$100,000 Pyramid
This game is a little more complex to run, but it is a lot of fun. It is based on the 80s game show Pyramid (with various names over the years, from The $10,000 Pyramid to The $100,000 Pyramid). It is easy to tailor to your own needs, but it has the added element of the timer. Download the template here: Theatre Pyramid.pptx
If your timer doesn’t work, go to http://www.mrkadin.com/phatech/?p=225 and download the PowerPoint presentation. Then you can copy and paste the timer into any presentation, as long as you have the original somewhere on your computer. So if you put the Pyramid game on a flash drive, put the Timer presentation on the flash drive as well.
You can edit the game to fit your needs, it can really be used for any subject. I suggest writing out categories by hand or in Word first, because it takes some focus and creativity to come up with all the categories, and you don’t want to be distracted by figuring out how the PowerPoint works. Watch this video to see how to edit Pyramid PowerPoint.
How to Play:
To play the game, you pick two teams of partners. One partner sits facing the projector screen, the other away from it. The team chooses which category they want, and when you click on the category it will take you to a new slide. On this slide you will need to set up the timer. Click on Count Down, enter 30 seconds, then hit Set. Then, as the instructor, you would click on the first rectangles in the list numbered 1-7. As soon as the word appears, click Start on the timer. You click on number 1 first and a word appears, the partner who can see the screen tries to get their partner to guess that word. So if the word under rectangle 1 was “wings” the partner facing the screen could say “the part of a bird that allows it to fly” and they can keep giving clues until their partner guess or says “pass”. If the partner guessed correctly, then you would click the next square. If they pass, then you can click on the word and it will be covered again by the rectangle. When the timer is up, you count how many words they guessed. If they finish the list before time is up then they can go back and try to guess the words they passed.
Teams take turns until all the categories have been chosen. The team with the most points moves on the final round. The team must choose who will be giving the clues and who will be guessing, and they must sit accordingly (so that the guesser can’t see the screen). Then, as the instructor, you click on the lowest amount, the square that says “50″. When you click on an amount, it will disappear and a category will show up. Set the timer for 60 seconds, hit Start, and then the team can start giving clues. If the category is “Shakespeare Plays” then the student facing the screen would start mentioning things in that category, but in this round they are only allowed to give one clue, then their partner has to guess. Then they can give another clue, and their partner can guess again. So the partner who can see the screen would start saying things like “Romeo and Juliet”, “Hamlet”, etc. until their partner correctly guessed “Shakespeare Plays”. Then you would click on the next category. Again, just click on the words if the team passes, and it will be covered up again. At the end of the game you add up how many points they got. This can just be a fun end to the game, or you can add a special value. For example, if they get over a certain amount of points in the final round you will give everyone extra points on the final, or a pizza party.
Tags: GameShow, PowerPoint, Theatre
like to use iClickers while playing. To see how to incorporate iClickers and play the game, just watch this video. I like to put an arrow next to the letter each team is suppose to push, so they don’t forget and accidentally hit the wrong button. You can do this by just putting a piece of tape next to the button and drawing an arrow on the tape.
