There are many games, including classics and new games you haven’t tried yet, for all age groups, adults, children and families. Games include board games, card games, dice games, video games, indoor and outdoor games, and pen and paper games (e.g., hangman and boxes/dots).
The thing to remember is that many games involve mathematics and logic of some sort. Therefore, almost any game can teach various types of mathematics, and play is the best way to teach!
Below are recommended games that are specific to high school mathematics and above. These do not include puzzles and brain teasers.
Recommended Games
“Play John Conway’s Game of Life”. 2023. playgameoflife.com. https://playgameoflife.com/.
The Game of Life is not your typical computer game. It is a cellular automaton, and was invented by Cambridge mathematician John Conway. This game became widely known when it was mentioned in an article published by Scientific American in 1970. It consists of a grid of cells which, based on a few mathematical rules, can live, die or multiply. Depending on the initial conditions, the cells form various patterns throughout the course of the game.
“Conway’s Game Of Life – Wikipedia”. 2023. en.wikipedia.org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_Game_of_Life.
Gardner, Martin. MATHEMATICAL GAMES. ‘The fantastic combinations of John Conway’s new solitaire game “life”‘. Scientific American , Vol. 223, No. 4 (October 1970), pp. 120-123. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24927642.
Johnston, Nathaniel. 2023. “Conway’s Game of Life”. conwaylife.com. https://conwaylife.com/.
Lipa, Chris. 2023. “Conway’s Game of Life'”. pi.math.cornell.edu. https://pi.math.cornell.edu/~lipa/mec/lesson6.html.
“WFF `N PROOF: The Game of Modern Logic”. 2021. WFF ‘N PROOF. https://www.wff-n-proof.com/store/math-logic/product_0001.html.
Hailed as “the granddaddy of educational games”, this is the original 1961 classic that teaches propositional logic and develops careful reasoning skills. Reviewers say WFF ‘N PROOF “has the complexity of chess and the excitement of poker”. It was the first resource allocation game – a format in which players explore diverse, creative ways of using fundamental concepts. WFF ‘N PROOF is a subtle sequence of twenty-one game levels with increasing challenge and sophistication. The beginning levels are speed games that can teach six-year olds how to recognize WFFs. (WFFs are Well Formed Formulas – expressions that are to symbolic logic what sentences are to English). Advanced games deal with the rules of inference, logical proof and the nature of formal systems, and will challenge intelligent adults.
Additional Reading
“20 Awesome Ways To Teach Math Through Card Games”. 2023. Bored Teachers. https://www.boredteachers.com/post/20-activities-for-learning-math-with-card-games.
“23 Ways To Use Dice In Math Class”. 2019. Math Giraffe. https://www.mathgiraffe.com/blog/23-ways-to-use-dice-in-math-class.
Bellos, Alex. “Did You Solve It? Can You Play Snakes And Ladders Backwards?”. 2023. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/aug/21/did-you-solve-it-can-you-play-snakes-and-ladders-backwards.
“Retrograde Analysis – Wikipedia”. 2023. en.wikipedia.org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrograde_analysis.
“Results For Math Card Games High School | TPT”. 2023. teacherspayteachers.com. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/browse/Search:math%20card%20games%20high%20school.
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Mathematical Mysteries 