Tools for teachers and
students to create games
Purpose Games is a free service that allows users to create custom games, share games, and play games. There are two styles of games that you can create and play on Purpose Games. The simpler of the two styles is a fairly basic multiple choice game. The other style uses images and maps on which players have to name the places represented by place marks on the image or map. For an example, try this game about the skeletal system.
Learningapps.org a Web 2.0 application, to support learning and teaching processes with small interactive modules. Those modules can be used directly in learning materials, but also for self studying. Simple drop and drag interface.
GeoGuessr
is an addictive geography game that has become quite popular since its
launch earlier this year. Now you can create your own GeoGuessr game by
using
Mission Map Quest developed by Russel Tarr, is a map-based tool for creating virtual treasure hunts. The concept is simple, you create a series of clues that your students need to follow to identify places around the world. You can add as few or as many clues to your Map Quest as you like. When you're ready to have students try your Quest just give them the web address of the challenge or have them scan the QR code assigned to your Quest.
GeoSettr.
When you visit GeoSettr you'll see two screens. A map with a Pegman on
your left and the Street View imagery for the Pegman's current location
on your right. Move the Pegman around, zoom-in if you like, until you
find the location that you want people to guess. When you've found the
right location click "set round" to save the location. When you've set
five rounds (locations) your game is assigned a URL that you can
distribute.
Connect Fours.
Connect Fours is based on the concept of the connect wall in the BBC
gameshow Only Connect. The idea is that you have to create four sets of
four related terms from sixteen terms displayed on the board.
QuizGeo you can browse and play pre-made geography quizzes or create your own quizzes. All of the quizzes operate in the same fashion of presenting you with a place name and requiring you to click on that place on a map before time expires. To create your own games you need to register on QuizGeo. After registering, creating your quiz is easy to do. To create a quiz just name it, click submit, then click "add questions." To add questions just enter a place or address in the search box then outline that place using the pointer provided and click "save question." You can add as many places to your quiz as you like
Sugarcane, a free web tool that lets you easily create lots of different kinds of learning games, as well as access ones that others have created.
Dustbin Game.
In the Dustbin Game students have to sort terms into categories that
you create. You can have up to four categories in your game. In the
video embedded below I demonstrate how to create a simple geography
review game on the Dustbin. Video
Create a Flash-based Jeopardy Game to play on or offline.
eQuizShow is a Jeopardy like service that was built by a high school student in New York. Unlike similar tools you do not have to download or upload any PowerPoint files to use eQuizShow. On eQuizShow you can build and display your quiz completely online. To build your quiz just enter a title, an administrative password, and your question categories. eQuizShow will then generate a grid on which you can enter questions and answers. If you don't have time to build a quiz or you just need some inspiration, browse the eQuizShow gallery. When you play the games you have the option to assign points to up to six teams playing the game. You can also play without awarding points.
Play Your Dates Right create a game that is focused on helping students recall the sequence of historical events video
Arcade Game Generator provides
teachers and students with a ready-made template where they can input
their questions and answers and create interactive games. To start using
Arcade Game Generator, type in or paste your questions and answers in
the provided box. Make sure you separate questions and answers with
asterisk. Each new question should be started in a new line. When you
are done you can save your input for later use of embed it in classroom
blog or wiki.
Powerpoint Games K-5
Quiz Show Games to play online Similar to Powerpoint games but you create these Flash-based games online.
FlipQuiz create and display Jeopardy-style review games. To create a game just register for a free account then select "new board." To create your questions simply type in the question and answer boxes. Try a demo quiz on the FlipQuiz homepage to see how the presentation view works.
FlipQuiz is free to use for text-based questions. A premium plan is available if you want to use images in your questions or answers. FlipQuizzes that you create in the free plan are automatically shared into the public gallery of quizzes.
Game Show Soundboard app to create simple game shows with sound effects
NCW EdGames
offers ten free templates for creating educational review games using
PowerPoint and Excel. Each template is accompanied by a video tutorial
to help you get started.
Gameboards may have more impact if the students create the questions and answers rather than playing a competitive game the teacher creates.
Parade of Games K-12 Powerpoint and other tools to create games
Jeopardy Labs is a free service you can use to create your own online Jeopardy game. Jeopardy Labs provides
a blank template on which to build your game. You do not need to
register in order to build your own game. However, if you want to be
able to edit your game at a later point you will want to create a
password before you create your game. When completed your game is given
its one unique url. Post that url on your blog, wiki, or website and
anyone can then play your game.
Factile is a free platform for creating Jeopardy-style game boards to
use in your classroom. Factile lets you create games and save them in
your account to use whenever you need them. When you create your game
you can include images in the answer display. One of the new features is
a gallery of templates for creating games. You can browse the template
gallery and make copies of the ones that you want to use in your
classroom.
Jeopardy Web-based no registration Keep team scores
Blended Play. Blended Play provides five online game boards that you can project in your classroom to use as the template for review games. video www.freetech4teachers.com
QuizBreak! lets teachers easily create Jeopardy-like games for free that will be hosted online. What makes it really top-notch is that you can add images, video and audio to the questions, too.
eQuizShow Used to create Jeopardy-style games online. Unlike similar tools you do not have to download or upload any PowerPoint files to use eQuizShow.
Many Powerpoint Quiz Show Games
GameBuilder lets you create lots of different types of learning games – see the screenshot above to see the options. Once you create it, anyone with its url address can play. The site also has a large collection of games created by its users.
FlipQuiz is a web tool that allows teachers to easily create gameshow-style boards for test reviews in the classroom. All the boards you create can be saved for later use. You can also share your boards up on-screen and have students work on them collaboratively. Watch this demo to show you what a gameshow-style board looks like.
PlayBrighter (gr. 1-8) A user starts out by creating a "Peeble" (avatar), then going on a variety of educational missions. These missions focus on different subject areas such as: Geography, Economics, History, and more. As a person completes a mission more and more of them become "unlocked" and they are able to purchase items/buildings.
PBS Kids Lucky Star Game Show template. gr. 3-5 The template contains 150 questions that can be used to create games. One of the activities that you can develop using the template is a "game show" featuring your students' favorite Cyberchase characters.
Mission Map Quest, developed by Russel Tarr, is a map-based tool for creating virtual treasure hunts. The concept is simple, you create a series of clues that your students need to follow to identify places around the world. You can add as few or as many clues to your Map Quest as you like. When you're ready to have students try your Quest just give them the web address of the challenge or have them scan the QR code assigned to your Quest.
Flash Board Game allows up to 6 players or 6 teams to race their way to the end of the board. In order to advance players must answer your questions as they go. Watch out for the Chance squares that offer both rewards and punishments!
Flash Who Want to be a Millionaire lets you create a multiple choice review game in the style of the hit show of the same name that you know and love. Use the simple web form to enter your questions, choices, and correct response for each and you can challenge your students or a friend to a game of Who Wants to be a Millionaire! This game also supports downloading for offline play.
Save Skelly a game generator - create interactive assessments which can be uploaded to a website or stored in your computer as a .swf file.
ProProfs Brain Games allows you to build
interactive crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, word searches, hangman
games, and sliding puzzle games. The games you create can be embedded
into your blog or shared via email, Twitter, Facebook, or Myspace. If
you don't want to take the time to create your own game, you can browse
the gallery of games. All of the games in gallery can be embedded into
your blog.
Bubbabrain math games and capability to create your own.
WISE - create an interactive web based science inquiry environment.
Braineos an application that will nourish the user’s brain, figuratively anyway. The site provides user with a way to create flash cards. These can be used in games to help the user learn and retain information. A challenge feature is also available that allows the user to compete with friends using their flash cards. A search box allows users to browse for existing flash cards that they can use.
Gabriel Seeds K - 5 Selection of over 20 types of association games to create from templates Tutorial
Gabriel Seeds K - 5 Selection of over 20 types of association games to create from templates Tutorial
ClassTools.net is a free service teachers can use to create their own educational games. Games made on ClassTools.net can be shared via email or embedded into a blog or website.
Scratch is a programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations on the web. As young people create and share Scratch projects, they learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.
BYOB/Snap This is an advanced offshoot of Scratch, a visual programming from the MIT Media Lab. This version is an attempt to extend the brilliant accessibility of Scratch to somewhat older users
Sharendipity a web based creativity suite where anyone can build and deploy engaging and interactive web applications.
Create games and widgets.
What 2 Learn is a website
offering more than two thousand educational games for middle school and
high school age students. If that library doesn't have what they're
looking for, teachers can create custom games using twelve different
templates provided by What 2 Learn. What 2 LearnWhat 2 Learn
is a European based website so some of the games, particularly the
math games where money is expressed as Euros and Pounds, may not be
appropriate for US students. Also offers teachers the option to monitor their students' scores.
Gamesalad GameSalad aims to open the doors of game design to anyone who wants to create. With GameSalad's complete set of tools and editors, bring your game to market faster and easier than with any other development platform; and without coding a single line. No coding, drag and drop embeddable
Starlogo A great site for making games and other programs. Made by the same group as Scratch. It is is similar to use, but has many different and exciting features.
Game Mechanic Many teacher resources, Free and Premium options. Also look at this teacher's project and additional resources.
Construct 2 Learn to build games.requires very little programming knowledge because it's all drag'n'drop, intuitive, visual and event-driven
GamePress Use GamePress to introduce students to programming and game development!
Unreal Engine 4 is a complete suite of game development tools made by game developers, for game developers. From 2D mobile games to console blockbusters and VR, Unreal Engine 4 gives you everything you need to start, ship, grow and stand out from the crowd.
ProProfs Brain Games allows you to build interactive crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, word searches, hangman games, and sliding puzzle games. The games you create can be embedded into your blog or shared via email, Twitter, Facebook, or Myspace. If you don't want to take the time to create your own game, you can browse the gallery of games. All of the games in gallery can be embedded into your blog.
Bubbabrain math games and capability to create your own.
Clever Games for Clever People – Offline games that you can make.
Educaplay Not actually for creating games but interactive activities and puzzles.
Stencyl
(video overview) is a free program for creating flash-based games on your Mac or Windows
computer. Using Stencyl you can create a fairly complex game even if you
don't have any coding skills at all. To create and direct the actions within your games
Stencyl gives you a block-snapping interface to construct actions and
sequences. This is similar to Scratch or Android App Inventor.
StencylWorksgr. 5-12 drag and drop interface game programming
Stencyl recommends that you
have at least an hour to work through the first game creation tutorial.
That said, the process of figuring out the sequences that go into a game
could be a great exercise in developing logical problem solving skills.
YoYo Games hosts hundreds
of relatively simple online games created by amateur and professional
game developers. That's not why I'm pointing it out to you. I'm
pointing it out because free Game Maker 8 tutorials. Game Maker 8 ($50 for upgrade) enables users to develop simple video games using a drag
and drop editor. Game Maker 8 gives users the ability to customize
backgrounds and actions throughout their games. For the first-time user
YoYo Games offers a series of free Game Maker 8 tutorials.
Adventure Maker - download and install Adventure Maker to make an interactive 3D virtual environment
Thinking Worlds Thinking
Worlds is a 3D sims & games engine and authoring tool. It enables
novice and advanced developers alike to create and publish highly
immersive simulations – rapidly. It has been designed from the start
around the needs of designers and enables quick development of 3D sims
& games. When you’re finished creating and building your sims,
Thinking Worlds enables you to publish your project as either a
standalone sim. Web-delivered sim or a mobile sim for iPad and iPhone
requires a product purchase.
Sploder.com make your own online games for free? Sploder makes it super easy for you
to make your own free games online and share them with your friends.
Make your own platformer games, spaceship shooters, space adventure
games, and now, there is a physics game maker has been launched
for creating original minigames!
ChallengeYou is a fun and safe online community of really creative kids. We give you the tools you need to quickly create fun, online, multiplayer games that you can play with your friends, family, and other ChallengeYou members.
WISE - create an interactive web based science inquiry environment.
Kodu Kodu is a visual programming language made specifically for creating games.
Suitable for: All ages Kodu lets kids create games on the PC and XBox via a simple visual
programming language. Kodu can be used to teach creativity, problem
solving, storytelling, as well as programming. Anyone can use Kodu to
make a game, young children as well as adults with no design or
programming skills.
Resources: Kodu for data handling -
Quest Create your own text adventure games. Quest brings 1980's style
adventure games up to date. Now you can create your own exciting text
adventure, even including graphics and sound
G4C Toolkit A toolkit for those interested in building games for social change.
Fresh Brain, On Fresh Brain students and teachers can find projects in which they build games, build iPhone and Facebook apps, make web pages, and mash-up videos. Fresh Brain provides space and a forum for students to connect and collaborate. To complete each project, Fresh Brain provides a list of suggested tools and getting started guides for completing each task. Applications for Education There is no shortage of project and activity ideas on Fresh Brain. Teachers looking for creative ways to bring digital content creation into the classroom should explore Fresh Brain. The projects and tools suggested on Fresh Brain are intended for middle school and high school use.
AppInventor Help your students make their own Android apps with this useful tool from Google Labs. The site comes with some good tutorials and guides with example projects.
ARIS is a user-friendly, open-source platform for creating and playing mobile games,
tours and interactive stories. Drag and drop technology
Fresh Brain, On Fresh Brain students and teachers can find projects in which they build games, build iPhone and Facebook apps, make web pages, and mash-up videos. Fresh Brain provides space and a forum for students to connect and collaborate. To complete each project, Fresh Brain provides a list of suggested tools and getting started guides for completing each task. Applications for Education There is no shortage of project and activity ideas on Fresh Brain. Teachers looking for creative ways to bring digital content creation into the classroom should explore Fresh Brain. The projects and tools suggested on Fresh Brain are intended for middle school and high school use.
Construct
(gr 6-12) Windows- It aims to allow games to be created in an easy drag
and drop manner, using an event-based programming system, or optionally
with Python scripting.
Game Develop is a free game development software, allowing creation of any kind of two-dimensional games. No programming knowledge is required, all the development process is made thanks to a graphical user interface, with all editors integrated. The creation under Game Develop is entirely visual and intuitive:
GameMaker: Studio - Create professional games using this Mac and Windows desktop program. Caters to both entry-level and experienced programmers.
Sploder Arcade Creator Make your own arcade games with Sploder’s Retro Arcade game creator…You can build your own games, share them and play games shared by others anywhere you go. This creator was designed for touch, so you’ll feel right at home with it’s intuitive controls. Create intricate game levels with varied terrains and game objects. Add story elements and create challenging puzzles to make your game fun for your players. With dozens of baddies, many power-ups and block types to choose from, the possibilities are endless.’
Sketch Nation Create Sketch Nation allows you draw, play and share the games you want, with your own characters, obstacles, challenges and rules… It's gaming, drawing, coding, story-telling and problem-solving in one simple-to-use and fun tool…For students, our app lets you tell stories, explore ideas, challenge yourself and show your skills through personalized video games, while learning some of the techniques involved in creating the types of games you are already familiar with. For educators and parents, Sketch Nation provides a terrific environment to help kids explore, imagine, investigate and create – simultaneously honing their artistic abilities and getting hands-on experience with game design.
Game Show Soundboard app to create simple game shows with sound effects
Pixel Press Floors app For those students who love games but are a bit intimidated by the technological skill needed to make one, the Pixel Press Floors app for the iPad and iPhone is perfect. Users hand-draw their levels using a pencil, grid paper and specific markings called “glyphs,” and then Pixel Press transforms that schematic into a modifiable, playable and sharable digital version. The physical to digital transformation opens doorways to game making for youth more analogically inclined. Click Here to Visit Website
TinyTap is an iPad app and Android app for building fun and interactive review games. With the app you can create games based on pictures, diagrams, videos, and icons. Students can play your games on their iPads, Android tablets, or in the web browser on their laptops. Speaking of playing games, TinyTap recently published a game that features sixteen ways to use TinyTap in your classroom.
Pixel Press Floors iOS apps (free) This app is perfect for educators looking to integrate Game Based Learning as it lets users create their video game simply by drawing it. The way this works is by printing out a glyph paper and then drawing on it using pre-defined (i.e. x = spike, + = coins) symbols. Once it is finished, just snap a picture using your mobile device and begin playing. Of course you can use the in app draw tools to create the game as well. Finally, a finished game can be uploaded so others can play it as well (ala Scratch).
Coda is a free iOS app that students are using to create their own games and learn about programming and coding. Coda uses a familiar visual interface where users drag-n-drop blocks of commands (code) together to create their game. Finally, the safe online Coda community allows students to share and play other games.