Ways to use this list
- Two-minute drawing: spin an animal and draw it, then add its home around it, such as sea ice for the walrus or a riverbank for the otter.
- Charades: act the animal out without sounds; older players must also show how it moves or eats, like the sloth hanging upside down from a branch.
- Habitat lesson: press Desert or Polar, spin, and explain how the animal copes there, from the camel's wide padded feet to the Arctic fox's thick winter coat.
- Sorting game: spin six animals and sort them into mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates, then check the groups in the list below.
- Mystery animal: describe it without saying its name, sound or colour, and see how many clues the group needs to guess it.
- Story mash-up: spin two animals from different habitats, such as a penguin and a camel, and write how they meet and what each thinks of the other's weather.
Press Spin the wheel, tap the game or press the Space bar. Change the list in the box as you
like: add your own, delete what doesn't suit you, or write *2 after an entry to give it double the
chance. The game buttons switch the same list to a duck race, hat, claw machine and more.
The full list (82 entries)
- Octopus – mollusc
- Dolphin – mammal
- Shark – fish
- Jellyfish – cnidarian
- Seahorse – fish
- Whale – mammal
- Lobster – crustacean
- Sea turtle – reptile
- Starfish – echinoderm
- Clownfish – fish
- Sloth – mammal
- Toucan – bird
- Jaguar – mammal
- Gorilla – mammal
- Orangutan – mammal
- Poison dart frog – amphibian
- Chameleon – reptile
- Parrot – bird
- Anaconda – reptile
- Lion – mammal
- Elephant – mammal
- Giraffe – mammal
- Zebra – mammal
- Cheetah – mammal
- Rhino – mammal
- Ostrich – bird
- Hyena – mammal
- Kangaroo – mammal
- Bison – mammal
- Rabbit – mammal
- Polar bear – mammal
- Penguin – bird
- Arctic fox – mammal
- Walrus – mammal
- Snowy owl – bird
- Seal – mammal
- Narwhal – mammal
- Reindeer – mammal
- Camel – mammal
- Scorpion – arachnid
- Fennec fox – mammal
- Rattlesnake – reptile
- Roadrunner – bird
- Meerkat – mammal
- Thorny devil – reptile
- Fox – mammal
- Owl – bird
- Hedgehog – mammal
- Deer – mammal
- Badger – mammal
- Squirrel – mammal
- Woodpecker – bird
- Wolf – mammal
- Brown bear – mammal
- Panda – mammal
- Tiger – mammal
- Koala – mammal
- Bat – mammal
- Peacock – bird
- Frog – amphibian
- Crocodile – reptile
- Hippo – mammal
- Otter – mammal
- Beaver – mammal
- Duck – bird
- Dragonfly – insect
- Salmon – fish
- Platypus – mammal
- Flamingo – bird
- Axolotl – amphibian
- Eagle – bird
- Snow leopard – mammal
- Mountain goat – mammal
- Yak – mammal
- Llama – mammal
- Condor – bird
- Bee – insect
- Butterfly – insect
- Ladybird – insect
- Snail – mollusc
- Earthworm – annelid
- Spider – arachnid
Questions people ask
Can I add pictures of the animals?
Yes. Add photos in 🖼️ Photos named after the animals, or start a line with an emoji like 🐼 Panda.
Can I make a mixed-up animal?
Set Winners to 2 and combine the two animals you get: a "cheetah-octopus" makes a great drawing challenge.
Is it good for young children?
Yes. The names are short and familiar, and Minibeasts gives under-fives creatures they can hunt for in a garden or park, such as snails and ladybirds. The duck race or balloons make the pick more exciting for little ones than the wheel.
What do mollusc, cnidarian and echinoderm mean?
They are groups of invertebrates, animals without a backbone. Molluscs, such as the octopus and the snail, have soft bodies, often with a shell. Cnidarians, such as jellyfish, catch food with stinging cells on their tentacles. Echinoderms, such as the starfish, have spiny skin and bodies built in five matching parts. Earthworms are annelids: worms made of ring-shaped segments.
How were the habitat buttons decided?
Each animal sits in the habitat where it is best known, though many live in several: wolves roam forests, tundra and mountains, and red foxes even live in cities. Penguins are under Polar, yet some kinds live on warm coasts, such as the Galápagos penguin near the equator.
Do polar bears and penguins ever meet in the wild?
No. Polar bears live around the Arctic, at the top of the world, while wild penguins live almost entirely in the southern half of the planet, from Antarctica to the coasts of South America, southern Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The two only meet in zoos and in stories.