Fishing Pond: a classroom fishing game for team review

Fishing Pond is a classroom fishing game: a right answer earns a cast, the team picks one of five buoys, and reels in whatever bites there. Fish swim near each buoy where the class can see them, so the choice is part of the fun. It's a calmer game, good for younger learners.

At a glance

How to play Fishing Pond

1. Make or pick a question set: type a topic, paste a word list or your own questions, snap a textbook page, or open a set from the library.
2. Pick Fishing Pond, set the teams and start. Teams take turns. Scan the QR code on the screen (or type the 6-digit PIN) and your phone becomes the remote.
3. Play. The team whose turn it is answers. If it's right, the team looks at the pond and picks a buoy from 1 to 5 (tap it on the screen, on your phone, or press keys 1 to 5). The line goes in and one of the fish at that buoy bites, or an old boot comes up. A wrong answer gets no cast. After the last question, the highest score wins.

Rules and scoring

• What you can catch: a little fish is 1 point, a nice fish 2, a big fish 3, the golden fish 5, and an old boot 0.
• You catch from the fish at that buoy. Each buoy has one to three fish swimming near it, and the catch is one of them, so a buoy with big fish is worth aiming for.
• Busy buoys are safer. With only one fish at a buoy, the boot comes up a bit more than 1 time in 4; with two fish about 1 in 6; with three or more, 1 in 10.
• The golden fish is shy. On about 3 turns in 10 it swims by one buoy (on your phone that buoy has a star). It bites less often than the other fish there, but it's worth 5.
• The pond restocks after every cast.
• Double and triple questions multiply the catch, so the golden fish on a triple question is 15.
• You can also switch on a timer (10 to 60 seconds; running out counts as a wrong answer), losing a point for a wrong answer, steal (another team can answer a missed question and take the turn's reward), hidden scores, seasonal themes and calm effects. A score never drops below zero.

What you can teach with it

For English, every question format works. Some ideas:

• Pond and farm animals at Pre-A1 or A1: picture questions like the frog above.
• Colours and sizes: "Which buoy has the big fish?"
• Listening: the screen says a word and the team picks the answer.

It works with any subject as well: number bonds and times tables, science true/false ("Fish breathe with gills"), or geography multiple choice.

Tips from the classroom

• Make the pick a speaking moment. Before they choose, the team says what they see: "Buoy 3 has two small fish and a big fish."
• Big classes: four teams, a different student answering each turn. Add a class list and the screen shows whose turn it is.
• Turn on steal so a missed question isn't dead time for the other teams.
• Calm mode quiets the effects for young or tired classes.
• If one team runs ahead, add double questions near the end.
• On a touch display, the student who answered can tap the choice.

Play it without a screen

• Draw five buoys on the board and draw one to three fish by each: small (1), nice (2), big (3). Add a golden fish (5) by one of them now and then.
• After a right answer, the team picks a buoy and rolls a die: on a 1 they pull up a boot, otherwise they take the fish of their choice at that buoy (or roll again to pick which one).
• Rub out the caught fish and add new ones.

The screen version moves the fish, picks the catch fairly, keeps the score, and runs from your phone.

Questions teachers ask

Is Fishing Pond free?

Yes. Every game is on the free plan with 2–4 teams, and library games and your own typed questions are free to play. The free plan also includes 10 AI question sets a month (3 from photos); Oly Pro adds more and up to 8 teams.

Do students need devices?

No. The class plays on one screen, and you run the game from your phone or the keyboard (C correct, X not yet, R show the answer, Space next).

How many students can play?

The whole class at once, in 2–4 teams on the free plan or up to 8 with Pro. Classes of 40 work fine.

What does the boot do?

The boot scores 0 for that cast, nothing more. It comes up more often at buoys with only one fish.

How do you catch the golden fish?

Pick the buoy it swims by. It is shy, so it bites less often than the other fish there, but when it does it's worth 5 points.

Can I use my own questions?

Yes. Paste them as question | answer | wrong, wrong, or edit any set before you play.

For more prize games, try Claw Machine or Mini Golf.