# Letter Ring: an alphabet vocabulary game for English class > An alphabet vocabulary game: go round the letters, each one a clue to a word that starts with it. Say the word, take the letter, or pass. Free, one screen. Source: https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/letter-ring/ · Updated 2026-10-30 Letter Ring is an alphabet vocabulary game for English class. The alphabet sits in a big ring, and the letters that start a word from your lesson light up. Each lit letter is a clue (a picture, a meaning, a question or a spoken word) with "Starts with S" and a dash for every letter. The team says the word out loud. Right, and the letter turns the team's colour; wrong, and the letter is out; not sure, and the team can pass and come back on the next lap. ![Letter Ring: the alphabet in a ring over a flower meadow, won letters C, D, G, P, O and S in team colours with little stars, F crossed out, K with a pass mark; in the middle the clue "Starts with S", "What is it?", a cartoon snake, the word "snake" and a ×2 badge; on the left Lap 1, 3 letters to go and Team 2's streak, and the banner "Team 2 takes S! +2 ×2 points!"](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/letters.webp "Team 2 said snake on a double question and took S for 2 points. The ring shows which letters are won, out or passed.") ## At a glance | Players | The whole class in 2–4 teams free (up to 8 with Oly Pro) | | Time | About 10–20 minutes, depending on how many letters your words cover | | Works with | English sets: picture, meaning, listen and your own one-word questions | | Best for | Vocabulary review, speaking the word (not picking it), recall instead of recognition | | You need | One screen and your phone as the remote; a set whose words start with many different letters | ## How to play Letter Ring 1. **Make or pick an English set.** Snap a textbook page, paste a word list, type a topic, or open a set from the [free library](https://olyclass.com/library/). The more first letters your words cover, the fuller the ring. 2. **Pick Letter Ring, set the teams and start.** Only letters that start a word in the set light up; the rest stay grey. 3. **Play.** The ring goes round from A to Z. On each letter, the team whose turn it is sees the clue and says the word. There are no answer options: the team has to remember the word. Tap **Correct** (the letter takes the team's colour, +1), **Not yet** (the letter is out and the word is shown), or **Pass** (the letter stays open and comes back on the next lap). The game ends when every letter is won or out; the team with the most points wins. ## Rules and scoring - **One point per letter** won. A double or triple question is worth 2 or 3. - **Three in a row:** a team that takes three letters in a row on its own turns, in the same lap, gets a bonus of +2. A box on the left shows each team's stars. - **Pass:** the letter comes back on the next lap, with a different clue for the same word when your set has one. Spoken clues are saved for later laps because they are the easiest. - **Two passes per letter.** A letter passed a third time is out, so a class can't pass forever. - **Wrong answer:** the letter is out and nobody gets it. With steal on (off by default), the other teams can answer first, and the team that gets it right takes the letter. - **The clues:** a picture ("What is it?"), the meaning ("Say it in English!"), your own question ("Answer in one word!") or Oly saying the word ("Listen and say it!"). - **Also:** a timer per question (10 to 60 seconds; running out counts as a wrong answer), wrong answers losing a point (off by default), hidden scores, seasonal looks and calm or no effects. ![A Letter Ring clue for Team 2: "Starts with S", "What is it?", a cartoon snake and S followed by four dashes, with Correct, Not yet and Pass buttons on the right](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/letters-ask.webp "The clue shows the first letter and one dash per letter. The team answers out loud; you tap Correct, Not yet or Pass on the screen or on your phone.") ## What you can teach with it Letter Ring is English only: the clues lead to an English word and the class says it. It is hidden for maths, science and other subject sets. - **Animals, food or toys at A1:** picture clues, with the dashes as a spelling hint. - **Topic vocabulary at A2:** jobs, places in town, weather. Add meaning clues so the class goes from their language to English. - **Definitions at B1:** your own questions, like "a person who flies a plane", for words that start with many different letters. ## Tips from the classroom - **Pick a set of 15 to 25 words** with different first letters. Ten words that all start with S make a very short ring. - **Ask the team to spell the word** as well as say it, if you want spelling practice. You decide what counts before you start. - **Teach "pass" as a strategy.** A team that isn't sure loses nothing by passing, and the word comes back with another clue. - **Big classes:** with a class list, Oly names one student per team each turn. - **Turn on steal** to keep the other teams listening: a letter another team misses can be theirs. ## Play it without a screen - Write the alphabet in a circle on the board and circle the letters that start a word from your list. - Go round the circle. For each circled letter, show a picture card or give a clue: "It starts with S. It's long and it has no legs." - A right answer: write the team's initial on the letter. A wrong one: cross it out. A pass: leave it for the next lap. - Give a bonus for three letters in a row. The screen version finds the letters, picks a clue for each lap and keeps the passes, streaks and score. ## Questions teachers ask ### Is Letter Ring free? Yes. Playing is free with up to 4 teams, with library games and your own typed words. The free plan also includes 10 AI question sets a month (3 from photos); Oly Pro allows up to 8 teams. ### Do students need devices? No. The class plays on one screen and answers out loud. Only you use a phone, as the remote. ### Why are some letters grey? Only letters that start a word in your set light up. A word list about animals may have no word starting with Q or X, so those letters sit out. ### Why can't I see Letter Ring for my set? It's for English sets. Subject sets (maths, science and others) don't show it. ### Can I use my own words? Yes. Paste a word list, type your own one-word questions, or edit any set before you play. For more spelling and letters, try [Balloon Words](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/balloon-words/). For speaking, try [Hot Seat](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/hot-seat/) or [Picture Dice](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/picture-dice/).