"Games are for kids, adults need serious practice" — a common belief that doesn't survive contact with an actual lesson. Attention drops for anyone, at any age, roughly 20-30 minutes into a repetitive drill; the difference between an adult and a child isn't whether a change of format helps, only how openly they admit it.
A game in the middle of a lesson isn't entertainment instead of learning — it's a way to bring attention back without losing the material: the same words and structures, delivered differently.
Four types, four different skills
| Game type | What the student does |
|---|---|
| Flashcards | The word on one side, the translation on the other; the student "flips" the card to test themselves |
| Match pairs | Cards are shuffled — the student finds which word matches which translation |
| Sort | Cards need to be sorted into set groups or categories |
| Word order | A sentence's words are scrambled — the student restores the correct order |
These aren't the same exercise in four wrappers: "Flashcards" trains recall, "Match pairs" trains recognition among options, "Sort" trains categorization, "Word order" trains sentence structure. Pick the type based on the skill you're actually training right now.
Try it in your own lesson — your first game takes just a few minutes to build, and the free plan supports it.
Sign up for LektoboxHow to build and launch a game
1. Pick how to create it
"Games" → "Add game" — two paths: "Generate with AI" (describe a topic and the cards appear on their own) or "Create manually" (add cards one at a time).
2. Pick a type and fill in the cards
Each card gets a front and back side (a word and its translation, or a question and answer, depending on the game type).
3. Check it before showing a student
The "Preview" button opens the game exactly as the student will see it — a good way to confirm everything renders correctly.
4. Add it to a lesson, or keep it standalone
A game can be dropped straight into a lesson step, becoming part of the curriculum. Or keep it in the "Games" library and launch it spontaneously: the session room has its own "Games & tools" button that opens any game in seconds, even with zero prep beforehand.
5. Categories — once you have a lot of games
"Add category" groups games by topic or level, so a month or two from now you're not scrolling the whole list looking for the right one.
A game mid-lesson takes three to five minutes — the difference it makes to a student's attention lasts a lot longer.