Everything You Need to Know About Baamboozle Power-Ups
As you probably already know, your trusty pal Baamboozle is the proud owner of the planet's funniest and fastest-growing collection of educational games.
You probably also know that we have a hefty bank of more than 2 million of them, offering unique and unusual ways to routinely make your classroom much more interesting, active and productive.
But here's something you maybe don't know: all of Baamboozle's gripping games come with kooky and creative power-ups, keeping each one fresh, exciting and engaging.
So in this quick blog post, we've brought you everything you need to know about the wacky world of Baamboozle's power-ups. Looking for twists, turns, and game-changing bonus points? You'll find them all in this helpful little guide!
So what are power-ups?
This one's really simple.
Baamboozle's power-ups are pretty similar to the power-ups you get in many of the world's most famous games.
You know, in Mario Kart, when you use that weird flashing star thing to blast ahead of the competition and speed over the finish line? Or in the original Mario, when one tasty little mushroom makes you double in size and ominously loom over your cowering enemies?
Remember in Sonic the Hedgehog, when you jump on that star-studded immunity power-up, and you just can't die, no matter how much stupid stuff you do?
Well, Baamboozle's power-ups are just as exciting and interesting as all of those famous examples, except… and here's the important part!… they get students learning.
If you choose to include them, power-ups occur randomly in our games, adding an element of chance and uncertainty. And because they occur randomly and automatically, you don't need to bother learning (or teaching!) any complicated or unnecessary rules—or putting in any excess time or effort.
Instead, you and your students just crack on with the fun, and let the power-ups sow chaos and calamity whenever and wherever they feel like it.
Power-ups explained
Here at the zany world of Baamboozle HQ, we've added 15* fun power-ups to our great games.
*Of the 15, only 2 can be used in the simpler Classic Jr versions of our games (perfect for younger learners), while all 15 can be used in our standard Classic versions.
Anyway, here's how each individual power-up works:
Fairy: Take another team's points
Shroom-topped and smiling, this cute little creature is way crueller than she looks. Reveal her grinning face, and you can greedily steal a big helpful batch of another team’s points.
Thief: Hand over some hard-earned points
Pull out the rascal raccoon, and you have no choice but to hand over some of your precious points. Between 5 and 25 of them are given to one of your opponents.
Rocket: Blast right to first place
Lingering a million points behind your opponents with nothing to show for it but a frown? If you're lucky enough to get gifted a rocket, you zoom right into first place, immediately and unjustifiably putting yourself right ahead of the competition.
Banana: Get pulled back to last place
Been having the game of your life? On an incredible lucky streak? Uncover and banana, and it's all for nothing, kid. You're shunned to the back of the queue, and you better hope your luck hasn't changed for good.
Star: Your current points are doubled
How many points you got? One? Ten? A hundred? Stumble upon a star, and that number doubles right away.
Heart: The other team receives free points
No one wants to gift their opposing team any kindness—but uncover a heart, and you don't have a choice. At least you can pretend you're being all generous and altruistic.
Eraser: Your score is reset to zero
Probably the cruelest of all the Baamboozle power-ups, the eraser pulls your score right back to a big fat zero. The question is, can your students recover from such a debilitating setback?
Virus: All scores are completely reset
We know, you've all heard enough about viruses for a while. But click on one of these bad boys, and every team's score reverts right back to zero.
Shark: Other team loses a number of points
Reveal a shark, and it's bad news for your unlucky opponents—they all lose between 5 and 25 points. But no matter the number, they definitely won't appreciate it.
Magnet: Steal some points from your opponents
This one's almost like uncovering a shark, but even better for you, and even worse for your opponents. You steal between 5 and 25 points from another team, and you get to point and laugh at them while they can't stop crying.
Lifesaver: Give some points to your competition
This one won’t save your life… but it might just save the life of another team. Uncover this inflated icon, and you hand over between 5 and 25 points to one of your grateful competitors.
Trap: No points!
Trample on the trap, and you get no question, no points, and no chance to win any points. It's basically like you never took a turn at all!
Seesaw: Swap points with one of your opponents
Reveal the game-changing seesaw, and everything is flipped on its head. However many points your team had, your opposing team now has. And however many points they had… well, we're sure you can work out the rest.
Gold: Win fifty bonus points
This is the most generous of all the Baamboozle power-ups. Uncover the gold, and your team is the fortunate recipient of a hefty fifty points…
Boom: Lose fifty points
… but uncover the boom, and fifty points are immediately deducted from your score.
Gift: Receive some bonus points
Everyone likes getting gifts. Uncover this Baamboozle power-up, and you're given between 5 and 25 points for free. It's like your birthday, but arguably more exciting.
*This power-up is used in both the Classic and the Classic Jr versions of our games.
Baam: Lose a random number of points
The very opposite of a gift, uncover our eponymous Baam bonus, and you lose between 5 and 25 points. All that hard work is wasted, and lots of your points are thrown away.
*Again, this power-up is used in both the Classic and the Classic Jr versions of our games.
Benefits of using Baamboozle's power-ups for your students
Yeah, power-ups are ridiculously good fun (obviously!). But that's not all they're good for.
Here are five more major reasons students and teachers love Baamboozle's power-ups…
- They keep games fresh and varied. No matter how great a game is (and trust us, our games are great!), they can get boring eventually. But our power-ups make games different every time, keeping your kids right on the tip of their toes.
- They get students learning incidentally. Lots of our power-ups are math-based, so they get students analyzing their points totals, and considering what effect different power-ups might have.
- They keep the competition alive. Usually, if a team is lingering in last place, with no chance of winning, the game is no longer fun. But with power-ups, anyone can win at any time, so every team is still involved right up 'til the dying seconds.
- You can use them to make games customized. Want to include specific power-ups while omitting others? With us, you can do exactly that, keeping every game different. More importantly, you can ask your students for input, giving them some responsibility.
- They encourage students to interact. Risk encourages debate, and debate gets students engaging. Which tile should you click? Which choice should you make? Might there be a dastardly trap lurking somewhere in the game? It's all up for debate!
And on top of all that, as we've already covered countless times, these power-ups make our games even more exciting and enjoyable.
For much more information on how our games and power-ups will help your students, check out our fact-packed blog post on all the best benefits of game-based learning.
How to use power-ups in games
If you want to use our power-ups, here's how…
You click on a game, then choose the 'Baamboozle' version of that game—and you're already halfway to a power-upped version of an immersive educational experience.
From here, you're on the simple setup screen. Now, you can click on the power-ups box to choose which power-ups you want to use (and which you don't). You then click on either the Classic version or the Classic Jr version of the game you want to play, and you're ready to go.
So it's all super simple, and takes no more than a few seconds, even if you're a horrendous technophobe. Like every single part of our platform, adding power-ups is easy and understandable.
Have a play around with our games and power-ups, and see if they make your classroom more interesting, productive, and dynamic (spoiler alert: they definitely will).
Want to know anything else about our great games? Have a look at our entire bank of fun here, or check out our quick-fix listicles of our most popular ice-breaker games, and all of our favorite festive games.
Thanks for reading, you silly little Baamboozlers!
