Allowing late joining in Blooket is the difference between helping the kid who was in the bathroom and rewarding the student who shows up whenever they feel like it. I used to allow it every time. Big mistake. Students figured out they could stroll in 10 minutes late and still play. Killed the urgency.
Now I’m strategic about it.
What Late Joining Actually Means
Late joining lets students enter your game after it has already started. They type the game code while everyone else is already answering questions.
Without late joining enabled? Code stops working the second you start. Anyone not in the lobby before that is locked out. Watching from the sidelines.
It’s a simple on/off decision that impacts your classroom management more than you think.
How to Enable Late Joining
Start hosting your game like usual. Pick your set. Choose your mode. You land on the game settings screen.
Look for “Allow Players to Join Late” or “Late Join” toggle. Sometimes it’s called “Join In Progress.” Same thing.
Click that toggle to turn it on if you want students to join after the game starts. Leave it off if you want to lock the lobby when the game begins.
Most teachers miss this setting completely. They don’t realize it exists until a student asks “why can’t I join?” halfway through the game.
When to Allow Late Joining
Allow it when:
- You have students with bathroom passes or nurse visits
- Tech issues are likely (sketchy WiFi days)
- You’re running long games where a 2-minute delay doesn’t matter
- Your class has students who arrive at staggered times (resource room situations)
- You want maximum participation over competitive fairness
I allow late joining during review games where the goal is practice, not competition. Everyone deserves reps with the material.
When to Disable Late Joining
Disable it when:
- You’re running high-stakes competitions with prizes
- You want to teach punctuality and preparedness
- Students have a history of taking advantage of flexibility
- The game mode requires even teams from the start
- You need accurate data for grading or assessment
Battle Royale with late joining is chaos. Someone joined after the eliminations started. Teams are unbalanced. Everyone complains. Learn about team dynamics before mixing late joining with competitive modes.
Disable late joining for anything that counts toward grades. Students who were there on time deserve the advantage they earned.
What Late Joiners Experience
The student shows up 5 minutes late. Pulls out their device. Goes to play.blooket.com. Types your game code.
If late joining is enabled: They enter with zero points. The game is already in progress. They’re behind but playing. Some game modes let them catch up. Others? They’re toast.
If late joining is disabled: Error message pops up. “This game is no longer accepting players” or something similar. They’re locked out. Done. They watch or they do something else.
The kid who was legitimately late feels the same consequence as the kid who was messing around. That’s the tradeoff you’re making.
Late Joining and Game Balance
Here’s what nobody tells you. Late joining breaks some game modes worse than others.
Racing: Late joiners start at zero while everyone else has points. They almost never catch up. Demotivating but fair enough.
Tower Defense: Late joiners help the team immediately. Their answers contribute to shared progress. Actually works pretty well. The cooperative nature of this mode absorbs late players better.
Gold Quest: Late joiners are so far behind on gold collection that they’re basically playing a different game. Frustrating for them.
Cafe: Late joiners can catch up if they’re fast and accurate. One of the better modes for late joining.
Consider the game mode when deciding your late join policy. Some modes punish tardiness naturally. Others need you to enforce it.
Combining with Other Settings
Late joining works differently based on your other settings.
Late joining + random names: Students who join late get random names assigned like everyone else. At least their username won’t be “SorryImLate.”
Late joining + player limits: Even with late joining enabled, you still hit maximum capacity. First 60 are in. Student 61 is out regardless of timing.
Late joining + team modes: Late joiners get auto-assigned to teams. Sometimes this balances things. Sometimes it wrecks the competitive balance you carefully set up.
The Classroom Management Angle
Students test boundaries. That’s their job. Your late joining policy is a boundary.
I had a student who started “accidentally” joining 5 minutes into every game. Got called out in the hall. Never happened again after I disabled late joining for a week.
Make your expectations clear before the game starts. “Code goes live in 30 seconds. Get your devices ready. Late joining is off today.”
Students scramble. Everyone’s in the lobby when I start. Mission accomplished.
Or announce “Late joining is on for the next 5 minutes, then I’m closing it.” Best of both worlds. Grace period plus accountability.
Technical Quirks
Late joining creates weird scenarios sometimes. Students join. Connection drops. They rejoin. The system sees them as a new player with a new random name and zero points.
Original score? Gone. Student? Mad. You? Explaining technology limitations while 28 other kids wait.
No perfect solution here. Just acknowledge it happens and move on. Check how to end games early if technical issues spiral out of control.
What Reports Show
Your Blooket reports don’t distinguish between on-time and late joiners. Both show up the same way.
You see “Student A answered 8/10 correctly.” You don’t see “Student A joined 7 minutes late and only saw 3 questions.”
If you need accurate participation data, disable late joining. If you just want engagement data, late joining is fine. Understand what you’re measuring before choosing settings.
Want better tracking? Use homework assignments where students work on their own time. Then check homework results for complete data.
Parent Communication
Parents email: “Why couldn’t my child join the game?”
Because late joining was disabled. Because they were 8 minutes late. Because classroom policies have consequences.
Most parents get it. Some push back. Have your reasoning ready. “We’re teaching time management alongside content mastery.”
Or enable late joining and avoid the emails entirely. Pick your battles.
FAQs
Q: Can I enable late joining after the game starts?
A: No. You set it before starting. Can’t change mid-game. Choose wisely.
Q: How late can students join?
A: Until the game ends or you manually stop allowing it. No automatic cutoff unless you end early.
Q: Do late joiners see questions that already passed?
A: No. They only see questions from when they joined forward. They miss everything before.
Q: Can I kick late joiners after they enter?
A: Yes. You can remove any player from the game at any time if you’re hosting.
Allowing late joining in Blooket is a classroom management decision disguised as a tech setting. Choose based on your students, not convenience.
