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Duck Race is a zero-prep party game for your presentation. Everyone who joins becomes a duck, and when you press Start the flock races across a pond at random until one duck crosses the finish line — the winner is pure luck, with nothing scored and no one picked in advance. Players pick their duck’s design on their phone before the race. It is AhaSlides’ second gamified slide type, after the Spinner Wheel.

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How to run it

AhaSlides Duck Race slide type highlighted in the Gamification section of the slide type picker
  1. In the editor, click New slide and choose Duck Race — it sits in the gamification group with the Spinner Wheel. A new slide is already a complete, playable race.
  2. Optionally set the race duration, background music, or scene theme (see the settings below).
  3. Turn on audience joining, then click Present. Everyone who scans the join code appears as a named duck and can change their duck’s design until you start.
  4. Once at least one duck has joined, a Start race button appears in the middle of the pond on your presenting screen. Click it, or press Space, Enter or the right arrow key. The winner is announced on the big screen and on every phone. Use Race again for another round, or the participants panel to add or remove a racer between races.
On the big screen, every racer lines up in the pond behind the start line, ready for you to start the race.
AhaSlides Duck Race slide in preview mode, showing the presenter pond race beside the participant phone view
On their phones, each participant gets their own duck and can restyle it with Change duck until the race begins.

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Settings

AhaSlides Duck Race slide in the editor with the race settings panel highlighted
How long the race animation runs. The default is 15 seconds, adjustable from 5 to 60 seconds.
What the finish screen shows. Full leaderboard (default) shows the ranked standings of everyone who raced; Winner only announces just the winning duck.
The slide plays an upbeat race track by default. Switch it off for a silent race, or mute it from the race screen while presenting.
Changes the scenery only — a green meadow (default), a tropical lagoon, a wintry frozen scene, or a desert canyon.

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Common use cases

  • Random prize draws and giveaways — every attendee is already a duck, so the pond picks a winner with nothing rigged.
  • Pick a volunteer or the next presenter fairly, without singling anyone out.
  • Icebreakers and energisers — a quick, luck-based laugh for a room of any size.
  • Celebrate the group with a no-stakes shared moment.

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What Duck Race is not

  • Not a scored quiz — for a graded competition, use a quiz slide.
  • Not a name spinner — to spin one pre-entered name or option, use the Spinner Wheel.
  • Not a poll or vote — to gather opinions, use a poll or rating scale.

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Frequently asked questions

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Does the duck design affect who wins?

No — it is purely cosmetic.

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Do I have to add the racers myself?

No. Everyone who joins is added as a duck automatically.

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Can I change the music or race length?

Yes — both are in the slide’s settings (duration 5 to 60 seconds, default 15).

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Is Duck Race free to use?

Yes — it is available on every plan, including the Free plan.

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How many players can join, and how many ducks show at once?

Up to 40 ducks race on the pond at once. In a larger room everyone else still races with the same odds and is shown by name, and the slide stays smooth well past 1,000 participants.

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Can I pick who wins or rig the result?

No. The winner is chosen at random the moment you press Start — there is no setting to preselect one. Have a question? Contact our support team — if you’re logged in, use the chat bubble in the bottom-right of your dashboard; otherwise contact us here or email hi@ahaslides.com. Want to connect with other users? Join the AhaSlides community to share tips, request features, and see how others engage their audiences.