Games for Whiteboards

A whiteboard is a good tool for presentations and fun for doodles. You can also play games on a whiteboard.

To play hangman on a whiteboard, player A begins by thinking of a word or phrase. That player draws one dash on the whiteboard for each letter to be guessed by player B, as well as the hangman noose (which looks like an upside down "T" with a hook at the top). Player B guesses a letter. If the letter is in the word or phrase, player A enters it on the appropriate dash(es). If the letter is not in the word or phrase, player A draws a part of the hanged man (i.e., one leg, arm, head, etc.). Player B wins if he or she can guess the secret word before the hanged man is complete, otherwise player A wins. Players should begin by agreeing on when the hanged man is complete. For example, some people draw the face as part of the head and some draw it as a separate part.

A simple game that goes by various names, Dots can be played on a whiteboard by first creating a grid of dots. The larger the grid, the longer the game will take to complete. Players take turns drawing a line (either vertical or horizontal, no diagonals) to connect any two dots. If your line completes a square, add your initial to that square and take another turn. When all of the dots have been connected, count the number of squares claimed by each player. The player with the most squares containing his or her initial is the winner. This game can be played with more than two players.

Play for tic-tac-toe is simple: Draw two vertical lines and cross these with two horizontal lines to make the playing "board." One player uses X and one player uses O. Players take turns entering their letter in one of the squares on the playing board until one player obtains three of his or her letter in a row (vertically, horizontally or diagonally), or until all squares are full. You can also play using the players' first initials.

Backgammon can also be played on a whiteboard, if you have a pair of dice. Draw a large rectangle for the board, with ten pips (triangles) across the top and ten across the bottom, with the "bar" in the middle. Rules for backgammon are easy to find online (see Resources below). To move pieces, simply erase and redraw them in the new location.

With a larger group, Win, Lose or Draw can be a good game for a whiteboard. One player draws a picture while the others try to guess what is drawn. The first person to guess correctly gets one point and draws the next picture. Decide at the beginning whether you want to play for a certain length of time or until someone reaches a specific number of points.