Quiet games

Count to 20

The class counts to 20 one voice at a time without planning who goes next. If two people speak at once, start over. A surprisingly hard focus game.

  • 🎓 Grades 3–12
  • ⏱ 3–10 min
  • 👥 Whole class
  • 📦 No prep
🎲 Another game

How to play Count to 20

  1. Students sit with eyes closed or looking down.
  2. Anyone can start by saying "1". Someone else says "2", and so on.
  3. Nobody may signal or plan who goes next.
  4. If two students say a number at the same time, the class restarts at 1.
  5. The goal is to reach 20 (or the number of students in the class).

Variations

  • Count by 2s, 5s or in another language.

💡 Teacher tips

  • Debrief afterward: what helped the group succeed?
How to play Count to 20: printable classroom rule card with the steps, time (3–10 min), grades 3–12 and prep

📌 Rule card to print or pin

The rules of Count to 20 on one card. Print it for the board or a sub folder, or save it to Pinterest for later.

Save to Pinterest Download / print rule card
Up next➗ Make 24 →

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