Tug of War

This game is for two players - you can use the interactivity below, or you could draw a number line on a piece of paper and find a counter to use. In both cases, you will need two dice.

Decide who is Plus and who is Minus.
Plus moves from left to right and Minus moves from right to left. (Why do you think we have suggested this way round?)
Take it in turns to throw the two dice and add the scores. Move that number of places in your direction.

If the counter reaches $1$, Minus has won. If the counter reaches $27$, Plus has won.

Is it better to play a game where you have to reach the end exactly, or where you can go over the end? What do you think and why?

Once you have got the idea of this game, you can make some changes: Play again, but this time you are allowed to add or subtract the two numbers on the dice.

Does this make the game better to play? Why or why not?

Can you think of some different rules of your own? Let us know what games you invent.

Full screen version