Unplugged experience: How to host a kahoot without participant devices

Want to know how to host a Kahoot! session when participants don't have their own phones, tablets, or laptops? The Unplugged experience allows your audience to participate in a kahoot using only a shared screen.

This is perfect for classrooms, meeting rooms, and training sessions where devices are restricted, shared, or unavailable, allowing you to preserve the core Kahoot! energy, participation, and shared learning experience.

• How to host an Unplugged experience
• How to play an Unplugged experience
• Key features and benefits
• FAQ

How to host an Unplugged experience

You can easily select the Unplugged experience right before you start your live game. Note that this experience requires a host to run the game on a shared screen.

1. Log in to your Kahoot! account and select the specific kahoot you want to play.
2. Click Host a live to open the game experience selection screen.
3. Scroll to the Unplugged section.
4. Select the Classic Unplugged experience.
   
5. Start the game.

Participants will now be able to follow the game and participate together by looking at the shared screen.

How to play an Unplugged experience

Because participants don't use their own devices, the gameplay is highly interactive and driven by the room's energy:

• Participants call out the answers: The audience reads the question and options on the shared screen. For each question, the host can choose a specific participant to answer aloud or let the room shout out the consensus.
  
• The host rocks the screen: The host acts as the game master, listening to the answer and clicking it on the main screen to reveal the correct result.
• Shared score: Instead of individual points, a single shared score keeps track of the total number of correct answers for the whole group.
  

Key features and benefits

The Classic Unplugged experience is designed for content review and assessment without the pressure of competition.

• Focus on participation: It offers a similar flow to the Learn self-study mode, emphasizing content review over speed. There is no timer for answers, allowing the group to discuss and decide at their own pace.
• Collaborative effort: At the end of the game, there is no podium for individuals. Instead, the final screen celebrates the whole group's effort, showing the total score out of the total questions (e.g., 3/10).
• Greater flexibility: It gives teachers and trainers the freedom to choose how their audience participates, removing device availability as a barrier to engagement.
• Institution-wide adoption: It supports a broader range of teaching and training practices, making Kahoot! accessible in device-restricted schools and corporate training environments.

FAQ

1. Who can use the Unplugged experience? The Unplugged experience is available on all Kahoot! plans. You can host it from both the web platform and Kahoot! mobile apps, supporting up to 2000 participants per session (participant limit depends on a plan).
    
2. Do participants need the Kahoot! app or website to join? No. In an Unplugged experience, participants do not need an individual device to enter a PIN or submit answers. The entire experience is guided by the host on a shared screen.
    
3. Do players earn points in Classic Unplugged? No, there are no points awarded, and there is no podium. This experience is designed purely for review and assessment.