1
Every word secretly belongs to one group.
Sixteen words sit in a 4×4 grid — no labels, no hints. Four of them share a hidden link, and so do the other twelve, in three more groups.
Boardee Arcade · Quiz & recall
Categories
Group answers under the right heading.
Sixteen words, four hidden groups, and a class suddenly debating taxonomy like it matters. It's the Connections moment, built from your unit.
Also known as: NYT Connections · connections
👥 1–4 Players✨ AI fills the content
- Free for teachers · students never need accounts
How to play
Find the hidden groups of four.
That's the goal — no rules to teach. Here's how a round of Categories runs.
2
Tap four that share a link, then submit.
Select four you think belong together and submit. Nothing locks until you do, so the class can argue, deselect and swap before committing.
Solve all the groups before your guesses run out.
Guesses are limited — a wrong four costs one, and “One away” is all the help you get. Untangle all four groups before they run out.
Ways to play
One puzzle, three ways to run it
The same sixteen words work as a front-of-class debate, a live device round, or take-home practice. Pick at press-play — nothing to rebuild.
On the big screen
Project one puzzle and the whole class untangles it together — take nominations, demand a justification, then submit as a room. It’s the classic way to run Categories, and the arguing is the whole point. No devices, no codes.
Zero devices · zero prepLive on their devices
Students go to boardee.app/join and type the six-digit code — phones, tablets, chromebooks, any browser. Everyone gets the same sixteen words and works the four groups on their own screen, guesses and all.
Join code or QR · no student accountsIn their own time
Share one play link and the same puzzle becomes homework, a soft start or early-finisher work. Results roll in as each student finishes — groups solved and guesses used, no chasing.
One link · results tracked for youWhat can you group?
Every topic hides four groups of four
Type what you're teaching and AI seeds sixteen words in four hidden groups — with a near-miss or two to argue over. Any subject with things that cluster is already a Categories round.
States of matter
ScienceSolidLiquidGasPlasma
States of matter
Figures of speech
EnglishSimileMetaphorIdiomPun
Figures of speech
Great rivers
GeographyNileAmazonCongoVolga
Rivers
Number types
MathsPrimeEvenSquareCube
Types of number
Ruling houses
HistoryTudorStuartNormanWindsor
Royal houses
Ways to say hello
LanguagesBonjourHolaCiaoAloha
Greetings
The library
Categories is one shape of twenty-five
The Arcade is a library of classroom games that all drink from the same topic box. When the groups have been cracked, the identical word list becomes a quiz, a crossword or a matching game — same topic, new game, zero re-typing.
- 25 game types, from quiz shows to word puzzles
- One topic box fills any of them in under a minute
- Save your rounds and relaunch them any lesson
Three ways in
Three ways to get a Categories
Ready-made from the Discover shelves, AI-built from your topic, or typed by hand — every door ends at the same play button.
Grab one ready-made
Search the Discover shelves — curated games plus rounds shared by other teachers. Find one that fits and press play.
Ask AI to build it
Type what you're teaching and the Arcade writes your Categories in under a minute. Check it, tweak anything, play.
Type it yourself
Every Categories has a plain editor underneath — your exact list, row by row, no AI in the loop.
Built for the classroom
AI fills it. You press play.
Every Arcade game starts from the same box: type what you're teaching and the content writes itself — questions, words, clues — ready for the board at the front of the room.
- Real content on your topic and grade — skim, edit or reroll before the class sees it
- Big type and chunky buttons, readable from the back row
- Students join with a code and a name — no accounts, ever
25
Game types in the Arcade — one topic box fills them all
60s
From typing a topic to pressing play
0
Student accounts — a code and a first name is the whole login
3
Steps every time: type it, check it, play it
I typed 'the water cycle' and had a class quiz in ten seconds flat. It's the first tool my whole department adopted.
FAQ
Good to know
Is this like NYT Connections?
Yes — the same find-the-hidden-groups puzzle your students already play, except the groups come from your unit. Guesses are limited, so every submit is a commitment.
How many students can play?
One to four players per puzzle, and it's a superb whole-class projector activity — take nominations, demand justifications, then submit.
Do students need devices?
No. Projector-only is the classic way to run it; devices with a code or play link work for individual or small-group rounds.
Can AI build a puzzle on my topic?
Yes. Give it a topic and grade and it writes the sixteen words and four groups in under a minute — you can tweak any of them.
Do students need accounts?
Never. Students join with a code and a name — no emails, no passwords. Teachers don't need an account to try it either.
Same box, different shape
More quiz & recall
Same three steps, different game. Type a topic and pick your shape.
What are you teaching tomorrow?
Type it in, check the content, press play. The Arcade does the rest.