This is a simple version of an ancient game played all over the world. It is also called Mancala. What tactics will increase your chances of winning?
A game for 2 people. Take turns joining two dots, until your opponent is unable to move.
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!
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.
To avoid losing think of another very well known game where the patterns of play are similar.
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.
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.
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?
This game challenges you to locate hidden triangles in The White Box by firing rays and observing where the rays exit the Box.
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.
This pair of linked Sudokus matches letters with numbers and hides a seasonal greeting. Can you find it?
Two sudokus in one. Challenge yourself to make the necessary connections.
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.
We think this 3x3 version of the game is often harder than the 5x5 version. Do you agree? If so, why do you think that might be?
Here is a machine with four coloured lights. Can you develop a strategy to work out the rules controlling each light?
An article for teachers and pupils that encourages you to look at the mathematical properties of similar games.
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. . . .
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.
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.
Two sudokus in one. Challenge yourself to make the necessary connections.
Match pairs of cards so that they have equivalent ratios.
This sudoku requires you to have "double vision" - two Sudoku's for the price of one
Solve this Sudoku puzzle whose clues are in the form of sums of the numbers which should appear in diagonal opposite cells.
Given the products of diagonally opposite cells - can you complete this Sudoku?
A Sudoku based on clues that give the differences between adjacent cells.
A game for two people, who take turns to move the counters. The player to remove the last counter from the board wins.
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.
This second Sudoku article discusses "Corresponding Sudokus" which are pairs of Sudokus with terms that can be matched using a substitution rule.
Can you beat the computer in the challenging strategy game?
Have a go at this game which has been inspired by the Big Internet Math-Off 2019. Can you gain more columns of lily pads than your opponent?
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.
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 Sudoku that uses transformations as supporting clues.
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.
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. . . .