Purpose Game Directions

Learn to create educational games that are graded by the computer, and can be used as either an assignment or as a tool to check if students understand the material you are covering.

Getting Started

Go to purposegames.com
In the upper right hand corner click on “Register Here”
Username – Last name first then first name (this will be very helpful if you create groups and want to use this site to be used for assignments and grading which we will discuss later)
Enter a valid e-mail
Create a password and then enter it again a second time
Enter the “captcha code” at the bottom and select “sign up” at the bottom
You are now registered.
Go to your valid e-mail you selected and open the mail sent to you from purposegames.com and activate your account.

Creating a Game/Assignment

Select “login” in the upper right hand corner and enter your username and password
At the top of the screen click on the word “CREATE”
- There are 3 types of games you can create
  - Quiz Game (dots) – have to upload an image to work with
  - Quiz Game (shapes) – have to upload an image to work with
  - Multiple Choice Games – easiest of the 3 – create a multiple choice quiz game
- Let’s start with a “Dot game” (medium level difficulty)
  - Getting an image to work with
    - Go to google.com and select images
    - We need to choose an image that you can use for your class that you can make into a game. You can create your own image by typing out your own information on Word, copying and pasting it to “paint” and saving it as a JPEG file (we will learn this later)
      - For an example, we are going to search google images for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”
    - Right Click over image and select “copy”
    - Go to the “Paint” application through your windows start logo
      - Put your cursor over the windows start logo in the lower left hand corner and left click
      - Go to “All Programs” and left click
      - Go to “Accessories” and left click
      - Go to “Paint” and left click
    - Left click on “select” at the top first
    - Right click on the canvas and select “paste”
    - Go to “File” in the upper left hand corner and left click.
    - Choose “Save File As” and then select “JPEG picture”
    - Select the desktop as a location and give your picture a title and left click “Save”
    - You now have a usable picture to use at Purpose Games
  - Creating Your Dot Game – go to purposegames.com and login.
    - At the top of the screen, left click “Go Create”
    - Under “Create a Quiz Game (dots)” left click “go create”
    - In the upper right hand corner under Upload an Image type in a title for your picture and then left click “browse”. Select your picture file you saved on your desktop.
    - Now left click “add background”
    - Your new picture background should show up under “your images.” Left click on your new background picture and you will be able to start making your game.
  - On the right
    - Choose a name for your game. When I create names I use the unit I am currently in and then the name of the game (i.e. Unit 5 – Eye Parts and their Functions)
    - Choose a category for your game from the drop down list
    - Under the “tags” I always put my last name to make it easier for my students to find my games
    - You can fill in a description of the game if you want, I usually skip this step.
    - Left click the image next to the word “dot”
    - Now left click on the first turtle and you will see a blue dot. On the right you will see a blank that says “Type a Question Here.” Enter the name of the turtle you put a dot on. Left click on the second turtle and a second dot will appear and you can enter his name in the “Type a Question Here” box. Complete the last two turtles and left click “Save” in the lower right hand corner.
    - Now left click “publish” in the lower right corner.
    - And, finally, left click “preview” in the lower right corner and it will take you to your completed game/assignment.
      - The hyperlink for this game is located at the top and can be copied and pasted or linked to your website, online calendar, Edmodo, ect.
      - If you do not use these resources with your students then you need to copy the hyperlink on a piece of paper and write it on the board for the students to copy into their computers to get to your game.
- Multiple Choice Games
  - Scroll down to Multiple Choice Games on the left hand of the screen and select “Go Create”
  - On the right
    - Choose a name for your game. When I create names I use the unit I am currently in and then the name of the game (i.e. Unit 5 – Eye Parts and their Functions)
    - Choose a category for your game from the drop down list
    - Under the “tags” I always put my last name to make it easier for my students to find my games
    - You can fill in a description of the game if you want, I usually skip this step.
  - On the left
    - Type in your first multiple choice question in the upper most box
    - Type in the correct answer in the box where it says ‘type in the correct answer here”
    - In the other boxes provided type in incorrect answers (you are allowed to enter up to 4 incorrect answers)
    - When the game is played the answers are shuffled so the correct answer is not always the first answer.
    - Select “Add Question” on the right to make another question
  - Publishing the game so it can be played by others
    - Once you have completed all of your questions, you need to save the game by clicking on “save” in the lower right hand corner
    - Next, select “publish” in the lower right hand corner
    - Next click on “preview” in the lower right hand corner and it will take you to your completed game that is online and ready to be played.
      - The hyperlink for this game is located at the top and can be copied and pasted or linked to your website, online calendar, Edmodo, ect.
      - If you do not use these resources with your students then you need to copy the hyperlink on a piece of paper and write it on the board for the students to copy into their computers to get to your game.

Creating a Group – Allows students to sign-up and join your group. You can now see the members of your group and check their grades on these online assignments

Left click “Create” at the top of the page
Scroll down to the bottom and left click on “go create” under Create Group
Left click “Create a Group now”
- Enter group title – the titles I chose for my groups were Period 1, Period 2, etc.
- Enter a Tagline
- Enter a description of the group
- Under “Tags” I always put my last name
- Leave the Group as Public for now. You can change this later
- Left Click “Create Group” and you have made your first group
- On the left side of screen, left click “Publish Group”

Getting Students Signed Up and Entered into the correct Group

Have students sign up for the purposegames.com site just as you did following the directions at the top. Students only have to do this once.
Have the students copy their username and password somewhere in their notebook so they don’t forget their information to login.
To sign up for your Group
- In the upper right hand corner of the page in the search box have the students type in YOUR username and click enter.
- Left click “Users”
- Have students left click YOUR username
- On the left side of screen have students left click “groups”
- Have students left click on the group you want them to join
- Have students left Click on “Yes, I want to join now”
- Have students left click “step this way”. Your students are now signed up to your group and you are now able to manage your students and see their grades on the games/assignments you create

How to Check Your Students Grades

Login to Purpose Games
In the upper right hand corner, click on your username
On the left side click “Groups”
Click on the group you want to check grades for
On the left click members
You will now see a list of your students who have signed up for your group
- Click on a student name
- On the left, click “statistics” and you will see every game the student has played and their score they have received on that game/assignment

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at tkeller@yumaunion.org and I will try and help you if you are having problems.