Fun Games for Online Italian Lessons (That Actually Teach)

May 2026  ·  9 min read

Italian feels welcoming to beginners, then asks for precision in a handful of specific places: a definite-article system that changes shape before different sounds, the avere-versus-essere split in the passato prossimo, the contrast between passato prossimo and imperfetto, and the congiuntivo. Each of these is mastered through repeated production, and a focused game generates that repetition far faster than free chat.

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

Warm-up games to switch on the Italian brain

1. Category race (A1-B1). Call a category in Italian, cose in cucina, animali, parole con la lettera C, and the student lists as many as they can in sixty seconds while you type them in the chat. Then swap. To raise the level, require full sentences with the article: In cucina c'e un frigorifero, una pentola, un coltello...

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 explain in Italian. It exercises present and past tenses: Sono nato a Napoli. Ho due fratelli. Non ho mai mangiato il tiramisu. It also builds the rapport that keeps students booking week after week.

Vocabulary games over video

3. Article Pictionary (A1-A2). Share a blank slide. One of you draws a noun; the other guesses in Italian, but the guess counts only with the correct indefinite article: not tavolo but un tavolo, not amico but un amico, not zaino but uno zaino. That last one quietly teaches why uno appears before z and s+consonant, exactly the pattern beginners need to internalise.

4. The il-lo-la-gli sort (A1-B1). List nouns on a shared slide with boxes for the definite articles. The student sorts each with the full phrase and explains the form. This is the article game Italian really needs, because the choice depends on sound: il libro but lo studente and lo zaino; l'amico; in the plural i libri but gli studenti and gli amici. Each hesitation marks a word and a rule for spaced-repetition review.

5. Twenty questions (A2-B2). You pick a person, animal or object; the student identifies it with only yes/no questions in Italian. It drills question intonation and forms: E un animale? Vive nell'acqua? E piu grande di una macchina? Beginners practise essere and avere questions; stronger students can be pushed into comparatives and the congiuntivo of doubt.

Grammar games that target the hard parts

6. Avere or essere passato prossimo race (A2-B1). Show verbs on a slide and have the student form the passato prossimo with the right auxiliary. Mix everyday avere verbs with the movement and change-of-state verbs that take essere: Ho mangiato la pizza versus Sono andato al mercato. Require agreement with essere: Maria e andata, i ragazzi sono partiti. Add reflexives at B1: mi sono svegliato presto.

7. Conjugation wheel (A1-B2). Share a spinner with subject pronouns (io, tu, lui, noi, voi, loro) and a second with verbs and a tense. The student conjugates whatever lands in a full sentence. At A1 use regular verbs across the three groups (parlare, prendere, dormire); at B1 add irregulars (fare, andare, venire, potere) and the futuro; at B2 demand the condizionale or congiuntivo. The randomness blocks rehearsal, which is the point.

8. The wish game for the congiuntivo (B1-B2). Every turn must open with a trigger that forces the subjunctive: Voglio che..., Spero che..., Penso che..., Bisogna che... Set a scenario, planning a trip, and alternate: Spero che faccia bel tempo. Voglio che tutti arrivino in orario. The required trigger teaches; the playful content keeps the student producing a mood they would otherwise avoid.

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 correctly use the passato prossimo or the imperfetto. Era una notte buia (imperfetto, scene) ... e all'improvviso ha squillato il telefono (passato prossimo, event). This is the clearest way to teach the contrast, because the student feels the difference between background description and completed event rather than memorising it.

For a relaxed finish, run a quick preferiresti? (would you rather) debate at B1+, which pulls in the condizionale and opinion language: Preferiresti vivere al mare o in montagna? Perche?

A bonus game for the prepositions and articulated forms

Italian prepositions combine with the article into single words (a + il = al, di + la = della, in + i = nei), and learners reliably get them wrong. Build a fast matching game on a slide: show a preposition and a noun phrase and have the student produce the articulated form in a full sentence. Vado ___ cinema (al), Il libro ___ studente (dello), Abito ___ centro (nel), Parlo ___ ragazze (delle). Score correct contraction plus correct gender and number. This fits A2 to B1 and dovetails neatly with the il-lo-la-gli sort, because the articulated preposition forces the student to recall the underlying article before combining it. A few rounds a week and the contractions stop being a guess.

How do I keep these games genuinely educational?

Three habits turn a game into real teaching. First, name the target before you start, the article system, the passato prossimo, question forms, so the student knows the focus. Second, require that target on every turn, not just when convenient. Third, log 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 the article slips and irregular participles the game reveals return at the right moment.

If building a new slide deck before each session is wearing you out, Derstina includes ready-made interactive Italian lessons and games aligned to a structured curriculum, so the activity is waiting when you open the lesson. For the wider method, read our guide on how to teach Italian online, and borrow ideas from the sibling post on games for online Spanish lessons.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are good games for online Italian lessons?

Good games for online Italian lessons include screen-share Pictionary with the article rule, an il-lo-la-gli definite-article sort, a passato prossimo auxiliary race for avere and essere, twenty questions for question forms, and a story-chain game for the imperfetto contrast. Each targets one structure, keeps the student speaking Italian, 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 Italian with the correct article. For matching games, lay numbered cards on a slide and reveal them by clicking. Any activity you can display and click becomes a video-friendly Italian game.

How do I make a game teach the passato prossimo instead of just being fun?

Tie the game to the structure and require it every turn. For the passato prossimo, play a story chain where each sentence reports a completed past action, forcing the student to choose between avere and essere and to apply agreement with essere. The content keeps it lively; the rule that every turn uses the target form is what makes it teach.

What level of Italian student are these games for?

The games scale by level. Category races and article Pictionary suit A1 to A2 beginners building vocabulary and the definite-article system. The auxiliary race and conjugation wheel fit A2 to B1. Story chains, would-you-rather debates and the congiuntivo wish game work best at B1 to B2, once students can play with meaning rather than just form.

Do I need special software to run Italian 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 Italian lessons and games, so you assign an activity rather than building one before every session.