I play A LOT of math games with kids, but my favorite math game: Prime Climb. If I had to choose only one numbers and operations game for grades 3 and up, this would be it. I have never met a child (or an adult for that matter) who doesn’t find it fun. Several of my students have actually begged their parents to purchase one to play at home! However, the amount of mathematical thinking involved is more than you would think at first glance. It is also a great informal assessment tool.
You can play with younger children using just addition and subtraction, but it is best for kids who understand multiplication. Children do not need to understand prime numbers to begin play. In fact this game is great for introducing the concept in a way they will understand and remember.
The game can be played by 2-4 players. I have played with 5 by adding in two extra pawns, but the more players you have the longer the game takes. It seems like someone is always getting knocked back to start! It is best to play with the teacher/tutor playing. Most of the mathematical thinking needs to be guided and modeled to get the most out of it. Plus you have never seen excitement until you see a child who knocked the teacher’s pawn from 99 back to start! (Ask me how I know )
How To Play
The game is made up of a number spiral from 0-101. All numbers are color coded. Prime numbers are red. Other numbers are colored by their factors. Landing on a prime number means you get a Prime Climb card, which is usually but not always an advantage.
Each player has two pawns and the goal of the game is to get both pawns to the 101. You move by rolling two ten sided dice. For your move you use both dice, but only one at a time. You can use any of the four operations of math with the number rolled and the number you are on. This is probably the most confusing part for new players to learn. They always want to add or multiply the dice together. However, it is the choice of which operation to use with which pawn in which order that allows so much mathematical strategy.
Like Sorry, if you land on another pawn you send it back to start, even if it is your own pawn. Figuring out what is the most advantageous move requires thinking ahead. You must consider what you’ll be able to do on your next turn, the position of other pawns, and the fact that landing on a prime number usually gives you an advantage.
Introducing the Game
When I play with a child for the first time, I ask them a lot of questions. “What do you notice about the board? Why do you think some numbers are red? What do the colors mean?” Children don’t learn the concept of prime numbers in school until usually 5th grade. Even then theyoften get confused with remembering the definition. However, if younger children understand multiplication and the idea of factors they usually can figure out what prime numbers mean using this game and the color coding!
As I explain the rules, I ask them,
- “If you’re trying to get to the 101, which operation would you want to choose?” Usually they will recognize that multiplication will get them the farthest the fastest, but will become impossible by a certain point on the board as the product will be greater than 101.
- “Why would you ever want to subtract or divide?”
Possible answers:
- you have to subtract if adding would put you over 101
- you might want to go back to knock someone else back to start
- you might want to subtract to get a prime climb card.
As we move we also practice mental multiplication using the distributive property. If you’re on the 42 can you multiply by 4? 40 times 4 is 160 and 2 times 4 is 8 so the answer is 168. We can also use estimation. I might say 40 *4 is 160 so I don’t even have to figure the rest- I know the product will be larger than 101! We talk about strategies for addition. For example, you don’t need to count out 12 spaces if you use place value to add ten and then add the other two.
In Summary
This is a game the students will want to play over and over again. Each time they play you will see their strategies and skills improve.
Warning: once they become good strategists game play can become very long! You won’t mind, though, as everyone will be having so much fun that the time will fly.
UPDATE:
I have just found out that the makers of Prime Climb, Math for Love, have a whole section on their website called Teach With Prime Climb. This has instant warmups, activities and puzzles related to the game, images to use with students, and more.
Here is a link to a Ted Talk on Five Principles of Extraordinary Math Teaching by the game’s co creator that is well worth watching.