Heads Up! is such a straightforward app to play that even a spare few minutes is enough to fit in a game. However, don’t be fooled into thinking that its simplicity means that it is a waste of time, far from it. Heads Up! is not only great fun to play but also provides fantastic opportunities to develop children’s vocabulary and language skills.
Heads Up! has similarities to the board game Articulate in that objects or concepts are described by one person and have to be guessed by another. It can be played by just two people or a large group of people can join in. Whoever is picked to do the guessing holds their tablet or phone just above their eye line. The words then appear on screen for the other players to describe.
Heads Up! combines trivia with identifying silly accents, humming music to guess a song, acting out an action (like classic Charades), and other fun activities. Each time the guesser gets a word right they flick the tablet downwards to register a point. If they pass or guess incorrectly they flick the tablet upwards to signify that no point has been earned. Play continues for 60 seconds and then the total score for that player is displayed on screen along with how they did on each of the words. It is even possible to make a video recording of players as they animatedly try to describe the words on the list.
Users can choose to play one of the category decks that are available in the menu. There are 35 decks in total. Seven of these come pre-installed with the app. These include “Animals Gone Wild”, “Hey Mr DJ” and “Blockbuster Movies”. Others such as “Just for Kids” and “Happy Holidays” can also be downloaded for free. The remaining decks are available as in-app purchases for £0.79/$0.99 each. One of these is “Build Your Own Deck” which allows you to create your own categories. This makes Heads Up a great way to practice vocabulary relating to a topic that children are studying in school.
Parents and teachers should be aware that the video created during the playing of the game can be saved or exported to social media. There is no lock on this facility so close supervision is recommended.
Peter
Educational App Advice
