The classroom companion to skypig's Products: The Card Game. Students play with the real cards: the teacher draws a Product card, everyone pairs it with a Feature card from their hand and names the invention on their phone. Then Zeyoa runs the show. The board spotlights each inventor with a big pitch timer while they pitch out loud, and afterwards every student splits $1,000 of play money across the other inventions. The money is revealed on the board, the best-funded invention wins the round, and the first to three wins is champion.
Played with Products: The Card Game by skypig (skypiggames.com). Each student or team needs a hand of Feature cards.
Screenshots
What students learn
- ✓How to pitch an idea in under a minute: who it's for, what it fixes, why they'd pay
- ✓Speaking up in front of the room with confidence, again and again
- ✓Turning two random things into an invention people want (combining ideas)
- ✓Thinking like an investor: backing the ideas you'd really pay for
How it works
- 1The teacher draws a Product card. Every student pairs it with a Feature card from their hand and names the invention on their phone.
- 2The board spotlights each inventor with a big pitch timer while they pitch out loud.
- 3After the pitches, every student splits $1,000 of play money across the other inventions.
- 4The money is revealed on the board, and the best-funded invention wins the round.
- 5The first student to win three rounds is the champion.
A 40-minute lesson plan
Model a 30-second pitch yourself: who it's for, what problem it fixes, why they'd pay for it.
Play until someone wins three rounds (about 25 minutes). Teams are welcome if your class is large.
Ask the class what the best-funded pitches had in common.
Discussion questions
- What made you invest in a pitch?
- What's the most important thing to say in the first ten seconds?
- Did the funniest idea or the most useful idea get more money?
- How did it feel to pitch the second or third time compared to the first?
Teacher tips
- You need Products: The Card Game from skypiggames.com. Each student or team needs a hand of Feature cards.
- Needs at least 3 players; 6 or more is recommended. Use teams for big classes so everyone pitches.
Questions teachers ask
Do I need the physical card game?+
Yes. Students play with the real Product and Feature cards, and Zeyoa runs the timer, investing and scoring.
What if a student is too nervous to pitch?+
Let them pitch with a partner, or shorten the timer. The rounds are quick, and most students loosen up by the second one.
More answers in the help center.