An interactive game to be played on your own or with friends.
Imagine you are having a party. Each person takes it in turns to
stand behind the chair where they will get the most chocolate.
Work out the fractions to match the cards with the same amount of
An activity based on the game 'Pelmanism'. Set your own level of challenge and beat your own previous best score.
A game for 1 person. Can you work out how the dice must be rolled from the start position to the finish? Play on line.
A Sudoku with clues as ratios or fractions.
A game for 2 players. Given a board of dots in a grid pattern, players take turns drawing a line by connecting 2 adjacent dots. Your goal is to complete more squares than your opponent.
A game for two players on a large squared space.
Exchange the positions of the two sets of counters in the least possible number of moves
A game for 1 or 2 people. Use the interactive version, or play with friends. Try to round up as many counters as possible.
Use the tangram pieces to make our pictures, or to design some of
Take turns to place a decimal number on the spiral. Can you get three consecutive numbers?
A game to make and play based on the number line.
Here is a solitaire type environment for you to experiment with. Which targets can you reach?
The game uses a 3x3 square board. 2 players take turns to play,
either placing a red on an empty square, or changing a red to
orange, or orange to green. The player who forms 3 of 1 colour in a
line. . . .
A fun game for two. You'll need some counters.
A card pairing game involving knowledge of simple ratio.
An extension of noughts and crosses in which the grid is enlarged
and the length of the winning line can to altered to 3, 4 or 5.
This article supplies teachers with information that may be useful in better understanding the nature of games and their role in teaching and learning mathematics.
Slide the pieces to move Khun Phaen past all the guards into the position on the right from which he can escape to freedom.
A Sudoku with clues as ratios.
Use your addition and subtraction skills, combined with some strategic thinking, to beat your partner at this game.
Basic strategy games are particularly suitable as starting points
for investigations. Players instinctively try to discover a winning
strategy, and usually the best way to do this is to analyse. . . .
This article, the second in the series, looks at some different types of games and the sort of mathematical thinking they can develop.
A game in which players take it in turns to try to draw
quadrilaterals (or triangles) with particular properties. Is it
possible to fill the game grid?
Collect as many diamonds as you can by drawing three straight
An interactive activity for one to experiment with a tricky tessellation
A game for two people, or play online. Given a target number, say 23, and a range of numbers to choose from, say 1-4, players take it in turns to add to the running total to hit their target.
A game for 1 person to play on screen. Practise your number bonds
whilst improving your memory
This article for teachers describes several games, found on the
site, all of which have a related structure that can be used to
develop the skills of strategic planning.
A shape and space game for 2,3 or 4 players. Be the last person to be able to place a pentomino piece on the playing board. Play with card, or on the computer.
A game for 2 players. Take turns to place a counter so that it
occupies one of the lowest possible positions in the grid. The
first player to complete a line of 4 wins.
A complicated game played on a 9 x 9 checkered grid.
A game for 2 players. Can be played online. One player has 1 red
counter, the other has 4 blue. The red counter needs to reach the
other side, and the blue needs to trap the red.
A game for 2 players that can be played online. Players take it in turns to select a word from the 9 words given. The aim is to select all the occurrences of the same letter.
A simple game of patience which often comes out. Can you explain
An article for teachers and pupils that encourages you to look at the mathematical properties of similar games.
Can you make the birds from the egg tangram?
This is a game for 2 players. Each player has 4 counters each, and
wins by blocking their opponent's counters. A good follow-on from
A game for two or more players that uses a knowledge of measuring
tools. Spin the spinner and identify which jobs can be done with
the measuring tool shown.
This is a challenging game of strategy for two players with many interesting variations.
Start with any number of counters in any number of piles. 2 players
take it in turns to remove any number of counters from a single
pile. The winner is the player to take the last counter.
Can you work out how to win this game of Nim? Does it matter if you go first or second?
A game in which players take it in turns to choose a number. Can you block your opponent?
The aim of the game is to slide the green square from the top right
hand corner to the bottom left hand corner in the least number of
The idea of this game is to add or subtract the two numbers on the dice and cover the result on the grid, trying to get a line of three. Are there some numbers that are good to aim for?
A game for 1 person to develop stategy and shape and space
awareness. 12 counters are placed on a board. Counters are removed
one at a time. The aim is to be left with only 1 counter.
A game for 2 players. Given an arrangement of matchsticks, players
take it is turns to remove a matchstick, along with all of the
matchsticks that touch it.
Here is a version of the game 'Happy Families' for you to make and
This is a game for two players. You will need some small-square
grid paper, a die and two felt-tip pens or highlighters. Players
take turns to roll the die, then move that number of squares in. . . .
Match pairs of cards so that they have equivalent ratios.