Games and Competition in the Classroom

We all know that young students like games as a form of learning, and research has backed it up!
However, this sort of "play to learn" gets phased out through middle school and high school, and it can be a fun and engaging way to mix up classroom routine.
Since I teach at a decently rigid and formative prep school, games haven't been part of the culture outside of language classes. To prepare for our semester exam, students had roughly 91 terms they needed to know from about 150 years of American history. To make this more exciting, I made a Quizlet, and consequently had students play Quizlet live. Not only is this application a fun way to make students learn and review, but they also have to work together as a team to review flashcards. I can see who my most competitive students are, but also those who are quietly diligent at reviewing terms prior to coming to class. While students are supposed to sit next to their teams to see all screens involved in the round, I sometimes make it more challenging by forcing students to move around the room apart from their teams or by being silent. Having a "game" and hands off time from reviewing material certainly led to a lively learning environment. Embedded is a video that explains the process