Four Triangles Puzzle
Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level
Cut four triangles from a square as shown in the picture. How many different shapes can you make by fitting the four triangles back together?
Seeing Squares
Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level
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.
Nim-7
Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level
Can you work out how to win this game of Nim? Does it matter if you go first or second?
Whose Face?
Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level
These are the faces of Will, Lil, Bill, Phil and Jill. Use the clues to work out which name goes with each face.
What Is the Time?
Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level
Can you put these times on the clocks in order? You might like to arrange them in a circle.
Teddy Town
Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level
There are nine teddies in Teddy Town - three red, three blue and three yellow. There are also nine houses, three of each colour. Can you put them on the map of Teddy Town according to the rules?
Tangrams
Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level
Can you make five differently sized squares from the interactive tangram pieces?
Ladybird Box
Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level
Place six toy ladybirds into the box so that there are two ladybirds in every column and every row.
Four Colours
Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level
Kate has eight multilink cubes. She has two red ones, two yellow, two green and two blue. She wants to fit them together to make a cube so that each colour shows on each face just once.
Three by Three
Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level
Arrange 3 red, 3 blue and 3 yellow counters into a three-by-three square grid, so that there is only one of each colour in every row and every column
Three Way Mix Up
Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level
Jack has nine tiles. He put them together to make a square so that two tiles of the same colour were not beside each other. Can you find another way to do it?
4 Dom
Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level
Use these four dominoes to make a square that has the same number of dots on each side.
The Third Dimension
Age 5 to 11
Challenge Level
Here are four cubes joined together. How many other arrangements of four cubes can you find? Can you draw them on dotty paper?
Two Stones
Age 5 to 18
This game is known as Pong hau k'i in China and Ou-moul-ko-no in Korea. Find a friend to play or try the interactive version online.
Online
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
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.
Shape Times Shape
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
These eleven shapes each stand for a different number. Can you use the number sentences to work out what they are?
Dicey Operations in Line
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
Who said that adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing couldn't be fun?
First Connect Three
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
Add or subtract the two numbers on the spinners and try to complete a row of three. Are there some numbers that are good to aim for?
Less Is More
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
Use your knowledge of place value to try to win this game. How will you maximise your score?
Making Maths: Birds from an Egg
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
Can you make the birds from the egg tangram?
Coded Hundred Square
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
This 100 square jigsaw is written in code. It starts with 1 and ends with 100. Can you build it up?
Odds and Threes
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
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.
Factor Track
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
Factor track is not a race but a game of skill. The idea is to go round the track in as few moves as possible, keeping to the rules.
Sets of Numbers
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
How many different sets of numbers with at least four members can you find in the numbers in this box?
Add 3 Dice
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
Three dice are placed in a row. Find a way to turn each one so that the three numbers on top of the dice total the same as the three numbers on the front of the dice. Can you find all the ways to do this?
Make 37
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
Four bags contain a large number of 1s, 3s, 5s and 7s. Can you pick any ten numbers from the bags so that their total is 37?
Creating Cubes
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
Arrange 9 red cubes, 9 blue cubes and 9 yellow cubes into a large 3 by 3 cube. No row or column of cubes must contain two cubes of the same colour.
Domino Square
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
Use the 'double-3 down' dominoes to make a square so that each side has eight dots.
Mystery Matrix
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
Can you fill in this table square? The numbers 2 -12 were used to generate it with just one number used twice.
Roll These Dice
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
Roll two red dice and a green dice. Add the two numbers on the red dice and take away the number on the green. What are all the different possible answers?
Bean Bags for Bernard's Bag
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
How could you put eight beanbags in the hoops so that there are four in the blue hoop, five in the red and six in the yellow? Can you find all the ways of doing this?
Square Tangram
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
This was a problem for our birthday website. Can you use four of these pieces to form a square? How about making a square with all five pieces?
Seven Flipped
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
Investigate the smallest number of moves it takes to turn these mats upside-down if you can only turn exactly three at a time.
Counter Roundup
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
A game for 1 or 2 people. Use the interactive version, or play with friends. Try to round up as many counters as possible.
Penta Place
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
Penta people, the Pentominoes, always build their houses from five square rooms. I wonder how many different Penta homes you can create?
Family Tree
Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level
Use the clues to find out who's who in the family, to fill in the family tree and to find out which of the family members are mathematicians and which are not.
Twinkle Twinkle
Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level
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.
More Less Is More
Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level
In each of these games, you will need a little bit of luck, and your knowledge of place value to develop a winning strategy.
Matching Fractions, Decimals and Percentages
Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level
Can you match pairs of fractions, decimals and percentages, and beat your previous scores?
Got It
Age 7 to 14
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.
Remainders
Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level
I'm thinking of a number. My number is both a multiple of 5 and a multiple of 6. What could my number be?
Number Sandwiches
Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level
Can you arrange the digits 1, 1, 2, 2, 3 and 3 to make a Number Sandwich?
Fifteen
Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level
Can you spot the similarities between this game and other games you know? The aim is to choose 3 numbers that total 15.
Tea Cups
Age 7 to 14
Challenge Level
Place the 16 different combinations of cup/saucer in this 4 by 4 arrangement so that no row or column contains more than one cup or saucer of the same colour.
Factors and Multiples Game
Age 7 to 16
Challenge Level
A game in which players take it in turns to choose a number. Can you block your opponent?
Prime Magic
Age 7 to 16
Challenge Level
Place the numbers 1, 2, 3,..., 9 one on each square of a 3 by 3 grid so that all the rows and columns add up to a prime number. How many different solutions can you find?
Pentanim
Age 7 to 16
Challenge Level
A game for 2 players with similarities 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.
Low Go
Age 7 to 16
Challenge Level
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.
Dominoes
Age 7 to 16
Challenge Level
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.
Colour in the Square
Age 7 to 16
Challenge Level
Can you put the 25 coloured tiles into the 5 x 5 square so that no column, no row and no diagonal line have tiles of the same colour in them?
Eight Dominoes
Age 7 to 16
Challenge Level
Using the 8 dominoes make a square where each of the columns and rows adds up to 8
Domino Magic Rectangle
Age 7 to 16
Challenge Level
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...
Air Nets
Age 7 to 18
Challenge Level
Can you visualise whether these nets fold up into 3D shapes? Watch the videos each time to see if you were correct.
NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.