War With Factors
The setup
Have two sets of cards, say from 1 to 25.
How to play
Play the standard game of war with these cards, only now the winner is the card that has more factors. For example, 12 beats 16 because 12 has 6 factors (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12) while 16 has 5 factors (1, 2, 4, 8, and 16). The holder of the winning card must be able to correctly list the factors to win the cards – otherwise, the cards get shuffled back into each player’s draw pile. As with standard War, when there is a tie, the next cards are turned over and the winner receives all the cards.
Variations
You can play that the smaller number of factors wins. You can count the total of just the prime factors rather than all the factors. You can play that prime powers (numbers that are a power of a prime) beat other numbers.
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!