Grasping the concept of negative numbers is tricky for some kids, so make it easy on everyone and play Absolute Zero!
The goal of the game is to collect cards that have a sum of…ABSOLUTE ZERO!
This hand is a winner!
11+8 = 19
-9+-10 = -19
11+8 = -9+-10 = 0
See how that works and how this game is awesome for Gameschooling math?!?
Players are all dealt between 2-4 cards to begin the game. However many cards players start with is the number they’ll have for the whole round, and starting with fewer cards is actually more challenging because you have to draw the same exact positive and negative number. Three cards is a little less challenging, and four would be the easiest because there are more possible combinations to achieve absolute zero.
Draw a card and discard a card every turn to get rid of cards you don’t need and try to collect cards that will give you a sum of absolute zero.
My kids LOVE playing card games and they have gotten so fluent and fast with their math facts as a result with no effort from me!
Even my 9 year old is a little whiz with numbers!
This is a quick fun math game with several rule variations included and many more possible variations for kids to invent themselves. It’s a great way to understand what negative numbers are and how they work with other numbers, and it’s just plain fun to play!
Thanks to @AbsoluteZeroGame for sharing it with us!
