(Ranked by how often real teachers actually use them — zero Pinterest fantasies, 100% battle-tested with seniors on prom week)
I’ve detonated more Gimkit sessions than most teachers have run in their careers.
After 1,400+ games and countless crimes against classroom management, only seven multiplayer setups have survived teenagers who think rules are suggestions and Wi-Fi is optional.
These are the ones my students beg for by name — even on the last day before break when they’re wearing pajamas and have zero chill left.
Steal them tomorrow. Your review days will never be quiet again.
1. Trust No One – Small Teams + One Traitor (My Default Friday Mode Since 2023)
4–5 kids per team. One random traitor whose job is to sabotage without getting caught.
Why it’s undefeated:
- Quiet kids suddenly become the loudest humans alive
- Traitors must know the correct answer to pretend-plausibly wrong
- Instant drama + permanent memory cement
Real story: Diego spent 22 minutes “struggling” with -ar preterite verbs, accidentally betrayed himself on a reflexive, and got dramatically exiled to the corner.
The entire class still calls it “Diego’s Fall.”
We learned more preterite in that meltdown than in two weeks of notes.
Pro move: Turn ON “show correct answers” — prevents traitors from just spamming wrong forever.
2. Classic Mode – Boys vs Girls (Yes, It’s Basic. Yes, It Still Slaps Harder Than Anything Else)
Announce: “Boys vs Girls. Winners leave 30 seconds early for lunch.”
Energy becomes illegal in 0.3 seconds.
2025 real event: Girls down $11M with 4 minutes left → Sofia hits 38-streak → buys three 10x multipliers → wins by $400k.
Boys still in therapy.
Every imperfect subjunctive trigger permanently etched into their souls.
3. Boss Battle Tournament Bracket – The Two-Day Super Bowl of Spanish Class
Day 1: Four simultaneous Boss Battles (4 different kit links). Winners advance.
Day 2: Final Four teams vs. one 120-question mega-boss.
Prize: $6 plastic unicorn trophy that lives on my desk forever.
I live-stream the final on the projector.
Hallway fills with kids from other classes watching silently like it’s the Champions League final — but for direct object pronouns.
Admin pretends to hate it. Secretly loves the perfect hallway behavior.
4. Humans vs Zombies – Partnered Survival Mode
Pairs start human.
One wrong answer → both become zombies and can only earn points by infecting others (answering faster than humans).
Strongest pairs physically protect weakest ones because one mistake dooms them both.
I’ve watched honor-roll kids stand up and coach E-D verbs mid-game because their survival depended on it.
That’s real differentiation.
5. Relay Race Classic – Half Devices, Half Whiteboard Chaos (Sub-Proof? Absolutely Not)
Half the class on devices, half at the board with markers.
Device kid answers → sprints → tells board kid the English → board kid writes full conjugation before next question.
It’s loud, messy, desks get knocked over, markers become weapons.
They learn more in 20 minutes than in three days of notes.
I only do this when I have a sub because no sub plan on earth can explain it.
6. Trust No One – Teachers vs Students (Nuclear Option, Once Per Year)
Day before winter break.
I join as “Señor Davis – Admin Privileges.”
Spend the entire game freezing top leaders and dropping betrayal bombs.
Screams echo three hallways away when I betray the kid who’s been trash-talking for 15 minutes.
Last year students beat me by 87 million → I donated $340 to the animal shelter.
Best $340 I’ve ever spent.
7. Silent Classic – Headphones Only, Zero Talking (Formal Observation Savior)
Everyone wears headphones, music off, chat disabled.
Only communication allowed: holding up fingers for cash amounts or aggressive mouthing.
From the doorway it looks like a library.
Inside their heads it’s the Hunger Games with $9 million multipliers on the line.
Perfect when admin is watching or the next room is testing.
The Two Multiplayer Modes That Died Horrible, Screaming Deaths
(So you never waste a Friday)
- Whole-class hot potato with one device
→ Ended with cracked Chromebook screen + actual tears - Draw That team mode
→ 20 minutes of “is that supposed to be tener or venir?” and zero learning
Hard-Earned Rules That Took Years of Explosions to Learn
- Always join the game yourself first — you control pacing
- Keep every game 18–28 minutes max (shop dies after 30)
- Never combine Trust No One + Boss Battle (universe will collapse)
- Have a real physical prize ready — even one Jolly Rancher beats nothing
- Never trust teenagers with markers and permission to run
These seven modes are the only ones that have survived:
- Seniors on prom week
- Freshman boys whose personality is fart noises
- The day everyone forgot their devices
- Random fire drills mid-game
They work because Gimkit turns content into social currency.
Kids don’t remember “desayunar” because I conjugated it on the board.
They remember it because Kayla betrayed Miguel on that exact word and he still brings it up in the hallway six months later.
That’s the real multiplayer magic.
Try #1 or #2 tomorrow.
Your students will beg for it by name next week.
And you’ll finally understand why some of us will fight tech directors to the death to keep Gimkit unblocked.
It’s worth the war.
Save this post.
Pick one mode.
Prepare for the loudest, most effective review day of your life.