[Welcome to the EL game series. These posts are all short introductions to games you can play in the EL. Because learning to play games in English can take a long time, some posts will explain how to play simple versions of games. Other posts tell you why you should use games to practice English. You can also use the tags to find other posts you might be interested in.]
（ELゲーム連載へようこそ。このコラムはELで遊べるボードゲームやカードゲームを紹介します。本来のやり方通りにやってしまうと、遊ぶまでの時間が大変かかるかもしれないので、ある投稿では簡単な遊びの工夫が紹介されます。ほかの投稿ではなぜゲームで英語を勉強するのがよいかが説明されます。投稿のタグを使ってほかに興味ありそうなポストを見つけられます。）
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Pictionary is a classic game that everyone I knew in the US played when they were growing up. You might have played it in English class already. It is very easy to learn and good to play with teams.
The basics:
Two people from each team get a secret word. The word can be an object, person/place/animal, action, difficult word, or popular culture. Then they draw the word as quickly as possible while their team guesses what it is. Some words, like “spider,” are very easy, while some, like “push-up” (腕立て) can be difficult. The faster team gets the point.
For English Learners:
- You can play this game just as described above. The box comes with extra rules about scoring and choosing words. However, I suggest ignoring them and just choosing words yourselves.
- Be careful to choose words your team will know. If you choose a difficult word, maybe no one can guess it.
- Use a timer on your smartphone. If no one guesses the word in 1 minute, choose a new word. Otherwise people may become frustrated.
- Use the whiteboard table or large whiteboards in the EL instead of the little boards in the box. Bigger drawings are easier to see!
Final Thoughts: There is no reason you shouldn’t try this game. It is an easy, fun way to use some English vocabulary while making friends.
