that you’ll now how two groups of 6 with students numbered from 1-6.
Have each team line up in a row. Next, say any English word and then a number in Spanish. For example, “apple” and “nueve.”
Both students numbered “nueve” should rush to the whiteboard and write manzana as quickly as possible. The winner is then awarded a point. The game continues until one team scores the winning number of points (determined by you or your students).
2. Bingo
Not as in the farmer’s dog, although you could likely incorporate that song into class if so desired as well! This Bingo is a tried and true game that makes practicing new vocabulary engaging and interactive for students.
To play, print out blank or prepared Bingo grids for each of your students. You can fill out the grids with an assortment of vocabulary that you’ve been teaching lately. If the cards are blank, have the students fill in each blank on their grid with a different vocabulary word.
Afterwards, call out each of the vocabulary words. The first student to get an entire row (vertical, horizontal, or diagonal) yells out “bingo!” and wins. Once many students have a “bingo,” you can continue to play for “blackout,” meaning the entire board is crossed out.
For a free bingo card generator, check out print-bingo.com or osric.com.
3. ¿Qué es?
This game will get those neurons firing in your students’ minds as they try to guess certain Spanish objects.
For this activity, you’ll need a deck of cards with pictures of different things on them. You can do any category you like: foods, animals, colors, etc. You can then pick students one by one or ask for a volunteer to come up to the front and select a card.
Instruct the student to show the card to the rest of the class without looking at it him or herself. Then, the student will have to guess what’s on the card he or she selected based on clues from the rest of the class. This should all be done 100% in Spanish, of course!
4. Circumlocution Game
Ever have a word on the tip of your tongue, but you just can’t remember it? Or, do you ever want to describe something but you don’t know the word for it in another language? Well, this game is useful for just those instances!
At the start of class, divide your students into pairs or groups of up to four. Next, write a broad or specific topic on the board. For example, comida or, more specifically, frutas rojas. How broad the topic is will depend on how much vocabulary your students have learned and on how difficult you want the game to be.
Once all students have read the category, have all of the students in the group except one turn away from the board. Next, write some vocabulary words specific to the category on the board.
For the frutas rojas example, you could write manzana, fresa, tomato and frambuesa. The one student per group who can see the board must then describe the vocabulary words without actually saying them. This will force them to venture out of their vocabulary comfort zones and get creative with adjectives!
All set for vocabulary games now? Great! Let’s move on to some vivacious verb games.
5. Verb Tic-Tac-Toe
Tic-tac-toe, three in a row! Unlike the version of this game with which your students are already familiar, they’ll have to do a bit more work to win the Spanish verb version.
First, have your students pair up. Next, ask each one to draw a tic-tac-toe board with various subjects in the spaces. For example, they could write “nosotros” in one square and “yo” in another.
To play, students will need some kind of reference sheet filled with Spanish verbs. You could whip one up yourself to print and distribute in class, or you could have them use the index of a verb conjugation book or choose from a deck of cards with verbs written on them. To start taking their turns, have the students choose verbs by pointing to a random one on the give sheet, book index or deck of cards.
Each round of the game should focus on a particular verb conjugation. For example, “for this round, we’ll conjugate in the imperfecto.” When the student is up at bat and wants to put an X or O in a certain box, they’ll need to consider the verb tense you indicated, the subject in the square and the random verb that they and their partner selected. They’ll then need to do the conjugation for the selected verb properly. If they don’t get the conjugation right, they don’t get their square.
Whoever gets three Xs or Os in a row first wins!
6. Simón Dice
Touch your head! Uh oh, Simon didn’t say! You’re out! Surely you’ve played the game Simon Says at least once in your life, and it’s likely that your students have too. Simón Dice, the Spanish version of this classic game, is a perfect way for your students to practice mandatos and vocabulary simultaneously.
Ask for one student to volunteer or pick on someone to come to the front and be Simón. Simón will need to give commands to the rest of the class. Anyone who does an action that isn’t preceded by “Simón dice” is out!
7. Direcciones
Just in case Simón Dice didn’t provide enough mandatos fun for your students, there’s always the game Direcciones! The practical applications of this game make it an optimal one to play in class.
During this activity, ask your students to partner up. Distribute maps of cities and ask your students to take turns leading each other to destinations on the maps.
The student giving the directions should have a destination in mind, but they can’t share it with their partner. The partner being guided must listen carefully and make their way to the intended destination on the map. Mes-english.com has a simple option of a town map that works for this exercise, as does maps-kid.com.
8. Cucharas
Perhaps you’ve heard of (or have played) the card game “spoons.” This is simply the Spanish twist on the game, which can be used to teach or review Spanish verbs or vocabulary.
First, make a deck of about 50 cards for each group of about six students that’ll play in class. What goes on these cards? Well, that’s totally up to your and your current teaching topics. Generally speaking, you’ll want have 25 cards with 25 matching card. The first half might be infinitive verbs, and the second half might be conjugated versions of these verbs. Or the first half could be conjugated verbs and the second half could be subjects that match up with them. Once you’ve gotten your content created, print out the flashcards.
When the students can match two related cards, they can take a spoon from the center of the table (and try to do so without the other group members noticing). When other players notice that a spoon is being taken, they too may grab a spoon. Whoever gets the most spoons at the end wins!
9. Globo
This game is a little more active than the others, so get ready to move. Prior to playing Globo, you’ll need to track down a sports ball such as a volleyball or a beach ball. If you’ll be playing the game indoors, try to choose a ball that will cause no damage to indoor furniture. That being said, it’s probably best to play Globo outside or in a gymnasium, if available.
For this game, have students take turns throwing the ball. If the ball hits a certain object (for example, the wall or a tree), then the student gets a question corresponding to a specific category. You could say that hitting the tree means the student gets a grammar question. Need ideas for questions to ask? Check out e-spanyol.hu or take exercises from the textbook or workbook you use in class.
This is a nice, easygoing game that really doesn’t have winners or losers, it just gets everyone moving, active and thinking on their toes.
Another game that can touch on any topic that you cover in class is Jeopardy, which is sure to please any student. For further information on playing Jeopardy and other games, check out our previous Spanish grammar games post!
For even more resources on game or lesson ideas for the Spanish classroom, there are tons of sites that you can visit on the Internet.
Just get exploring!
As long as you’re ready and able to have some fun, games will become an effortless addition to your lesson plans.
And One More Thing…
If you already love the idea of teaching Spanish with high quality materials like these, another option is to use FluentU.
How can video clips aid Spanish teachers in class? FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, cartoons, documentaries and more—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons for you and your students.
We’ve got a tremendous collection of authentic Spanish videos that people in the Spanish-speaking world actually watch on the regular. There are tons of great choices here when you’re looking for material for in-class activities or homework. Plus, all the videos are sorted by skill level and are carefully annotated for students.
Each video has interactive subtitles. If a student comes across a word they’re unfamiliar with, they can hover their cursor over the subtitled word. That word’s definition, pronunciation and in-context usage examples will all pop up on-screen instantly. This is what your students will get after they click “watch” on a video. Clicking “learn” opens up a whole new learning experience for them.
In learn mode, all the vocabulary and grammar from the video is taught and reinforced through varied repetition (practicing the same concepts in different forms and contexts). They’ll play with flashcards, games, word matches and exercises like “fill in the blank.”
The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that they’re learning, and it recommends examples and videos based on what they’ve already learned. Every student has a truly personalized experience, even if they’re learning the same video.
You can get them started by signing yourself up for a FluentU Pro account (designed just for teachers!) and creating lesson plans with videos. Just take a look at this quick start guide!
Use FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes store or Google Play store.
If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to teach Spanish with real-world videos.