Rather than trying to fiddle around with a smartphone app, I decided to make index cards with a variety of words on them. I included things such as food, people, places, sports, etc.. Some were Japanese things written in English and others were American things, but you can choose whatever words you would like. I used a variety this time, but I am planning to make a sports-specific version for another class so it can be related to our current lesson.
So before I handed out the index cards, I explained the rules:
1. Pair or group up with the people next to you.
2. Everyone picks one card and doesn't look at their own word.
3. Hold up your index card to your forehead with your word facing your partner.
4. Help your partner guess their own word with hints or descriptions (but don't tell them the word!!!)
After I explained the rules and made sure everyone understood, I had them form pairs and begun handing out index cards. I also told them that once they and their partner were done, raise their hands and I would go and give each of them a new card. I let the game go on like this for about 3~5 minutes maybe, and then we changed it up a little bit.
In round two, we first had the students rotate partners. Then I had each of the students write an original word on the blank side of an index card. After everyone had written an original, I had them pass the cards around so that everyone got a new word. You can have them swap however you'd like, but I had them pass the cards to the person to their left 5 times.
Once the students started, I didn't go around and give new cards to finished pairs, so we just waited until every pair was finished (the finished pairs are welcome to help out other unfinished pairs if they want). After all pairs were finished, we swapped partners and cards again. Once all groups were finished, we moved on to the final round.
In round three, I had the JTE and students pick a card for me and I would try to guess it based on their hints. I did this about three times and then the JTE and I decided to wrap it up and move on with the lesson.
I think the students really enjoyed this, so I will probably do it in another lesson later on. This time I did with my high school third years, but I think it can be adapted to any level.
I tried this out at my school and it went really well!
Using the same setup, I made a version where the guesser asks their partner questions to gain hints from their peers. There is a worksheet that they can reference to help them ask questions. I found that students who were comfortable with English eventually stopped using the worksheet and my students who needed the support could still participate by using the questions on the worksheet. The list at the bottom also helped students narrow it down a bit so they could ask specific questions.
After playing a few rounds I had students write their own words, as you suggested, and it was fun to see what they came up with!
Your original version was perfect for my students who are still struggling to read and have lower English levels. The worksheet was too much for them to use.
Thank you for this!
Here is a link to my worksheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1czy1mYtWaq6ZtU6L6oYs0WvxR8kRudpHQ3E0gbcEXnY/edit?usp=sharing