Don’t Go Over
The setup
Use 5 dice and 4 rolls.
How to play
On the first roll, choose to save from 0 to 5 of the dice. Once a die is saved it cannot be changed. Similarly with the remaining dice on rolls two and three. On the final roll, all dice are saved. Any score less than or equal to 20 counts, any score over 20 gives the player 0.
How to win
You can play one or more rounds. The highest total score wins.
Variations
The target score of 20, the number of dice, and the number of rolls, can all be changed to suit younger or older players. For example, you could play this with a target of 12 and 3 dice.
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!