Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
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.
Can you work out how to win this game of Nim? Does it matter if you go first or second?
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 2 or more people, based on the traditional card game Rummy. Players aim to make two `tricks', where each trick has to consist of a picture of a shape, a name that describes that shape, and. . . .
A shunting puzzle for 1 person. Swop the positions of the counters at the top and bottom of the board.
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.
Given the products of diagonally opposite cells - can you complete this Sudoku?
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 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.
Here is a solitaire type environment for you to experiment with. Which targets can you reach?
Here is a machine with four coloured lights. Can you develop a strategy to work out the rules controlling each light?
Can you be the first to complete a row of three?
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?
There are nasty versions of this dice game but we'll start with the nice ones...
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 or more people. Starting with 100, subratct a number from 1 to 9 from the total. You score for making an odd number, a number ending in 0 or a multiple of 6.
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.
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 game for 2 people that can be played on line or with pens and paper. Combine your knowledege of coordinates with your skills of strategic thinking.
A Sudoku that uses transformations as supporting clues.
Here are a collection of games from around the world to try during the holidays or the last few weeks of term.
An interactive activity for one to experiment with a tricky tessellation
Design your own scoring system and play Trumps with these Olympic Sport cards.
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. . . .
An article for teachers and pupils that encourages you to look at the mathematical properties of similar games.
Two sudokus in one. Challenge yourself to make the necessary connections.
A train building game for 2 players.
A complicated game played on a 9 x 9 checkered grid.
A game that tests your understanding of remainders.
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.
An ordinary set of dominoes can be laid out as a 7 by 4 magic rectangle in which all the spots in all the columns add to 24, while those in the rows add to 42. Try it! Now try the magic square...
A game for 2 people using a pack of cards Turn over 2 cards and try to make an odd number or a multiple of 3.
This pair of linked Sudokus matches letters with numbers and hides a seasonal greeting. Can you find it?
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 two stones.
A simple game of patience which often comes out. Can you explain why?
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.
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 moves.
A game for 2 players. This could be played outside with people instead of counters. Try to trap or escape from your opponent.
A card pairing game involving knowledge of simple ratio.
This second Sudoku article discusses "Corresponding Sudokus" which are pairs of Sudokus with terms that can be matched using a substitution rule.
In this game you throw two dice and find their total, then move the appropriate counter to the right. Which counter reaches the purple box first? Is this what you would expect?
This challenge is a game for two players. Choose two numbers from the grid and multiply or divide, then mark your answer on the number line. Can you get four in a row before your partner?
A game for 2 people. Take turns placing a counter on the star. You win when you have completed a line of 3 in your colour.
Try to stop your opponent from being able to split the piles of counters into unequal numbers. Can you find a strategy?
Can you discover whether this is a fair game?
A collection of games on the NIM theme
A game for 2 people that everybody knows. You can play with a friend or online. If you play correctly you never lose!
Everthing you have always wanted to do with dominoes! Some of these games are good for practising your mental calculation skills, and some are good for your reasoning skills.
A game in which players take it in turns to choose a number. Can you block your opponent?