Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
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.
To avoid losing think of another very well known game where the patterns of play are similar.
An article for teachers and pupils that encourages you to look at the mathematical properties of similar games.
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. Set out 16 counters in rows of 1,3,5 and 7. Players take turns to remove any number of counters from a row. The player left with the last counter looses.
A game for 2 players
Can you discover whether this is a fair game?
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 loser is the player who takes the last counter.
A game for 2 players with similaritlies to NIM. Place one counter on each spot on the games board. Players take it is turns to remove 1 or 2 adjacent counters. The winner picks up the last counter.
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.
A collection of games on the NIM theme
Can you beat the computer in the challenging strategy game?
Some puzzles requiring no knowledge of knot theory, just a careful inspection of the patterns. A glimpse of the classification of knots and a little about prime knots, crossing numbers and. . . .
Help the bee to build a stack of blocks far enough to save his friend trapped in the tower.
Match the cards of the same value.
Match pairs of cards so that they have equivalent ratios.
This article invites you to get familiar with a strategic game called "sprouts". The game is simple enough for younger children to understand, and has also provided experienced mathematicians with. . . .
Four numbers on an intersection that need to be placed in the surrounding cells. That is all you need to know to solve this sudoku.
Players take it in turns to choose a dot on the grid. The winner is the first to have four dots that can be joined to form a square.
A Sudoku with a twist.
Two sudokus in one. Challenge yourself to make the necessary connections.
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 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.
Solve this Sudoku puzzle whose clues are in the form of sums of the numbers which should appear in diagonal opposite cells.
Here is a solitaire type environment for you to experiment with. Which targets can you reach?
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.
Can you be the first to complete a row of three?
A Sudoku with clues as ratios.
A Sudoku that uses transformations as supporting clues.
This pair of linked Sudokus matches letters with numbers and hides a seasonal greeting. Can you find it?
Slide the pieces to move Khun Phaen past all the guards into the position on the right from which he can escape to freedom.
Can you beat Piggy in this simple dice game? Can you figure out Piggy's strategy, and is there a better one?
This second Sudoku article discusses "Corresponding Sudokus" which are pairs of Sudokus with terms that can be matched using a substitution rule.
A Sudoku with clues given as sums of entries.
This sudoku requires you to have "double vision" - two Sudoku's for the price of one
A Sudoku with clues as ratios or fractions.
A Sudoku based on clues that give the differences between adjacent cells.
This is an interactive net of a Rubik's cube. Twists of the 3D cube become mixes of the squares on the 2D net. Have a play and see how many scrambles you can undo!
Given the products of diagonally opposite cells - can you complete this Sudoku?
A game to make and play based on the number line.
Practise your diamond mining skills and your x,y coordination in this homage to Pacman.
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. . . .
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. . . .
How good are you at estimating angles?
Investigations based on an Indian game.
Can you spot the similarities between this game and other games you know? The aim is to choose 3 numbers that total 15.
A game for 1 person to play on screen. Practise your number bonds whilst improving your memory