Random events are part of what makes Classcraft so fun! See Tom’s story below for a look into his classroom.

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They wait, that’s what they do,

Seconds turn to minutes and anticipation

Grows

Tick, follows tock, follows tick (follows tock)

Pens and pencils,

Perpetually in motion,

Carve out answers while brains implode.

Oh they’re engaged in their task, there’s no doubt.

The lure of XP sees to that.

But the real reason for those sweat-ridden brows,

For the nervous glances and twitching fingers,

That, my friend,

Is the effect of a cunningly crafted “Random Event.”

In this case it’s the turn of “Shoe Master.” Move forward in time just a few minutes, and you’ll hear the sound of a mobile phone cutting through the dulcet tones of a classroom at work. Stay with that scene, and you’ll see the classroom erupt with activity. Children tearing off their shoes, holding them to their faces, and screaming, “HELLOO?!?”

Shoemaster — Who Left Their Phone On? The Gamemaster will set a timer (with phone sound effect) to go off at some point in the lesson. When it does all players must remove a shoe and answer it like a phone — the louder the better. GM will reward 200 Experience Points (XP) to the quickest among you and remove 10 Health Points (HP) to the slowest player.

I’ve never known tension like it.

And afterward the relief, the laughter, the banter, and when all settles down again, the inevitable begging, “Please, sir, can we have some more?” (The rule of one random event per lesson gets slightly bent in my class as I teach my Classcraft class for only an hour a day.)

“OK, but only if you complete this task in 10 minutes instead of 15.”

Five minutes later, we’re at another random event, and I’m wondering if I’ve been giving them too long to do everything!

This time we’re stopping to play a game of Empires (a simple game whereby all players jot down, in secret, the name of a celebrity). After all, as the scroll tells us, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” I have no qualms about stopping to play a game for five minutes. Offset it against the level of work, engagement, teamwork, and behavior that Classcraft elicits, and it’s a no-brainer.

Award-winning deputy Head Teacher @mrtomhills is always on the lookout for creative ways to fuse gaming/games and education. Most of these ideas make it to his blog, where he shares ideas, planning, and resources. Tom is an experienced seminar and keynote presenter, and his work with MAT pupils, data tracking, and @GuidedReasoning is being used in schools throughout Wales.