Stealing Bones
How to play
Place all dominoes (bones) face up between the players. For a turn, a player rolls two dice. If the domino that matches these dice is available, the player claims it and moves it to their pile.
How to win
For two players, the first player with ten dominoes wins. For more than two players, the first player with six dominoes wins.
Variation
Claimed dominoes can still be stolen by other players.
Helping your child
First and foremost, playing math games should be fun, like any other game your family plays together!
Please let your child make poor plays (mistakes) without correction, and resist the urge to tell them the best ways to play. Bit by bit, your child will get better at the game, and they will learn so much more if you let them figure things out. There is no hurry.
If you see your child make a mistake, ask them to describe why they decided to do what they did. If your child is stuck and doesn’t know which play to make, ask them to describe the pros and cons of their choices, or ask them about how they solved a similar situation in the past. If your child doesn’t remember how to do a calculation, discuss with them the methods they know for figuring it out. These conversations are important for helping your child to develop mathematically.
Through math game play and math conversations, you are helping your child learn to enjoy math and develop important problem solving skills!