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Find the Spy: A hidden-role speaking game for kids, teens and adults

Everyone gets a slip with the same secret place on it, except one student, whose slip says SPY. Students ask each other questions about the place, then everyone points at the spy. A caught spy gets one guess at the place.

Free, no sign-in. A4 and US Letter. Answer keys included.

The how-to-teach video comes out on Tue 17 Nov.

• Ages 9 to adult: Kids, teens, adults
• Elementary +: About A1 to C1
• About 15 minutes: Two or three rounds
• Paper slips: Ready-made slips below
• Questions: What do you wear here?

Free printables

Everything you need for the game, ready to print in black and white.

• Teacher guide and spy slips (4 pages, PDF): How to play, question frames and place ideas on one page, then ready slips for young learners, older kids and teens and adults: four groups of six on each page. A4 · US Letter
• Worksheet: Support, Core, Challenge (4 pages, PDF): Places and question words, the spy's notes puzzle, and good, too easy or too vague answers, with a QR code for home practice and an answer key. A4 · US Letter

Find the Spy in four steps

1. Make the slips. Write the same place on every slip (the beach) and SPY on one. Fold, mix and hand them out. Everyone keeps their slip secret.
2. Put up the questions. Write question frames on the board: What do you wear here? What can you hear? Who do you meet here?
3. Ask and answer. Students take turns: answer the question, then ask someone else. Not too easy, or the spy learns the place. Not too vague, or you look like the spy.
4. Vote: 3, 2, 1, point. After two or three rounds, count down and everyone points at the spy. A caught spy gets one guess at the place. The class wins a point if the spy is caught and guesses wrong.

Tip: Play the first round yourself as one of the players, so the class hears what a good answer sounds like: clear enough for friends, not so clear the spy learns the place.

Easier: Put pictures on the slips, and leave the question frames and a list of possible places on the board. Harder: Clean the board so students make their own questions, or play with two spies who don't know each other.

A round you can run right now

Question frames for the board

Write these up before you hand out the slips. Students pick one, answer it, then ask someone else.

1. What do you wear here?
2. What can you hear?
3. Who do you meet here?
4. What do you do here?
5. What can you buy here?
6. Do you like it here? Why?

Not too easy ("You swim in the sea here") and not too vague ("Clothes. Normal things"). A good answer for the beach: "Sunglasses, and not many clothes!"

Places for every level

Any place works. The free slips have these ready, four groups of six on each page, one SPY in every group.

Young learners: kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, garden

Older kids: supermarket, zoo, cinema, hospital

Teens and adults: airport, job interview, wedding, gym

Why it works

Every question has a real reason: the players need to find the spy, and the spy needs to find the place. Students listen closely to each answer, because one vague word can give someone away.

What you need

A slip of paper for each student, in groups of four to six or as a whole class. About 15 minutes for two or three rounds. The free printables above cover everything else.

Practise at home

The worksheet QR code opens the My House crossword, free, no sign-in.

Make a Taboo game

Teams describe a secret word without saying it, the same skill as a good spy answer. Type a topic and it's ready in about a minute. Make it free

More classroom games

• Human Bingo: The ice breaker for any class, seminar or training day
• Yes, No, Stand Up: A no-prep energizer before class starts, for kids, teens and adults
• Running Dictation: A reading, speaking, listening and writing race
• Who's the Leader?: A no-prep energizer for kids, teens and adults
• Who Stole the Pumpkin?: A Halloween mystery speaking game for teens
• Ghost Story Chain: A Halloween speaking game for teens
• Draw My Monster: A Halloween listening game for kids and teens

Find the Spy FAQ

What do I need for Find the Spy?

A slip of paper for each student. The free spy slips have four ready groups for each level, each with five place slips and one SPY slip.

Does it work with a big class?

Yes. Split the class into groups of four to six, each with its own place and one spy. The ready slips come in sets of six, one set per group.

What language does it practise?

Questions with "you" (What do you wear here? Who do you meet here?), places and the things people do there, and for older students reasons and deduction (It might be Mia, because her answers are vague).

Is Find the Spy the same as Spyfall?

It is the same idea: everyone knows the place except the spy. This classroom version uses paper slips, question frames on the board and a class vote, so it works with any level.

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