Sharing and playing Arcade games

Updated last week by Rana Wilds

Every Arcade game gets a unique link and QR code that you can share with students, colleagues, or anyone else. Here's how sharing and playing work.

Click the Share button at the top of any game to open the Share game panel. It has four sections:

Link: Every game has a direct URL (e.g., arcade.padlet.com/game/abc123). Click Copy to paste it into a chat, email, LMS, or anywhere else. Below the link is a QR code that players can scan with a phone or tablet to jump straight into the game. Use Expand to show it full screen, Print to print it, or Download to save the image.
Apps: Share in one click to Add to Padlet, Email, Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, X / Twitter, Facebook, or Remind.
Export: Click Export to PDF to download the game as a PDF, handy for printing or offline practice.
Embed: Click Copy embed code and paste it into your website, blog, or LMS to play the game right on that page.

What players can see vs. what they cannot see

When someone opens your game link, they go directly into the player experience. Players cannot see your original prompt, the chat history, or the edit interface. Your content creation process is private, and players only see the finished game.

If you (the creator) open the same link while signed in, you'll see the full edit interface instead.

Locking a Game

You can lock a game at any time by clicking the padlock icon next to the game title in the top bar. While a game is locked, players who open the link see the start screen with a grayed-out Locked button instead of a play button and the message "The game creator has locked this game." No one can play until you unlock it.

Locking is handy for timing: share the link ahead of class while the game is locked, then unlock when you're ready for everyone to play. The link never changes, so there's nothing to reshare. See the Locking a game article for details.

The Player Experience

Here's what happens when someone opens a game link.

Enter a name

Before playing, each player enters a display name.

Play the game

After entering their name, players see an animated Play button. Clicking it launches the full-screen game. The game environment features themed visuals and backgrounds that match the subject matter.

Gameplay varies by game type: dragging cards in Matching, flipping tiles in Memory Tiles, selecting answers in Multiple Choice, typing answers in Short Answer, and so on.

Wildcard games work a little differently. Players enter their name in a bar at the top of the game, then start from the game's own start screen. Each Wildcard game has its own controls, designed for that game.

Submit and see results

When players are done, they click the Submit button to check their answers. Some game types check each answer as players go instead; in Short Answer, for example, players get feedback after every question. At the end, players see their score (number of correct items) and completion time.

How Scoring Works

Scoring is consistent across all template game types:

Score is based on the number of correct items (e.g., 7/10 correct answers).
Speed is the tiebreaker. If two players both get 10/10, the one who finished faster ranks higher.

This scoring logic applies to all template game types, including Flashcards.

TIP: In Settings, you can adjust the visibility of the leaderboard, how many attempts each player gets, and how many scores the leaderboard shows.