game
Two Stones
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.
problem
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.
game
Favourite
Factors and Multiples Game
A game in which players take it in turns to choose a number. Can you block your opponent?
game
Dominoes
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.
game
Pentanim
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.
game
Low Go
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.
problem
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?
problem
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?
game
Domino Magic Rectangle
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...
problem
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
problem
Favourite
Two and Two
Age
7 to 16
Challenge level
How many solutions can you find to this sum? Each of the different letters stands for a different number.
problem
Favourite
Take Ten Sticks
Age
11 to 16
Challenge level
Take ten sticks in heaps any way you like. Make a new heap using one from each of the heaps. By repeating that process could the arrangement 7 - 1 - 1 - 1 ever turn up, except by starting with it?
problem
Favourite
What's it worth?
Age
11 to 16
Challenge level
There are lots of different methods to find out what the shapes are worth - how many can you find?
problem
Favourite
Square It
Age
11 to 16
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.
problem
Favourite
Product Sudoku
Age
11 to 16
Challenge level
The clues for this Sudoku are the product of the numbers in adjacent squares.
problem
Favourite
Connect Three
Age
11 to 16
Challenge level
In this game the winner is the first to complete a row of three. Are some squares easier to land on than others?
problem
crossing the bridge
Age
11 to 18
Challenge level
Four friends must cross a bridge. How can they all cross it in just 17 minutes?
game
Last Biscuit
Can you find a strategy that ensures you get to take the last biscuit in this game?
problem
Who's who?
Age
11 to 16
Challenge level
Can you solve the clues to find out who's who on the friendship graph?
problem
Favourite
Marbles in a box
Age
11 to 16
Challenge level
How many winning lines can you make in a three-dimensional version of noughts and crosses?
problem
Favourite
Take Three From Five
Age
11 to 16
Challenge level
Caroline and James pick sets of five numbers. Charlie tries to find three that add together to make a multiple of three. Can they stop him?
game
One, Three, Five, Seven
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.
problem
Instant Insanity
Age
11 to 18
Challenge level
Given the nets of 4 cubes with the faces coloured in 4 colours, build a tower so that on each vertical wall no colour is repeated, that is all 4 colours appear.
problem
Times right
Age
11 to 16
Challenge level
Using the digits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, mulitply a two two digit numbers are multiplied to give a four digit number, so that the expression is correct. How many different solutions can you find?
problem
Favourite
Nine Colours
Age
11 to 16
Challenge level
Can you use small coloured cubes to make a 3 by 3 by 3 cube so that each face of the bigger cube contains one of each colour?
article
Some Circuits in Graph or Network Theory
Eulerian and Hamiltonian circuits are defined with some simple examples and a couple of puzzles to illustrate Hamiltonian circuits.
problem
Equal Equilateral Triangles
Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
Can you make a regular hexagon from yellow triangles the same size as a regular hexagon made from green triangles ?
problem
Favourite
Iffy logic
Age
14 to 18
Challenge level
Can you rearrange the cards to make a series of correct mathematical statements?
problem
Favourite
Curvy areas
Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
Have a go at creating these images based on circles. What do you notice about the areas of the different sections?
problem
Favourite
How old am I?
Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
In 15 years' time my age will be the square of my age 15 years ago. Can you work out my age, and when I had other special birthdays?
problem
Favourite
Pair Products
Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
Choose four consecutive whole numbers. Multiply the first and last numbers together. Multiply the middle pair together. What do you notice?
problem
Favourite
Warmsnug Double Glazing
Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
How have "Warmsnug" arrived at the prices shown on their windows? Which window has been given an incorrect price?
problem
Favourite
Kite in a Square
Age
14 to 18
Challenge level
Can you make sense of the three methods to work out what fraction of the total area is shaded?
problem
Favourite
Square Number Surprises
Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
There are unexpected discoveries to be made about square numbers...
problem
Favourite
Doesn't add up
Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
In this problem we are faced with an apparently easy area problem, but it has gone horribly wrong! What happened?
problem
Favourite
What's Possible?
Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
Many numbers can be expressed as the difference of two perfect squares. What do you notice about the numbers you CANNOT make?
problem
Favourite
Why 24?
Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
Take any prime number greater than 3 , square it and subtract one. Working on the building blocks will help you to explain what is special about your results.
problem
Favourite
Pick's Theorem
Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
Polygons drawn on square dotty paper have dots on their perimeter (p) and often internal (i) ones as well. Find a relationship between p, i and the area of the polygons.
problem
Favourite
2-Digit Square
Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
A 2-Digit number is squared. When this 2-digit number is reversed
and squared, the difference between the squares is also a square.
What is the 2-digit number?
problem
Favourite
Compare Areas
Age
14 to 16
Challenge level
Which has the greatest area, a circle or a square, inscribed in an isosceles right angle triangle?