Collection of games

Incomplete definitions

Level: intermediate and advanced

Age: any (except young children)

Group size: whole class and groups

Use: to practise how to describe things they know

A member of one team defines something and challenges somebody in the other team to guess what it is. Team points are given for correct guesses and an extra point if the word is spelt correctly.

Much depends on what is chosen for definition, and also on not giving away too much. For example an elephant can be defined as a large animal which lives in India and Africa and which can carry people as well as goods – but do not mention it trunk, which would make it too easy to guess.

Examples: a piece of furniture in which we keep clothes (a wardrobe). A way of telling us to stop or go ahead in the street (traffic lights). A place where a farmer keeps his cows (a cattle-shed). A means of sending a spoken message a long way (the telephone).