# Brain break games: movement games with your computer's camera

> Brain breaks that are also review: students answer with moves or hands in the air, and a laptop webcam sees them. Nothing to install, any lesson, free.

Source: https://olyclass.com/brain-break-games/ · Updated 2026-11-02

A brain break is a short pause where students get up and move before going back to work. The usual version is a follow-along video: everyone dances for three minutes, then sits down. It works, but students don't answer anything, and it has nothing to do with your lesson.

Oly turns the brain break into a review game. Two students stand in front of the big screen and answer with their body: they hold the move of the right answer, or tap and drag cards with their hands in the air. The webcam of the computer that runs the screen sees them. The rest of the class plays in teams, cheers and copies the moves. You need a laptop or a USB webcam, a projector or TV, and your phone as the remote.

![Oly Says during a listen question: Team 1 (red) and Team 2 (yellow) each have four cards with an owl, a whale, a kangaroo and a zebra, every card with a little figure doing a move such as "Hands up!" or "Arms out!"; Team 2's "Hands up!" kangaroo card is greyed out with a red cross, and a small camera picture in the corner shows two adults with coloured body lines and the label "Stays on this computer"](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/says.webp "Team 2 picked the kangaroo, a wrong answer, so that side is frozen for a moment. The camera picture in the corner shows what the camera sees.")

## Why movement breaks help

Most teachers don't need research to know this: after twenty minutes of sitting, a class gets restless, and a short burst of movement brings attention back. Movement breaks are also a natural fit for language lessons. TPR (Total Physical Response) has long used actions to help young learners remember words, and classroom English like "hands up" or "arms out" is learned by doing it.

What a camera game adds is a reason to think while moving. The move only counts if it is the move of the right answer, so students have to read, listen or calculate first. The break stays short, and it is still the lesson.

## What you need

- **A computer with a camera facing the class.** A laptop's own webcam is enough, or a USB webcam on top of the screen.
- **A big screen:** a projector, a TV or an interactive display. No touch needed.
- **Some space** in front of the screen: about 1–3 m for hands games, 2–3 m for Oly Says.
- **A recent browser** on a reasonably recent computer. A graphics chip helps; older machines still work, a little slower.
- **Nothing to install.** The camera models load in the browser when you switch the camera on, and the browser asks once for permission.

Students need no devices. Your phone is the remote, and even that is optional.

## Six games that use the camera

The camera setting is in six games. In Oly Says it is on by default; in the other five it is off until you switch it on.

| Game | How students play with the camera | Works with |
|---|---|---|
| [Oly Says](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/oly-says/) | Whole body: hold the move of the right answer (hands up, one hand up, arms out, hands on head, hands together) | Any set |
| [Word Swat](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/word-swat/) | Hold a hand still on the right card to touch it | Any set |
| [Sentence Race](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/sentence-race/) | Hold a hand still on each word to build the sentence | English sets |
| [Match Up](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/match-up/) | Make a fist to pick up a card, open the hand to drop it on its match | Any set |
| [Word Search](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/word-search/) | Make a fist and sweep across a hidden word to circle it | English sets |
| [Draw It](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/draw-it/) | Point one finger to draw; the team guesses the word | Any set |

In the five racing games, two students play at once, one on each half of the screen, for two different teams. Each hand is its own pointer, so they never get in each other's way.

![Word Swat after a round: the word was "snake", the right side found it first and both sides now show the snake picture in green](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/swat.webp "Team 2 touched the snake first. Both sides show the answer, and Team 2 gets the point.")

## How to set up the camera

1. **Get a question set.** Open one from the [library](https://olyclass.com/library/), or [make one](https://olyclass.com/create) from a textbook photo, a word list, a topic or your own questions.
2. **Pick a camera game** on the Ready page and set the teams.
3. **Switch on "Camera"** in the settings ("Play with hands in the air" or "Answer with moves"). You can also change it later in the lobby or with the ⚙︎ button during the game.
4. **Place the camera** at about chest height, facing the class, with light on the students' faces rather than a bright window behind them.
5. **Start.** The browser asks for the camera once. A small camera picture in the corner shows students that they are being followed; you can hide it.
6. **Call up two players.** For hands games they stand 1–3 m from the screen; for Oly Says, 2–3 m from the camera, side by side, seen from the waist up. Do the moves together once before the first question.

## Ideas by age and subject

- **Young learners, English words (Pre-A1, A1):** a listening set in Oly Says. Oly says "kangaroo", students find the picture and do its move.
- **TPR and classroom commands:** the five moves are classroom English. Ask the whole class to say the move out loud as the players do it.
- **Older students, A2 and B1:** Sentence Race with hands in the air for word order, Word Search for spelling, Match Up for words and meanings.
- **Maths facts:** "7 × 8" in Oly Says or Word Swat, four answers, one move or card each.
- **Science, history and geography:** multiple choice and true or false questions work in Oly Says, Word Swat and Match Up, in the class's language.
- **End of the day:** Draw It with a finger in the air. Calm and funny: one student draws, the team guesses.

## Keep it safe and calm

- **Clear the space.** Move bags and chairs out of the area in front of the screen before the first question.
- **Only the players stand in view.** The camera follows the student closest to it on each half; the rest of the class sits or stands in place and copies the moves.
- **Rotate players every question** so everyone gets a turn. With three or more teams, two teams face off each question, in turn.
- **Keep it short.** Five to ten minutes is a good brain break. Twelve questions fit easily.
- **Bring the class down.** Switch effects to calm, and finish with a slow move such as hands together before going back to work.
- **No camera today?** Any game can still be a movement break: the answering student walks to the board, or the whole team stands to answer. On a touch screen, students touch the cards.

## Privacy

The camera picture is read inside your browser, on your computer, to find where the hands or the body are, and then thrown away. No picture, video or body data is sent to Oly or anyone else, saved or used to recognise anyone. The camera is off unless you switch it on, and closing the game switches it off. More in our [privacy policy](https://olyclass.com/privacy/#camera).

## Frequently asked questions

### Are these brain break games free?

Yes. All six camera games are part of the free plan, with every library set and your own typed questions, for up to 4 teams. The free plan also includes 10 AI question sets a month. Oly Pro adds up to 8 teams and more AI sets.

### Which camera do I need?

The webcam of the computer that runs the big screen: a laptop's built-in camera or any USB webcam pointing at the class. No special motion camera or extra hardware.

### Does it work on a projector or TV?

Yes. That is what the camera is for: on a projector or a TV without touch, students play with their hands in the air or with their whole body.

### Is the camera safe for students' privacy?

Yes. Nothing leaves your computer. The picture is read in the browser and thrown away; nothing is uploaded, saved or used to recognise anyone.

### How many students can play?

The whole class plays in 2–4 teams (up to 8 with Pro). Two students are in front of the camera at a time, one for each of two teams, and you swap them every question.

### Can we play without a camera?

Yes. Switch the camera off in the settings. On a touch screen students touch the cards; on a projector you mark the team that was first on your phone.

### Which ages is it for?

Oly Says and Word Swat with pictures work from about age 5. Word Search, Sentence Race and subject quizzes suit older primary and secondary students.

For more ways to play on one screen, see [projector classroom games](https://olyclass.com/projector-classroom-games/), [interactive whiteboard games](https://olyclass.com/interactive-whiteboard-games/) and [classroom games without student devices](https://olyclass.com/no-device-classroom-games/).