20 games for one-on-one lessons with a child
Aylara A.
Kids' teacher · founder of AylaraTalks
One-on-one lessons have a superpower and a curse, and it's the same thing: there's only one child. No queue, no waiting — but also no teammates, no rivals, nobody to giggle with. The fix is simple and it changes everything: you stop being the referee and become the other player. Here are twenty games where the teacher plays too — online or at the table.
You vs me: head-to-head games
- Tic-tac-toe with questions — each cell hides a prompt; answer to claim it. You play honestly… at half speed.
- Memory pairs — flip two cards, keep matches. The child ALWAYS beats an adult at this. Let the game do the flattering.
- Backs-to-the-screen — the child explains the word you can't see. Then swap: you explain, they guess. Swapping roles is half the fun.
- Rock-paper-scissors quiz — the winner of each round asks, the loser answers. Suddenly grammar drills feel like a duel.
- Battleship, vocabulary edition — a 5×5 grid with words for coordinates; say the word correctly to fire. Draw grids on paper or in a shared doc.
- Teacher makes mistakes — you read or speak with deliberate errors; the child catches them, one point each. Kids adore correcting adults.
Camera games for online lessons
- Virtual scavenger hunt — 'Bring me something blue! Something soft! Something that starts with B!' Thirty seconds of running, then describe the loot.
- I spy on a picture — share an busy illustration; 'I spy something round and red…'. Then the child leads and you guess.
- Simon Says at the camera — stand up, touch your nose, show your favourite toy. Also the politest way to sneak in a movement break.
- One-word clues — you name one word, the child guesses what you're describing in three tries. 'Yellow…' — 'Sun? Banana? Cheese!'
- On-screen Pictionary — draw in a shared whiteboard; the child guesses before you finish. Bad drawings are a feature: laughter is engagement.
How to score when you're the only opponent
The whole 1:1 game economy rests on one thing: the child must believe they can win, and they must not win every time. Rig the difficulty, never the result.
- Head starts: the child begins 3–0 up. You play honestly from there.
- Asymmetric rules: they answer in 10 seconds, you in 3. They get hints, you don't.
- The dice equaliser: points per answer come from a dice roll, so luck keeps scores close.
- Win about one time in four. Losing to you occasionally is what makes beating you delicious.
⭐ Take this with you
In a 1:1 lesson the teacher is the game: opponent, teammate and commentator at once. Give head starts, lose three times out of four, and keep a wheel, dice and timer one tap away.
🎈 Put it into play
Everything here pairs with our free classroom games — no prep, no accounts.
About the author
Aylara A.
Kids' teacher · founder of AylaraTalks
Aylara is a kids' teacher who spent years hand-making every classroom game — cutting cards and drawing boards on paper sheets. She created AylaraTalks so no teacher has to start from a blank page again.