Fun Math For Kids: Games and Puzzles
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One of my kids loves math. This isn’t surprising, as I also love it. Calculus may have been my favorite subject in high school. There’s a part of me that misses math, and it brings me such joy to do math with my kids. I tell my older kid I’m going to borrow their calculus book and try to relearn along with them, and I’m only sort of joking.
Many of my suggestions are board games. This shouldn’t be surprising if you’ve read my extensive Board Games for Preschoolers and Elementary and up lists. I’ve found that games are a great way to learn and practice math in a way that is fun. I have no desire to make my kids do worksheets when they aren’t in school. All of my math resources are things my kids enjoy. Check out the second part of my math resources, Fun Math For Kids: Books and Daily Play.
I originally wanted to call this list “resources for math-loving kids,” but then it occurred to me that these ideas may also work well for kids who don’t love math because it doesn’t come easily to them. While I don’t have any personal experience to back it up, I think these resources would be a great way to practice math with a kid who is having trouble with it in school.
Board Games
Sum Swamp- as it sounds, this game helps with addition and subtraction.
Money games like Clumsy Thief, various kids versions of Monopoly (we love Monopoly Travel), Money Bags, etc.
Math Dice and Math Dice Jr.
Logic games like Cat Crimes and Dog Crimes, Rush Hour, etc. (Check Board Games for Kids for more logic games)
Spatial reasoning games like Q Bitz, Set, Labyrinth, etc. (Check Board Games for Kids for more spatial reasoning games).
24 Game. We played this in school when I was a kid! I was so happy the day I could play this with my kid.
Khet- I mentioned this game in the Board Game list as one my husband and I used to play a lot. Now that my kids are getting older, one of them will play this (it’s listed as 8+ FYI). You use angles and refraction, and it involves high level problem solving like Chess.
Chess- I always see playing chess correlated with math skills, but I had to google it to figure out why. In case you are wondering, here’s a short article that explains it better than I could. No Stress Chess is also an option for beginners, though once they learn the pieces/movement I don’t like using the cards because it limits your choices.
Say Cheese- great multiplication game.
Prime Climb- game that ties in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Smath- like scrabble but for math equations.
Proof- a fast paced card game that challenges you to come up with equations.
Outnumbered- this is a cooperative math game. A bit advanced, as you use multiplication and division as well as addition and subtraction, but I like this one a lot. You can use squaring as well.
Zeus on the Loose- fun, fast paced math game that requires addition to 100.
Puzzles/Independent Games
Tangrams- you can print these out on your own, or purchase a set. There are also tangram based games for sale, like Tangoes.
Pentominos (My kid does these at school; I don’t have this set. I do have this Kanoodle game that is similar to pentominos).
Sudoku- there are a ton of different books out there, the one I linked is for kids age 8-12, but I bet younger kids could try it. We have a cool marble board to do Sudoku puzzles but I got in at a yard sale and can’t find it online! Here is a similar idea; it’s a wooden board with numbered tiles.
Ken Ken- this puzzle is like Sudoku with an added math boost. In addition to the regular Sudoku rules, there are outlined boxes that have to equal a given number using a given operation. Challenging, but my kid started doing these in school in fourth grade and had I known about them earlier, I bet he could have started the easier ones sooner. Here is a beginner one, here is a giant one we own that has more advanced options.
Logic Problems- so you may have to print these like a worksheet, which breaks my “no worksheets” rule, but if you’ve exhausted the logic problems in Cat Crimes, your best bet is searching for free logic problems online or buying a book of them like this.