I learned about power-ups the hard way.
It was October 2025, the third week of hybrid teaching, and I decided to “surprise” my 9th graders with every single power-up turned on because I thought more options = more fun. Forty-three seconds into the game, Jamal (sweet kid, zero impulse control) bought four “Freeze” power-ups in a row and locked the entire top half of the leaderboard. Half my class was screaming. The other half was throwing Chromebooks. My assistant principal walked by at exactly that moment. I still haven’t lived it down.
Since then, I’ve played thousands of live games and watched maybe a hundred thousand power-up purchases. Here’s the real breakdown of every current Gimkit power-up (as of spring 2025), ranked from god-tier to outright banned in my classroom.
The Core Four (Always On)
- Insurance – Cost: $250–$500, depending on streak length
What it does: Protects your streak if you get a question wrong once.
Why I love it: This is the single best learning-friendly power-up ever made. Kids who normally guess and give up will actually slow down and think because they’re terrified of losing a $2,000 streak bonus. I’ve seen test scores jump just because students started reading all four answer choices. - Streak Bonus (the underlying mechanic, not a purchasable power-up)
Doubles your earnings every five correct in a row. The reason kids will replay a homework kit ten times at 10 p.m. on a Sunday. Non-negotiable. - Bigger Bucks – Cost: $1,000
What it does: The next correct answer is worth 5× money.
Verdict: Safe, strategic, and feels fair. Kids have to decide if the next question is one they’re sure about. Teaches risk assessment better than my personal finance elective. - Hot Streak – Cost: $2,500
What it does: Doubles your streak multiplier for 30 seconds.
This one is high-risk, high-reward. When someone drops it at the right moment, the leaderboard flips upside down, and the whole room loses its mind. Pure adrenaline. I allow it, but I announce “Hot Streak watch!” so everyone knows chaos is coming.
The Good Ones (Usually On)
- Double Trouble – Cost: $750
Double points for everyone on your team (team mode only).
Only appears in team games, and honestly, it’s wholesome. Kids start rooting for their weakest player because they want the 2× multiplier. I’ve watched natural leaders emerge who’ve never spoken in class before. - Early Bird – Cost: $1,500
Gives everyone else a 10-second delay on the next question.
Annoying when used against you, but it only lasts one question and costs a fortune. Feels earned. - Extra Help – Cost: $300
Removes two wrong answers (50/50).
Underrated. Forces kids to actually know something instead of pure guessing. I keep this one on for struggling classes.
The Chaos Generators (Proceed with Caution)
- Freeze – Cost: $400
Freezes one opponent for 10 seconds.
This is the one that caused the Great Chromebook Incident of 2020. Cheap, spammable, and tilts the game toward whoever mashes the button fastest. I ban it in every live game now. Zero regrets. - Blockade – Cost: $600
Blocks someone from buying power-ups for 20 seconds.
Situationally hilarious, usually just petty. I turn it off 90 % of the time. - Glitch – Cost: $800
Swap someone else’s score with yours for 15 seconds.
Can turn a 500,000-point lead into a 3,000-point lead in one click. Funny exactly once per school year. After that, it’s just toxic.
The Nuclear Options (Almost Never On)
- Big Brain – Cost: $5,000
The next question is worth 10× points, and everyone else gets half speed.
This power-up single-handedly decides most games now. One kid saves up, drops it on a $75 question, and suddenly has 750,000 points before anyone blinks. I banned it in 2023, and my leaderboard has been competitive ever since. - Mega Multiplier – Cost: $10,000 (new in 2024)
Literally 20× on the next question.
Exists so Gimkit can say they have “even crazier” power-ups. I’ve never turned it on. Life’s too short.
The Assignment-Mode Specials (Homework Only)
These only show up in async Assignment mode, thank goodness:
- Second Chance – One free wrong answer, no streak loss.
- Lucky Guess – 50 % chance to turn a wrong answer correct.
- Time Warp – Adds extra time if you’re running low.
I leave all of these on for homework because there’s no one to sabotage. They just encourage kids to keep going instead of quitting when they miss two in a row.
My Current Power-Up Settings (2026)
Live Classic Game (whole-class review)
Insurance ✓
Bigger Bucks ✓
Hot Streak ✓
Extra Help ✓
Everything else ✗
Assignment Mode (homework)
All power-ups are enabled except the truly random ones like “Crash” that can wipe your score for no reason.
Team Modes
I open it up more because sabotage gets spread across five kids instead of one victim.
The Psychology Behind Why Power-Ups Work
Here’s the part most teachers miss: Gimkit power-ups tap into loss aversion harder than almost anything else in education. Once a kid has a $4,000 streak, the idea of losing it hurts way more than gaining another $10 ever feels good. That pain is why they’ll reread the question three times and actually learn the material.
Compare that to traditional quizzes, where wrong answers just feel like failure. Same content, completely different emotional experience.
When to Turn Everything On (Yes, Sometimes I Do)
Last day before winter break. Valentine’s Day. The afternoon of state testing, when everyone’s brains are mush.
On those days, I flip every switch, crank the music, and let them go full Lord of the Flies with power-ups. It’s not about learning anymore; it’s about surviving the school year with sanity intact. We all need those days.
Final Takeaway After Five Years of Daily Use
Power-ups are the reason Gimkit feels like a game instead of school. But left unchecked, they turn it into pure chaos where luck beats knowledge. Treat them like spices: a pinch of Insurance and Hot Streak make the dish sing. Dump in the whole jar of Freeze and Big Brain, and you’ve ruined dinner.
Start conservative. Watch your specific kids. Ban what breaks your room. It takes exactly one game to figure out which power-ups your students can handle and which ones turn Jamal into a tiny digital terrorist.
You’ll find your sweet spot. And when you do, screenshot that final leaderboard and hang it in your classroom. There’s nothing quite like watching the quiet kid who never wins anything hit number one because she saved up for one perfect Hot Streak on the photosynthesis question she studied all night.
That moment is why we still let them buy fictional weapons with fake money to sabotage each other over the difference between mitosis and meiosis.
Worth it. Every time.