Age: 9+
Players: 2-6
Playing Time: 15 Minutes
Category: Card
Gameschool Area: Math
Price: $17.99 on Amazon
Publisher: The Master Theorem Games
We love the wide variety of math games we’ve found since we started Gameschooling.
There are dozens of excellent math games on the market, and each of them has its own way of specializing play to work on specific math skills. They also have this magical way of meeting a student right where he’s at – as a kid’s math skills improve, he naturally starts using different strategies and operations to be successful in a game. The best math games have this flexibility in play that allows the game to grow with the child.
Proof! is our favorite Challenge math game.
Cards are set up in a 3×3 grid, and players have to turn the random numbers into some kind of math equation.
Equations can be simple like 3 + 7 = 10 (if you’re lucky enough to get those numbers, most of the time you have to be much more creative) or complex like 8+76-10=72 or 4 x 22 – 30 = 58.
Everything depends on what numbers show up and how you can manipulate them to relate to each other.
Sometimes the grid will stay for several minutes until a player is able to make an equation work.
Here’s a more thorough explanation of the rules:
My 9, 11, and 13 year olds love to play this game and it’s really perfect because my 9 year old mostly sticks to addition and subtraction because that’s what he knows, while my older kids have to think a little harder and use multiplication and division WITH addition and subtraction. Their individual development and skill dictate the kinds of equations they choose to create, and it’s a really cool process to watch.
This is one that is great for me to play too. It hurts my brain a little bit, which just shows me that I need to keep playing and brush up on my mental math skills.
Proof! is a fun and challenging way to help kids think creatively about math and manipulating numbers. It’s fun to play and has really helped my kids expand their arithmetic repertoire, which has helped them in their traditional math curriculum and general understanding of how numbers relate to each other, all amazing things to see happening from playing a game.
Try it out, we think you’ll love it!
