Tapatan
The setup
There are many games similar to this one – games such as Rota, 9 Holes, and 3 Men’s Morris. In this game, there are 9 points connected in a grid by 3 horizontal and 3 vertical lines. Each player has three identical tokens to play with. The goal of the game is to get your three tokens in a line.
How to play
There are two phases of play. During the first ‘placement’ phase, the players take turns placing their tokens one at a time on vacant points. After placing the tokens, the second ‘movement’ phase begins. During this phase, players take turns moving their tokens to empty adjacent points. An alternative rule is that pieces can be moved to any empty point, not just adjacent points.
How to win
The game is over when one player wins or when the same position occurs three times, in which case it is a tie game.
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!