I love to add games into my Middle School math lessons. So much learning happens when students play games, not just because the content of the games relates to curriculum, but because when they are playing, they are engaged in the material and are applying theory in a context that makes sense.
Here are 10 of my favourite games to play during my math blocks.
1. Cribbage
Cribbage is a great game for mental math skills, addition, and strategy.
Materials: Cribbage Board, Deck of Cards
Objective: Be the first to score 121 points
Number of Players: 2-3
2. Achi
3. Make 100
This game is great to practice basic operations. My students really love it, especially the end when everyone is hovering around 100 and they need to add, then subtract, then add again.
Materials: 2 dice, paper and pencil
Objective: Be the first to get exactly 100
Number of Players: 2+
How to Play: Take turns rolling 2 dice. You may add, subtract, multiply or divide the two numbers. Keep a running total. The first player to get a total of exactly 100 is the winner.
4. Farkle
Farkle is a great game for mental math, multiplication, addition, and probability.
Materials: 6 dice, paper, pencil
Objective: Be the first to score 10 000 points
Number of Players: 2+
5. Yahtzee
Yahtzee is a great game for addition and multiplication. Players also have to consider probability as part of their strategies.
Materials: 5 dice, Yahtzee score sheet, pencil
Objective: To have the highest score after 13 rounds
Number of Players: 2+
6. Territory
Territory is a great game to practice multiplication and to relate multiplication to area. There are a lot of different ways that this game can be played. I always introduce it to my students the way it is written below, then they come up with new rules and procedures and turn it into something else. This is always a favourite among my class. I have individual white boards with grids on the back, and any time the students have free choice time, they grab one of the boards and start playing territory.
Materials: 2 dice, grid paper, two different colour markers
Objective: Claim the most territory
Number of Players: 2
How to Play: Players take turn rolling two dice. After each roll, the player makes an array on the grid using the scores from the dice. Play continues until a player can’t draw an array on the grid (because there isn’t enough open space left). The winner is the player with the most territory claimed.
7. Chess
Chess is another favourite in my classroom. My students love it so much, I brought in extra chess sets so that there wasn't such a line for who would play next. It's a game that takes a short time to learn, but a lifetime to master. It's all about strategy and anticipating your opponent's moves.
Materials: Chess Board with Pieces
Objective: To Checkmate the other player’s king
Number of Players: 2
8. Get to 1000!
Get to 1000 is a staple game in my classroom. I usually play it on the first or second day of the year because it's quick to learn. Then, I can pull it out any time we have a spare 15 minutes and the kids love it. If I am unexpectedly away from school, I can simply tell my sub to play Get to 1000 as the math lesson for the day. I would recommend that you laminate the score sheets, or put them in page protectors and use dry erase markers to play the game. These get used a lot, so I'd rather not waste so much paper if I don't have to.
Materials: 1 die, “Get to 1000” score sheet, pencil
Objective: Be the closest to 1000 without going over after 10 rolls.
Number of Players: 2+
How to Play: Roll a die. Decide whether you will multiply the value of the roll by 1, 10, or 100 then complete the multiplication. Add your product to your total. The person who comes closest to 1000 by the end of 10 rolls is the winner.
Students can play this in partners, but I like to play it as a whole class. I roll the dice under the document camera, then the class has to make their choices in real time. As we get closer to the end of the game, they start to shout out the numbers they want to fulfil their strategy ("Ms. Wiens, I really need a 3, then a 4 and I'll get 1000 exactly!"). When we play all together, I end the game by asking the class to stand if they think they have the winning score. We go through the players standing to see who has the closest to 1000.
There are often several winners, and there are only so many choices per roll. It's great to see what kind of strategy emerges.
Download a copy of the score sheet
9. Dara
Materials: Dara Board, 12 pieces for each player
Objective: Be the first to eliminate 10 of your opponent’s pieces.
Number of Players: 2
Download a printable Dara Board
10. Fraction War
This game is great for comparing fractions. Since it doesn't matter in this game if there are repeats, I find this is also a great game for all the "odds and ends" decks (extra cards that don't make full decks) that I know are in every middle school math classroom!
Materials: Deck of cards with face cards taken out
Objective: Win all of your opponent’s cards
Number of Players: 2
How to Play: This game is played very similarly to the card game war, but instead of trying to flip the highest card, you want to flip the largest fraction.
Split the deck into two equal halves. Each player takes one half and at the same time, flips two cards face up, one above the other on the table. The two cards make a fraction, using the lower card as the numerator and the higher card as the denominator. The player who makes the larger fraction wins all 4 cards and adds them to their deck. To make it more challenging, the player who has the higher fraction may only take the cards if they can justify how they know it is a higher value. If the fractions are equal, the players flip again and battle for those cards, plus the four new cards. Play continues until one player has captured all of their opponent’s cards. Aces count as 1.
So, which of these games are tried and true in your class? Which of these would you like to try? Do you have other math games that I should know about? Let me know in the comments!
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