Business Heads Up
One student holds a term against their forehead. The rest of the class hurls clues at them until they crack it. Thirty terms, three difficulty tiers, and a timer: it is the fastest way to find out who actually knows what a hostile takeover is.
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One student comes to the front and holds a card (sticky note or folded paper) against their forehead without looking at it. Everyone else can see the term.
The class gives clues without saying the term or any part of it. The guesser has 45 seconds per card. Correct guess = points for the tier: Tier 1 = 1 point, Tier 2 = 2 points, Tier 3 = 3 points. The guesser chooses their tier before each card, so there is real risk-reward.
New guesser every 2-3 cards. In team mode, only the guesser's own team may give clues, and rival teams stay silent (enforce this ruthlessly, it becomes hilarious).
Track points on the board. Afterwards, ask the class which terms produced the worst clues, and fix the misconceptions on the spot. A student shouting the wrong clue teaches the class more than a correct definition on a slide.
🖨 30 terms in 3 tiers
| Tier 1: Warm-up (1 pt) | Tier 2: Solid (2 pts) | Tier 3: Spicy (3 pts) |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Franchise | Liquidation |
| Profit | Cash flow | Hostile takeover |
| Loan | Interest rate | Price elasticity of demand |
| Advert | Shareholder | Diseconomies of scale |
| Customer | E-commerce | Working capital |
| Wages | Market research | Gearing |
| Discount | Overdraft | Retained profit |
| Sale | Recruitment | Quality assurance |
| Boss | Break-even | Autocratic leadership |
| Queue | Exports | Offshoring |
Variations
- Mime-only round: no words allowed, clues must be acted. Watching someone mime an overdraft is worth the lesson time on its own.
- Chain mode: the guesser who succeeds picks the next guesser and the tier they must attempt.
- Exam-language round: clue-givers may only use phrases from mark schemes (describe the impact on..., this leads to...).
Teacher tips
- Tier choice is the secret sauce. Confident students gamble on Tier 3 and the whole room leans in.
- Ban the clue 'it starts with...' from the first minute or the game becomes spelling practice.
- Save the terms that stumped the room and open the next lesson with them as a recap starter.
Pairs well with these topic pages
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