Back & Forth – 12
The setup
Each player starts with an empty board from 0 to 12. Each player puts a black marker on 0, and decides where to place three red markers on the numbers bigger than 0.
How to play
On a turn, roll the die and move your black marker either forward or backward by the amount of the die. If you land on a red marker, remove it from the board and keep it.
How to win
The first player to remove all three red markers wins.
Example move
Here is a first move using a roll of 5. If the player rolled a 3 after that, they could move to 2 or 8.
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!