Fun Games for Online French Lessons (That Actually Teach)

May 2026  ·  9 min read

French is full of points where a quick game beats another explanation. Gender that follows no reliable rule, the avoir-versus-etre split in the passe compose, the slippery contrast between passe compose and imparfait, all of these are mastered through volume of practice, and a well-designed game produces that volume far faster than open conversation.

Here are nine games that run over any video platform, with how to play each, the level it suits, and a real French example. They assume a single online student, the typical tutoring setup, but most adapt easily to pairs or small groups.

Warm-up games to switch on the French brain

1. Category race (A1-B1). Call out a category in French, des choses dans la cuisine, des animaux, des mots qui commencent par P, and the student lists as many as possible in sixty seconds while you type them in the chat. Then trade roles. It warms them up and exposes vocabulary gaps instantly. To raise the level, require full sentences: Dans la cuisine, il y a un frigo, une casserole, un couteau...

2. Two truths and a lie (A2-B2). The student gives three statements about themselves, two true and one false, and you guess the lie and justify it in French. It exercises the present and past tenses naturally: Je suis ne a Lyon. J'ai deux soeurs. Je n'ai jamais mange d'escargots. It also builds the rapport that keeps students rebooking week after week.

Vocabulary games over video

3. Screen-share Pictionary (A1-A2). Share a blank slide or whiteboard. One person draws a word; the other guesses in French. For beginners, keep the pool to the current set, food, clothes, the house, and insist on the article: not table but une table, not couteau but un couteau. That one rule converts a drawing game into gender practice, exactly where French learners need the reps.

4. The le-or-la gender game (A1-B1). List nouns on a shared slide with two boxes, le and la. The student sorts each and says the full phrase. Stack it with the tricky ones so it teaches: le probleme, le musee, la page, le silence, la dent, and the famous un livre (book) versus une livre (pound). Each hesitation flags a word for their spaced-repetition deck.

5. Twenty questions (A2-B2). You pick a person, animal or object; the student identifies it using only yes/no questions in French. It is the best drill for the two question patterns: Est-ce que c'est un animal? Vit-il dans l'eau? Est-ce plus grand qu'une voiture? Beginners practise est-ce que; stronger students should use inversion, which they tend to avoid in free speech.

Grammar games that target the hard parts

6. Avoir or etre passe compose race (A2-B1). Show verbs on a slide and have the student form the passe compose, choosing the correct auxiliary. Load it with the etre verbs that trip people up (aller, venir, partir, rester, devenir) mixed with everyday avoir verbs. Je suis alle au marche versus J'ai mange une pomme. Add reflexives for B1 (je me suis leve) and require agreement: elle est partie, nous sommes alles.

7. Conjugation wheel (A1-B2). Share a spinner with subject pronouns (je, tu, il, nous, vous, ils) and a second with verbs and a tense. The student conjugates whatever lands in a full sentence. At A1 use regular -er verbs like parler and aimer; at B1 add irregulars (faire, aller, pouvoir, prendre) and the futur; at B2 demand the conditionnel or subjonctif. Randomness stops them rehearsing, which is the point.

8. The wish game for the subjonctif (B1-B2). Each turn must open with a trigger that forces the subjunctive: Je veux que..., Il faut que..., J'aimerais que..., Bien que... Set a scenario, planning a party or a holiday, and alternate: Il faut que tu viennes a l'heure. J'aimerais qu'il fasse beau. The required trigger does the teaching while the content keeps the student producing forms they would normally dodge.

Speaking games for fluency

9. Story chain in the past (B1-B2). Build a story one sentence at a time, alternating turns, with one rule: each sentence must use the passe compose or the imparfait correctly. C'etait une nuit sombre (imparfait, scene) ... et soudain le telephone a sonne (passe compose, event). This is the clearest way to teach the contrast, because the student feels the difference between background and completed event instead of memorising a rule.

To finish on a relaxed note, run a quick tu prefererais? (would you rather) debate at B1+, which brings in the conditionnel and opinion language: Tu prefererais vivre a Paris ou a la campagne? Pourquoi?

A bonus game for liaison and the silent letters

French pronunciation hides a trap that grammar games miss: liaison and silent endings. Run a quick read-aloud game where you show short phrases on a slide and the student must read them with the correct linking, scoring a point for each liaison they make and each silent letter they correctly drop. Les amis (the s links: lay-z-ami), un petit enfant (the t links), ils ont (links) versus ils sont (no link, different meaning). Mark the silent finals too: the -ent of ils parlent is silent, the final consonant of tabac and nez disappears. Five minutes of this at A2 to B1 fixes habits that otherwise fossilise, and because it is scored it feels like a game rather than a correction drill.

How do I keep these games genuinely educational?

Three habits separate a teaching game from a time-filler. First, name the target out loud before you begin, gender, the passe compose, question forms, so the student knows what they are practising. Second, require that target on every turn, not only when it is convenient. Third, capture the errors the game surfaces in the shared document and feed them into review next time. A platform with spaced-repetition review automates that final step so nothing the game reveals is wasted.

If you would rather not build a fresh slide deck before each session, Derstina includes ready-made interactive French lessons and games aligned to a structured curriculum, so the activity is waiting when you open the lesson. For the wider picture, see our guide on how to teach French online, and borrow ideas from the sibling post on games for online Spanish lessons.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are good games for online French lessons?

Good games for online French lessons include screen-share Pictionary for vocabulary, a le-or-la gender sorting game, a conjugation wheel for present and passe compose, twenty questions for inversion and est-ce que forms, and a story-chain game for past tenses. Each targets one structure, keeps the student speaking, and runs over any video call with screen share.

How do I play vocabulary games over video?

Use screen share with the annotation tool or a free shared whiteboard. For Pictionary, share a slide and one of you draws while the other guesses in French. For matching games, place numbered cards on a slide and reveal them by clicking. Any activity you can display and click becomes a video-friendly French game.

How do I make a game teach the passe compose instead of just being fun?

Tie the game to the structure and require it every turn. For the passe compose, play a story chain where each sentence must report a completed past action, forcing the student to choose between avoir and etre auxiliaries and apply agreement. The content keeps it lively; the rule that every turn uses the target form is what makes it teach.

What level of French student are these games for?

The games scale by level. Category races and Pictionary suit A1 to A2 beginners building core vocabulary and gender. The conjugation wheel and gender sorting fit A2 to B1. Story chains, would-you-rather debates and the subjunctive wish game work best at B1 to B2, when students can manipulate meaning rather than just produce forms.

Do I need special software to run French games online?

No. Most need only a video call with screen share and the chat box, plus a shared slide or whiteboard. If you want games already built in, a platform like Derstina includes ready-made interactive French lessons and games, so you assign an activity rather than preparing one before every session.