Also called Tutti-Frutti, Stop, and a whole bunch of other things, Basta is a fast-paced traditional Mexican word game that calls for quick thinking and really keeps you on your toes. It’s a ton of fun and really helps students sharpen their Spanish skills. But the best part is, you can play this game in English too! Its super quick and easy to set up, and a full round can be completed in less than five minutes. But trust me, you won’t want to stop playing! In this post, I’ll show you just how to play Basta because this is on of my all-time favorite Spanish Vocabulary Games.
Basta is a game that I loved to play in Spanish class growing up. Almost every Friday, my second grade teacher would tell everyone to tear out a piece of notebook paper, and we all started to get excited. That meant it was time to put away the school work and start playing Basta! It was such a fun way to end the week, and little did we know, we were getting smarter as we played!
If you end up loving this game, check out my Classroom Loteria Game!
Objective of the Game
The objective of Basta is to be the first to fill out an entire row in a table with words related to each category and shout, “Basta!” The winner is the player who has the most points at the end of the game.
What do you need to play?
Materials:
All you need to play is a piece of paper, a pencil and eraser, and if you want to get really fancy, you can throw in a ruler.
Players:
You need a minimum of 2 players, but the more players you have, the more fun and fast pace it can be. That’s why this game is great for playing with your entire class!
Ages:
Any age can play as long as each player knows how to spell (2nd grade and up).
Game Set Up:
Begin by drawing a table on the paper with eight columns. Label the first column with the word “Letra” (Letter).
In the next six columns, write each of the following categories: Nombre (Name), Apellido (Last Name), Ciudad o País (City or Country), Fruta o Verdura (Fruit or Vegetable), Animal (Animal), Cosa (Thing). Feel free to substitute these categories with any of your own.
In the last column, label it with the word Total. This is where you will add up the total amount of points at the end of the each round. (You can make your game board way, prettier than mine, but it doesn’t have to be pretty!)
How to Play Basta:
As mentioned before, this Spanish vocabulary game is played in rounds. There are two different ways to go from here. You can go in alphabetical order from A-Z, or you can recite the alphabet in your head, and have a student yell, “Basta” at any point. Whichever letter it lands on, that will be the letter for the round.
Each student should write that letter in the “Letra” column. On the count of three, the game begins. Each player must write a word in each column that pertains to to the category listed and starts with the letter in the first column.
For example, if the letter is “C” I might fill out my table like as follows: Nombre- Carlos, Apellido- Cortez, Ciudad o País- Chicago, Fruta or Verdura- cereza, Animal- caballo, y Cosa- Carro.
The first person to fill out the row shouts, “Basta”. Everyone should drop their pencils, and put their hands up. Everyone should then compare answers. Each unique answer gets 100 points. Every answer that is shared by two or more students gets 50 points.
Each player should keep track of their points by writing the number of points for each answer below its corresponding word as shown.
Then have each student tally up their points for that round and write the total number in the “Total” column. Repeat these steps for each additional round. The winner is the player who ends up with the most points at the end of the game!
Extra Tips
I’m not going to lie, this game can be pretty challenging just because it puts you on the spot, and it’s easy for your mind to go completely blank. As you play, remind your students not to get discouraged, and that it’s okay if you can’t think of a word. I even get stuck sometimes when I play this game.
You can give them the option that if they get stuck, they can write a word in English instead.
Good luck! I hope you and your students have fun playing this quick Spanish Vocabulary game! Oh and if you’re looking for some other Spanish Games to play in your class, learn about the Five Best Traditional Classroom Spanish Games.
