
Launching your first gimkit host session doesn’t have to be intimidating. This guide walks you from blank dashboard to a confident live experience—with clear steps, pro tips, and trusted references—so you can run a classroom review that students actually ask to play again.
- What You’ll Set Up (Fast Overview)
- Step 1: Create your kit (content your students will play)
- Step 2: Build faster with collaboration (KitCollab)
- Step 3: Choose an engaging mode
- Step 4: Configure and start your live game
- Step 5: Keep energy high during play
- Step 6: Review learning with reports
- Advanced option: Assignments for independent practice
- Proven tips for better sessions (minimal but mighty)
- Quick-reference: Strong anchor links (official resources)
- Conclusion
- FAQs
What You’ll Set Up (Fast Overview)
You’ll create a kit, choose a mode, configure options, share a join method, run the game, and analyze results. Along the way, you’ll see exactly where gimkit host controls live and how to keep engagement high from start to finish.
Step 1: Create your kit (content your students will play)

Open your teacher dashboard and start a new kit using the official Create a kit workflow (see the Host a live game and Create a kit from scratch guides for screenshots). If you already have flashcards, you can import them in a few clicks.
Pro tip: use the import feature to bring in terms from other flashcard tools and polish them into questions students will see during your live events. Natural phrase integrations you may hear people use include gimkit create, gimkit create game, and create gimkit; all describe starting fresh content you can later launch in a live session.
Step 2: Build faster with collaboration (KitCollab)
Want students to help write the questions? Try KitCollab to crowd-source quality prompts before you gimkit host. Approve submissions, keep rigor high, and students will feel ownership of the game they’re about to play.
Step 3: Choose an engaging mode
Pick from Gimkit game modes that fit your goal—speed practice, strategy, or teamwork. For example, try Classic for speed, Cash is King for strategy, or Trust No One for teamwork. Explore 2D game modes for a fresh, playful feel that still drives accuracy. Spending one extra minute here pays off with more focused gameplay when you host later. That clarity makes you a gimkit host students trust.
Step 4: Configure and start your live game

From your kit, click Play Live. Set time limits or target goals, and enable classes or nicknames. Share a join link or the game code on your screen; with Instant-join enabled, rostered students can jump in without typing codes. When you’re ready, press Start and your gimkit host interface will display the live lobby and progress.
This is also where you’ll naturally use phrases like gimkit host game and host a gimkit—they simply mean you’re starting a live round with your chosen kit and settings. You’ll also hear the longer phrase host gimkit game—same idea, just more words. You might even see the common misspelling gim kit host out in the wild; the meaning is the same.
Step 5: Keep energy high during play
As students answer, remind them to read carefully, invest early “cash” wisely, and watch the timer. Keep an eye on payouts from the gimkit host screen. Use your gimkit host dashboard to pause, adjust music, or highlight strategies. If competition spikes, switch emphasis from speed to accuracy; if pace lags, shorten goal time. Small nudges from the host view keep the room productive and fun.
Step 6: Review learning with reports
When the round ends, open your reports to see accuracy by student and item, time-on-task, and where misconceptions live. Export what you need, reteach quickly, and plan your next gimkit host session with questions that target the real gaps. Save the report link in your lesson notes to plan the next gimkit host.
Also Read: How to Use Gimkit Host: Simple Tips for Better Student Engagement
Advanced option: Assignments for independent practice
If live time is tight, turn a kit into an Assignment students complete on their own schedule. Choose a cash or question goal, share it, and follow the progress dashboard—then bring those insights back into your next gimkit host round.
Proven tips for better sessions (minimal but mighty)
- Open with 2–3 sample questions to calibrate difficulty, then start your gimkit host game for real.
- Rotate modes week to week to keep novelty high without relearning the basics before every gimkit host.
- Use classes to keep names appropriate and enable instant joining; smoother starts mean more minutes playing and less time troubleshooting for the gimkit host.
Quick-reference: Strong anchor links (official resources)
Gimkit Help: Host a live game
Gimkit Help: Create a kit from scratch
Gimkit Help: Join a live game
Gimkit Help: Instant-join
Gimkit Help: Game Modes
Gimkit Help: Assignments explained
Gimkit Help: Assignment reports
Gimkit Help: Import flashcard sets
Conclusion
Great learning games feel simple in the room because the setup decisions were thoughtful. Build a clean kit, pick a mode with intention, share a low-friction way in, and keep coaching through your gimkit host panel. With a few reps, your classes will recognize the rhythm—and you’ll have a repeatable process you can run any time.
FAQs
Q1: Do students need accounts to join a live game?
No—students can join with a game code or join link. If you use Classes, logged-in students join automatically.
Q2: Can I host using a public kit I didn’t create?
Yes, you can host any public kit; however, detailed game reports are only available for kits you own.
Q3: My students can’t connect at school—what should I check first?
Share your IT department the official connectivity checklist for allowing Gimkit’s game servers; it resolves most school-network blocks.
Q4: Is there a free plan to get started?
Educators can use Gimkit Basic for free; new accounts also start with a limited Gimkit Pro trial.
Q5: Where do students enter the code to join?
Send them to the join page and have them type the game code (or scan the QR) from your screen.
