As well as being a good 'final five minutes' activity, they are useful in their own right as they provide a challenging, fun respite from other activities.

On the pages which deal with the six main levels within esl-lounge, you will find many different types of games. Here, specifically, you will find a collection of board games designed to be played either as an entire class or at least in groups of four to eight.

If games are used well and not just as a time killer, they can be very effective.

practical considerations

copying games off site

A lot of the board games have been kept in Word format and you will need at least Word97 to view them. If you don't have Word97, save the files onto a floppy disc and print them off on another computer which does have Word97.

I would also advise you, for those board games that aren't in Word format, to paste each game into a word processor program for ease of editing and printing.

printing

The board games on this site come in two sizes: A4 and A3. If you have problems printing out the games, get in touch with the site. I can only guarantee problem-free print-outs in those two sizes. If you want a print out in other sizes, you will have to edit the materials yourself in a word processor program.

size matters

Wherever possible, I have put two versions of the games in both size formats. This is because I know from experience that printing straight off into A3 size is not possible for many teachers. So I have provided the A4 version which can then easily be blown up on a photocopier for use in the class.

empty versions

And wherever possible, I have also included master versions of games so that you can make your own copies and cater them to your own teaching environment.

playing

Normally, you will have everything you need right here, except for a sturdy table and some dice. Some of the games need sets of cards which you will find with the relevant board game. For these games, I intend to add other sets of cards in the future.