Sim Triangle
Math Concepts
Triangles
Materials
Paper, two colors of coloring pencils or pens
Players
2
Set up
Draw a circular shape on a shared piece of paper. On this circle, draw six points somewhat evenly spaced out around the circle.
Play
The two players have different colored markers. Players take turns drawing linesbetween the dots using their color.
Goal
The loser is the first player forced to create a triangle all of whose sides have the player’s color and whose corners are on the circle.
Example game
Here is a game with ‘red’ moving first. This is a sequence of board positions after each of red’s moves. In the last position on the right, no matter where ‘green’ moves next they will form a triangle and lose.
Discussion and Tips
Discuss strategies students have developed. Can they give good reasons for why their strategies are best?
Is it better to move on the more central lines or the ones closer to the outside?
Variations
Use 7 or 8 points on the circle for a harder game.