How to play Zoinks

HOW TO PLAY ZOINKS

1. To begin playing Zoinks, you’ll want to allow your students to move into two groups. It’s best if they are sitting together, facing the opposing team.

2. In your dashboard, choose the appropriate question set and click Launch Game to display the lobby.

On the teacher’s screen projecting the game, students can see they need to go to play.wowzalearning.com on their own devices, where they will enter their first name, last initial, and game code.

3. In each round, all students can try to answer the question on the screen. They should work together with their teams, consulting their notes and texts and discussing and sharing information with each other. Each student individually types in their answers, then clicks I Know This to submit. 

The concept here is, “Go big or go home!” Part of the strategy may involve students “bluffing” that they know the answer when they don’t, and that’s perfectly okay and part of the game.

4. As each student clicks I Know This, you can see how many students have answered. If students need more time to answer, just click Add 10 Seconds as many times as needed. If students finish early, click End Timer to skip ahead to the answer portion.

5. When time is up, the game will automatically pick the Chooser from one team. This student has ten seconds to pick a student as the Zoinkster to represent the opposing team. If the Chooser doesn’t choose in time, a Zoinkster will be selected at random. 

6. The Zoinkster now has the ability to secure points for their team depending on their answer to the question. Their answer will now be displayed on the main screen for everyone to see. 

Only students who clicked I Know This can be chosen as the Zoinkster. Answering the question increases their team’s point potential. For the kids on the Chooser side, answering and clicking I Know This could help them steal those points!

7. Now everyone can look at the Zoinkster’s answer. 

The teacher should have a brief discussion with the students. Is this a correct, partially correct, or incorrect answer? Why?

• If the Zoinkster’s answer is correct, the team will get 2 points for every player who clicked, “I Know This.”  So if 7 students answered, right or wrong, their team will earn 14 points if their Zoinkster represents them well with the correct answer!
  
  
• If the Zoinkster’s answer is partially correct, the team will get 1 point for every player who clicked, “I Know This,” and then the Chooser will have a chance to steal the remaining points with a correct answer. So if 7 students answered, and the Zoinkster is partially correct, their team will now have 7 points, and the Chooser may steal the remaining 7 points for their team! 
  
  
• If the Zoinkster gets the answer wrong, their team gets no points, and now the Chooser may be able to scoop up all the Zoinkster’s team points with a correct answer! So if 7 students answered and the Zoinkster is incorrect, the Chooser may be able to steal 14 points!

8. You may notice some pretty great things start to happen here!  🎉

👏 The Chooser each round will probably choose the kids on the opposing team who they think are the “weaker” players, but all the kids on the Zoinkster side will now rally around them and help them write a good answer. 

❤️ Students who might not otherwise try to answer a question now feel supported by the rest of their team and might be willing to take risks to earn more points.

🏅 Even if their answer is incorrect, taking that risk can still earn points if they’re not chosen by the Chooser. 

🏆 This part of the game lets more advanced students contribute by lifting up their teammates, and it helps students who need help shine as heroes who bring home victory. 

9. When you’re finished discussing each question, click Next. The game switches the team that will have the Zoinkster, and the team that will have the Chooser. For this reason, games will always have an even number of questions, to make sure both teams have equal chances to earn points.

10. At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins! The winning team will be celebrated as the Zoinklympians they are.