Number Line Battleship
The setup
Each player has two number lines – one for their battleships and one for their guesses. These number lines go from 0 to 12 (or higher if the children can count higher). Out of sight, on their battleship number line, each player places tokens on two numbers that will be their battleships.
How to play
After the setup, the players take turns guessing numbers. When a player makes a guess, the other player says how close the guess was to the nearest target – the guesser then marks down that information on their second number line.
How to win
The first person to get all the targets wins.
Variations
- Use a wider range of numbers.
- The response to a guess can be a range of distances rather than an exact amount – for example: “the nearest ship is 1 or 2 away.”
- Have ships that are two or three spaces in length.
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!