Word Burst

☆ Created by Good Golly Games ☆

Word Burst – ESL PowerPoint Category Game for Classrooms

Add a burst of fun to your vocabulary practice with this no-prep, interactive PowerPoint category game. Perfect for ESL/EFL classrooms, Word Burst challenges students to name answers, solve word clues, and place answer bets – with adjustable difficulty and timer options for any level. Great for brain breaks, warm-ups, or end-of-term fun!

Just download, open in PowerPoint, enable macros and play!

How it works

• Students or teams compete across 3 different rounds of gameplay:
• Board Burst: Name all 10 answers – before the time runs out!
• Backward Burst: Uncover the secret word – fewer clues means more points!
• Bet Burst: Beat your bet and get bonus points – miss it and score zero!

Features

• Interactive PowerPoint game
• 100 ready-to-play puzzles (classroom-safe)
• 2 difficulty modes – Hidden mode (answers hidden) and Reveal mode (answers revealed)
• Automatic timer options – 45, 60, and 90 seconds
• Easy-to-edit blank slides – add your own categories and answers for unlimited reuse
• Scoreboard for 4 players or teams (macros required)
• Game-show style animations and graphics
• Sound effects and music (normal, low & no sound)
• No-prep: download and play the same day

What you’ll get

• Macro Version – PowerPoint game with scoreboard (requires macros and ActiveX)
• No-Macro Version – PowerPoint game without scoreboard, plus printable (PDF) and digital (Excel) scorecards
• Answer key (Word & PDF)

Watch it in action

• Watch the demo on YouTube to see how easy it is to play and customize!

Compatibility note

• Works best on PowerPoint 365 for Windows PC
• Not compatible with Mac, Google Slides, or Keynote
• Some features may not work on older versions of PowerPoint
• Always test the game before your lesson