Filter by: Content type: ALL Problems Articles Games Stage: All Stage 1&2 Stage 2&3 Stage 3&4 Stage 4&5 Challenge level:
Can you be the first to complete a row of three?
Can you beat Piggy in this simple dice game? Can you figure out Piggy's strategy, and is there a better one?
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.
Help the bee to build a stack of blocks far enough to save his friend trapped in the tower.
To avoid losing think of another very well known game where the patterns of play are similar.
Match the cards of the same value.
Match pairs of cards so that they have equivalent ratios.
Can you beat the computer in the challenging strategy game?
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!
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 game for 2 players
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.
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 Sudoku with clues given as sums of entries.
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 discover whether this is a fair game?
A collection of games on the NIM theme
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 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.
An article for teachers and pupils that encourages you to look at the mathematical properties of similar games.
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 simple game for 2 players invented by John Conway. It is played on a 3x3 square board with 9 counters that are black on one side and white on the other.
Follow-up to the February Game Rules of FEMTO.
The game of go has a simple mechanism. This discussion of the principle of two eyes in go has shown that the game does not depend on equally clear-cut concepts.
Advent Calendar 2010 - a mathematical game for every day during the run-up to Christmas.
The computer starts with all the lights off, but then clicks 3, 4 or 5 times at random, leaving some lights on. Can you switch them off again?
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.
Here is a machine with four coloured lights. Can you develop a strategy to work out the rules controlling each light?
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. . . .
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 explains the use of the idea of connectedness in networks, in two different ways, to bring into focus the basics of the game of Go, namely capture and territory.
A Sudoku with clues as ratios.
Two sudokus in one. Challenge yourself to make the necessary connections.
Here is a solitaire type environment for you to experiment with. Which targets can you reach?
This pair of linked Sudokus matches letters with numbers and hides a seasonal greeting. Can you find it?
Can you spot the similarities between this game and other games you know? The aim is to choose 3 numbers that total 15.
A Sudoku with a twist.
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.
A simple game of patience which often comes out. Can you explain why?
Who said that adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing couldn't be fun?
There are nasty versions of this dice game but we'll start with the nice ones...
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.
Slide the pieces to move Khun Phaen past all the guards into the position on the right from which he can escape to freedom.
This second Sudoku article discusses "Corresponding Sudokus" which are pairs of Sudokus with terms that can be matched using a substitution rule.
A game for 2 people. Take turns joining two dots, until your opponent is unable to move.
This article shows how abstract thinking and a little number theory throw light on the scoring in the game Go.
A Sudoku with clues as ratios or fractions.
Given the products of diagonally opposite cells - can you complete this Sudoku?