# Tug of War: a classroom tug of war review game for teams > A tug of war review game for the classroom: every right answer pulls the rope a step your way, five steps wins the round, +5. Free, one screen, no devices. Source: https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/tug-of-war/ · Updated 2026-10-30 Tug of War is a classroom tug of war game: every right answer pulls a big rope one step towards your team, and five steps drags the knot over your line for a bonus. Two teams pull against each other on one rope; with three or more, every team pulls its own rope against Oly, who tugs back when a team misses. It works with any subject and gets a room cheering in seconds. ![Tug of War on a school field: a red team and a yellow team of round, smiling critters pull a rope, numbered steps 1 to 5 on each side of a centre line, the knot two steps towards the red side, Oly watching from the middle, and the banner "Heave! +1"](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/tug.webp "Team 1 answered right and pulled the knot to step 2 on its side. Three more steps and it goes over the line.") ## At a glance | Players | The whole class in 2–4 teams free (up to 8 with Oly Pro) | | Time | About 10–15 minutes for 12 questions | | Works with | Every English question format and every subject (multiple choice, true/false, open questions) | | Best for | Head-to-head review, two halves of the room, quick energy at the end of a lesson | | You need | One screen (projector, TV or interactive display) and your phone as the remote | ## How to play Tug of War 1. **Make or pick a question set.** Snap a textbook page, paste a word list, type a topic or your own questions, or start from the [free library](https://olyclass.com/library/). 2. **Pick Tug of War, set the teams and start.** Two teams share one rope with the knot on the centre line. With three or more teams, each team gets its own rope and Oly holds the other end of every one. 3. **Play.** Teams take turns answering. A right answer pulls the rope one step towards the team that answered, and the team scores 1. Pull the knot five steps to your side and it goes over your line: +5, and the knot goes back to the middle for a new pull. When the questions run out, the team with the most points wins. ## Rules and scoring - **Each step is a point.** A right answer is one step and +1 for the team that pulled. - **Over the line:** five steps from the centre to a team's line. Pulling it over is a bonus of +5 on top of the step, and a new round starts at the centre. A team can win several rounds in one game. - **Two teams, one rope:** a right answer from the other team pulls the knot back again. - **Three to eight teams:** every team pulls its own rope from the centre towards its line. A wrong answer lets Oly pull that team's rope back one step (never past the centre). Oly takes no points; the team just has further to go. - **Double and triple questions** pull two or three steps at once ("Heave!"), and score that many points. - **Steal** (off by default): after a miss, another team can answer the same question. If it's right, that team pulls. - **Also:** a timer per question (10 to 60 seconds; running out counts as a wrong answer), wrong answers losing a point (off by default; a score never goes below zero), hidden scores, seasonal looks and calm or no effects. ![A Tug of War question card over the field: a cartoon gorilla, "What is it?" and four answers, snake, owl, gorilla and kangaroo](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/tug-ask.webp "Each turn starts with a question. You see the answer on your phone and tap Correct or Not yet.") ## What you can teach with it For English, every question format works: name the picture, find the picture for a word, listen and choose, the missing letter, the English word for a meaning, sentence order and your own questions. - **Animals or classroom objects at A1:** picture and listening questions, quick and visual. - **Opposites at A2:** your own questions like "hot → ?" with three wrong answers. The rope theme makes the idea of opposites easy to remember. - **Irregular verbs at B1:** "write → past participle?" as open questions you judge yourself. For other subjects: - **Math:** times tables and mental sums. - **Science:** true/false statements about forces, magnets and push and pull. A tug of war is a good warm-up for that lesson. - **History and geography:** capitals and dates as multiple choice. ## Tips from the classroom - **Split the room down the middle** for two teams, left side against right side, so each half faces its own end of the rope on the screen. - **Let the team pull for real.** On a right answer the whole team leans back and shouts "Heave!" It costs five seconds and every student is in the game. - **Big classes:** with a class list on the start screen, Oly names one student per team for each question; the team can help, but that student answers. - **Three or more teams** is a calmer game: each team races Oly instead of the others. Good for younger classes. - **Turn on steal** when one side stops listening during the other side's turn. ## Play it without a screen - Draw a line on the board with the centre marked 0 and five steps on each side, and a knot (a magnet or a circle) on 0. - Ask a question; a right answer moves the knot one step towards that team and scores a point. - Five steps to a team's side: +5 bonus, and the knot goes back to the centre. - With more than two teams, give each team its own line and move a team's knot back one step when it misses. The screen version moves the rope, keeps every knot and score, and runs from your phone. ## Questions teachers ask ### Is Tug of War free? Yes. You can play it free with up to 4 teams, with library sets and your own typed questions. The free plan also makes 10 AI question sets a month (3 from photos); Oly Pro allows up to 8 teams and more AI sets. ### Do students need devices? No. The whole class watches one screen. Only you use a phone, as the remote, and the keyboard works too (C for correct, X for not yet, Space for the next question). ### Can it be played with more than two teams? Yes. With three to eight teams, every team pulls its own rope against Oly. A right answer pulls a step towards the team's line; a miss lets Oly pull a step back. ### Can a team lose points? Not from the rope: being pulled back moves the knot, not the score. A team loses a point only if you switch on "Wrong answers lose a point", and scores never go below zero. ### Can I use my own questions? Yes. Paste them as `question | answer | wrong, wrong`, type them in the editor, or change any question Oly writes for you. For more races to a finish line, try [Paper Race](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/paper-race/) or [Ladder Climb](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/ladder-climb/). For a game the whole class plays together, try [High Water](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/high-water/).