Dots and Boxes
The setup
This satisfying game starts with a rectangular grid of dots – say 3 by 4.
How to play
During a turn, a player draws a horizontal or vertical line connecting two unjoined adjacent dots. If the new line completes a 1 by 1 box, the player earns a point and draws another line.
How to win
When no more lines can be drawn, the player with the most points wins. An easy way to keep track of points is to put an initial inside each earned box.
Use numbers.
One variation is to place numbers inside each square of the grid when the grid is first drawn. When a player completes a square, they receive the number of points inside the box. After all lines are drawn, the points are totaled up and the player with the most points wins.
Variation
Although this is traditionally played with little squares, it can also be played with dots in a pattern to produce triangles or hexagons – it’s just harder to draw.
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!