Games are a great way to reinforce basic math skills. Your kids probably won’t even realize how much they’re learning. These are some fun math games you can play with just a few dice and some playing cards.
Fill or Bust can be played by two to nine people, and it’s best suited for players ages 9 and up. With the game, you’ll get six dice, 54 cards, and instructions, all in a compact and portable box. The object of the game is to score the most points, and you can play to any number you choose, be it 5,000, 10,000, or more. To win the above game, you start with nine dice and roll until you get nine threes. Then you have to arrange the dice as shown on the card, and then roll the tenth dice until you get a six.
Make 100
Players: 1 or more
Object: To be thefirst to make 100 or as close to it as possible without going over.
How to play: Take turns rolling 2 dice. You may add, subtract, multiply or divide the two numbers. Keep a running total.
Beat It!
Players: 2 or more
Object: To make the highest number in each round.
How to Play: Roll three or four dice, depending on the place value you are studying. Arrange your dice so that you make the greatest number. The winner of the round is the player with the greatest number. The winner of the game is the player with the most wins at the end of 10 rounds.
Pig
Players: 2 or more
Object: To be the first to get to 100
How to Play: First player rolls two dice and finds the sum. He can keep rolling as long as he wants and continues to add each new number to his sum. If he rolls a one, the player scores 0 for that round. If both dice show a one, the player’s entire score is erased and he must begin again at 0.
Race to 500
Players: 2 or more
Object: Be the first to make 500
How to Play: Take turns rolling one die and multiply the number by 10. Roll again, and add it to the first total. The first player to reach 500 without going over wins.
Dot It First!
Players: 2 or more
Object: To get the largest product when multiplying.
How to Play: Each player needs a pair of dice. Everyone rolls their dice at the same time. Each player multiplies the two numbers together. The one with the greater product wins that round and gets a tally mark. The first player to get 10 tally marks wins.
Subtraction Practice
Players: 1 or more, or teams of 2
Object: To practice Subtracting large numbers.
How to Play: Eachplayer or team has a set of 3 or 4 different colored dice. Players will decide what color will be thethousands place, the hundreds place, the tens place and the ones place. Roll the dice and make a 3 or 4 digit numberand write it down. Roll again and makeanother 3 or 4 digit number. Decidewhich number goes on top. Players worktogether to solve the problem. Use acalculator to check the answer.
Variation: Players can do the same with Addition Practice. This can be done with cards as well. Use only numbers 1-9, remove all other cards. Shuffle. Lay down 3-4 cards. Underneath lay down another 3-4 cards. Determine which number should go on top if subtracting, then work together to solve the problem.
Even/Odd
Players: 2 or sets of 2
Object: To be theplayer with the highest number after 20 rolls.
How to Play: Playing with a partner, one is Odd, the other is Even. Roll two dice. You can add, subtract, multiply or divide the two numbers, depending on which skill you want to practice. Players receive a point depending on whether the answer is even or odd.
Going to Boston
Printable Dice Game Instructions
Players: 2 or more
Object: The player with the highest score wins
How to Play: Each player has 3 dice. The player rolls all 3 dice and sets asidethe die with the largest number. Herolls again the remaining two. Again, hesets aside the die with the highest number and rolls the remaining die one moretime. Add up the numbers and that isyour score for the round. Play proceeds to the next player until all have hadtheir turn. The one with the highestscore wins that round. The one with thehighest score after 5 rounds wins the game.
Variation: To play the game with multiplication, once the player has his three numbers, he adds the first two and multiplies that number by the third number.
Multiplication War
Players: 2 or more
Object: To be the player with the highest product, and themost tally marks
How to Play: Each player has 2 dice. Players roll at the same time and multiply their numbers. The player with the highest product wins that round. The one with the most tally marks after 20 rounds wins.
Counting On
Players: 2 or more
Object: Determine which number is larger and to counton from there Blackbeard game online.
How to Play: Great beginning game for youngkids. You need a deck of cards and aDie. Remove the Kings, Queens, Jacks andJokers from the deck. Shuffle the cardsand put face down on the table. Flipover the first card to start the discard pile. Player one rolls the die and determines which number is higher, the cardor the die. Then he starts his countingon from that number and counts up the number of times displayed on the otherplaying piece. For example: a two is thecard flipped over and a 5 is rolled on the die. The player will start counting at 5 and count on two. 5…6…7. There is no winner, just take turnspracticing.
Variation: For older kids playing with younger kids, they can just add the two numbers in their head. Or play with a pair of dice, and add up the dice, then the card. You could even add the dice numbers and subtract the card number. Lots of variations.
Subtraction War
Players: 2-4 players
Object: To win all the cards in the deck
How to Play: Shuffle the deck and deal an equal number of cards to each player until the deck runs out. Each player keeps his cards in a stack, face down. Face cards = 10 and Aces = 1. At the same time, each player turns 2 cards face up and makes a subtraction number sentence and gives the answer. The one with the largest answer takes all the cards and puts them facedown at the bottom of his pile. If 2 players have the same answer then it’s war. Each player puts 4 cards out in front of them, face down. Then flip over 2 and this time add the numbers. The one will the largest number wins. If their answers match again, they flip over the next card, until one of them gets a higher number and wins all the cards.
Close Call
Players: 2-4 players
Object: To have the most points after 5 rounds
How to Play: Removethe 10’s and face cards from the deck. Shuffle and deal each player 6cards. Players choose 4 of their cardsto make two 2-digit numbers to add together to get as close to 100 withoutgoing over. Arrange cards so all can seeyour addition problem. Each player adds their numbers and records theirtotal. Zipline in downtown las vegas. The player with the sum closestto 100 without going over wins a point. In the case of a tie, each player gets a point. Shuffle the cards and deal again. The player with the most points after 5rounds is the winner.
Variations: Players can select only 2 cards to create single digit numbers, and the goal is to reach 10 or 15, or keep it the same and multiply the numbers. Deal 8 cards and players choose 6 cards and create a 3 digit numbers. Set the goal to 1,000.
Pile It On
Players: 2-4
Object: The player who uses the most cards in all 10 roundsis the winner.
How to Play: Roll the die twice. The first roll indicates how many piles the player makes. The second roll indicates how many cards in each pile. Add up the total number of cards used and record the score. The winner is the player who has used the most cards in all ten rounds.
Spiral
Players: 2-4 players
Object: The player who makes it past the last card wins.
How to Play: You will need a deck of cards, one die, and agame piece for each player. Build aspiral game board with all 52 cards, face up. Place each game piece on one end of the spiral. This will be the starting point. Players will work their way to the other endof the spiral. Each player takes a turnrolling the die. They must multiply thenumber of the die times the value of the card they are on. If they are correct, they may move ahead thenumber on the die. If incorrect, theymay not move. Ace=1, Jack=11, Queen=12,King=13. If a player lands on the samecard as another player, they may send the other player back to start.
Variation: Simplify the game by removing face cards or making them all = 10. Add Jokers and have them equal 0. Add the number on the die to the card instead of multiplying.
Once Through the Deck
Players: 1
Object: To be able to practice your multiplication facts byyourself
How to Play: Shuffle cards, and make a pile face down. Decide what times family you are going to work on. Flip over one card at a time and multiply that card by the number you have decided to practice and say aloud only the answer. Continue through the deck. If you are not sure, don’t guess, figure it out. Don’t go so fast that you make mistakes, but move as swiftly as you can.
Making Ten
Players: 2-4
Object: To use any many cards as possible to make equationsthat equal 10
How to Play: Removethe face cards from the deck. Place cards face down in a pile. Each playerchooses 5 cards and places them face up in front of him. Players use as many cards as possible to makeequations that equal 10. You can just doaddition or do both addition and subtraction. For example: If my cards are 9,5,1,8,2 I mightsay 9+1=10 and 8+2=10 as well as 9+2-1=10. Keep the cards you did not use andlay aside the used cards. Play passes tothe next player. Next round, fill out yourhand to 5 cards and go again.
Variation: Make 15 by adding in the face cards. You can also bump up the number of cards in your hand to 7.
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20Oct
Posted by Yehuda Berlinger as Classic Board Games, Modern Board Games
From which I exclude board games that rely primarily on dice, such as Backgammon, other race games, and all roll and move games.
Beetle (aka Cooties)
Each player rolls a die and draws a certain part of a bug, depending on the die roll. Certain parts must be drawn before others may be drawn. The first to complete his bug wins.
Bunco
Roll three dice, scoring the result. No decisions. Widely popular among suburban women in the US.
Chō-han (aka Chō-Han Bakuchi)
Very simple Japanese dice game. Six dice are rolled and the results kept secret. Players bet on whether the sum on the dice is odd or even.
Farkle (aka Zonk, Zilch, 10000, Wimp Out, Greed, Squelch)
A “push your luck” game, and the inspiration for Can’t Stop and other, similar proprietary games.
Roll six dice, banking any that can score (generally any 1, 5, or three of a kind). You can end you turn and score what you have banked, or re-roll the non-banked dice. If you ever roll dice and can’t bank any of them, you lose everything you have banked and pass your turn.
Hazard (aka Craps)
Craps is a specific variant of Hazard.
Pick a number from 5 to 9 and try to roll it (in Craps, the number is 7). If you roll the number you win. If you roll 2, 3, 11, or 12, you may lose, depending on which number you picked. Otherwise, try to roll the same number you just rolled again, before rolling the number that you originally picked.
LCR
A proprietary game only 17 years old from George and Company LLC.
Three dice have sides with L (left), R (right), and C (center), and three blank faces. Roll the dice, passing chips in the direction indicated; center means the center pot. The last player with chips left wins (and, if playing for money, takes all the chips in the center pot).
Its popularity stems from the fact that even after you have no chips remaining, you may still win if a player to your left or right passes you one before the game ends.
Liar’s Dice (aka Bluff, Dudo, Cachito, Perudo, Mexicali, Mexican)
The game of betting on the sum rolled.
Each player rolls a number of dice, looks at his own, and covers them. Players then bet, in turn, on how many dice have how high a face value, with each player having to either call or up the values on his turn. At a call, the calling player wins if the previous player was incorrect; otherwise, the previous player wins.
Mexico
Not to be confused with the above Mexican.
All players roll the dice, with the lowest rolling player tossing the stakes into the pot. Continue until all but one player is eliminated. That player takes the pot.
Pig (aka Pass the Pig)
A simpler push your luck game than Farkle. Roll a single die, banking your roll each time. Pass the die and score what you have banked whenever you want. If you roll a 1, you lose what you have banked and pass the die.
Games That Use 5 Dice
Poker Dice
These special dice have faces of 9 through A. Roll the dice, re-rolling any dice up to two times. Player with the highest poker hand wins.
Dice Games Online
Poker dice are often used to play Klondike, which is not related to the card game of the same name. The dealer and players roll, with the players winning if they beat the dealer’s hand. Barber shop rating.
Sic bo (aka hi lo, Grand Hazard, Chuck-a-luck)
Grand Hazard is not related to Hazard.
Players bet on the outcome of the dice (similar to Roulette), with payouts according to the chances of the roll.
Shut the Box
This game often uses a wooden contraption to keep score.
Player roll two dice, marking off any combination of numbers 2-9 (or 10) that add up to the total rolled on the dice. Continue rolling until you cannot mark any unmarked numbers for a given roll. End your turn and score the numbers marked.
Yahtzee (aka Yacht, Balut, Kismet)
Each player has a grid of dice values, each box of which scores a certain number of points. Roll the dice, re-rolling any dice up to two times. Score any box that you want to which the dice correspond, but that you have not already scored. If you cannot match your roll to any box, score a 0 in any unscored box of you choice. The game ends after all boxes are filled, with the highest total score winning.