Jeopardy
Teams pick a category and a points value from a board, then answer the question behind it.
Build it: Make a board slide with one box per question. Link each box to its question slide, and give every question slide a “Back to board” link.
Google Slides games: how to make one for your class.
Build a Jeopardy board, a trivia round or an escape room with linked slides and hidden answers. No add-ons needed.
How do you make a game in Google Slides?
Link slides to each other so a click jumps to a question, hide the answer until you reveal it, then present the deck. Four steps:
- Step 1
Plan the slides
Sketch the start slide, a board or menu if the game has one, the question slides and the answer slides.
- Step 2
Link the slides
Select a shape or text, choose Insert → Link and pick a slide under “Slides in this presentation”. Links work when you present.
- Step 3
Hide the answers
Put each answer on the next slide, or select it, choose Insert → Animation and set it to start On click.
- Step 4
Present it
Click Slideshow and play. Click right on a link: a click anywhere else on the slide moves to the next one.
Games to make in Google Slides
Family Feud
Teams guess the most popular answers to a survey question.
Build it: Put the ranked answers on one slide, each under a cover box. Slides reveals boxes in a set order, so to reveal them in any order, link each box to its own answer slide.
Trivia
A quick round of questions, one per slide, for warm-ups and reviews.
Build it: One question per slide with the answer set to appear on click, or on the next slide. No links needed, so it runs with Next alone.
Would you rather
Two choices per slide. Students pick a side and explain why.
Build it: Split each slide in two, one option per side. Ask students to move to that side of the room, then ask a few to defend their choice.
Hangman
Students guess a word letter by letter before the drawing is finished.
Build it: Draw one blank per letter and add the letters as movable text boxes. Play in edit mode on the projector and drag each correct letter onto its blank.
Escape room
Students solve a chain of puzzles to unlock the last slide.
Build it: Give each puzzle slide a few answer buttons. Link the right answer to the next puzzle and the wrong ones to a “Try again” slide that links back.
Tips for a game that runs smoothly
Keep the answers in your notes
Type each answer in the speaker notes. Presenter view shows them to you and not to the class.
Lock the board in place
When students play in edit mode, put the background and board on the theme (Slide → Edit theme). Students can then only move the pieces.
Give each student a copy
In the share link, replace “edit” and everything after it with “copy”. Anyone who opens it is asked to make their own copy.
Add a back button
On a board game, put a “Back to board” link on every question and answer slide, in the same corner.
Track used questions yourself
Slides can’t mark a square as used during the show. Cross it off on the whiteboard or ask a student to keep score.
Rehearse once
Click through every link in Slideshow before class. A link to the wrong slide is easy to miss in edit mode.
Run the game from your phone
With Copresent, your phone changes the slides on the big screen, so you can host from the middle of the room. It shows the answers in your speaker notes and a timer for each round. Trivia and would you rather run on Next alone. For board games, a student clicks the squares on the computer.
FAQ
Can you make a game in Google Slides?
Yes. Link shapes to other slides with Insert → Link, hide answers with On click animations or on the next slide, then present it. Jeopardy, trivia and escape rooms all work this way.
Do slide links work in edit mode?
No. In edit mode, clicking a link only shows it. Links jump to their slide when you present with Slideshow.
Can I reveal answer boxes in any order?
Not with animations: Google Slides plays them in the order you set, with no click triggers like PowerPoint. To reveal answers in any order, link each box to its own answer slide.
How do students play on their own devices?
Share a copy link so each student gets their own deck. For drag-and-drop games they play in edit mode. For games with links they click Slideshow.
Can I add sound effects?
Yes. Choose Insert → Audio to add a sound from Google Drive to a slide, such as a buzzer on a wrong-answer slide.
Can I run the game from my phone?
With Copresent, your phone moves to the next or previous slide and shows your speaker notes and a timer. It can’t click links, so for board games pick squares on the computer.
Use your phone to
control Google Slides.
Change slides, read your notes, and take audience questions.