• Pyramid:
    To Set Up Pyramid: First, remove all face cards (except Ace, which will represent the number one) and jokers from your deck of cards and shuffle well. Then arrange your cards into a Pyramid with 6 rows, each row slightly overlapping the previous row.  Place remaining cards in a deck, face down, off to the side.

    To play Pyramid: The goal is to remove cards in the pyramid by “making ten” with two cards. (Or removing a ten card, as it is already equal to ten). However, you can only remove cards that are completely uncovered. Therefore, at the start of the game, you can only use the bottom row of the pyramid to make ten.
    If no two cards remaining make ten, the game is not over! Remember the deck of cards off to the side? These can be drawn from to try and find a needed card. So when there is no other option in your pyramid, draw a card from the deck. Continue to draw until you can make another ten. Remove those cards, and continue to play in the same way. If you make it through the entire deck, you can flip them over and begin drawing again.  The game is over when you can no longer remove cards from your pyramid.
     
    To Win:  Once you are stuck and can no longer remove any more cards, add all the remaining cards to determine your score. The person with the smallest number wins!
     
     
    Flip Three:  This is a memory style card game with a twist. Players make equations from the three cards that they flip over.
    2-4 players
     
    To play: Remove all face cards (except Ace, which will represent the number one) and jokers from your deck of cards and shuffle well. Then arrange the cards in four rows of five cards.  The cards are all placed face down. Place remaining cards in a deck, face down, off to the side.
    Players take turns to flip over three cards and attempt to make an equation using the three cards. The equation can be an addition, subtraction, multiplication or division, e.g. 3+3=6, 8-5=3, 2x1=2, 10÷2=5.
    If the player can make an equation they keep the cards. If they can’t make an equation the cards are flipped back over in the same place.  When a player makes an equation, replace the cards with cards from the pile of cards you placed on the side.
     
    Continue playing until only 7 cards remain. The winner is the player who has the most cards.
     
     
    Close Call: An Addition Game
    Give this fun addition game a try! Challenge your child to create sums as close to 100 as possible, without going over. 

    What You Need:

    • Deck of cards
    • Paper and pencils (for scratch paper) 

    To play Close Call:

    1. Remove 10s and face cards from the deck.  Shuffle the deck and deal each player 6 cards.
    2. Each player selects four of their cards and creates two 2-digit numbers from them.  The goal is to create two numbers that have a sum as close to 100 as possible, without going over. (For example, a player may choose to use the cards 4, 6, 8, and 1, creating the problem 14 + 18 = 32.)
    3. After players have made their selections, they place their cards face up in front of them, arranging them so other players can see which two numbers they have created.
    4. The player with the numbers closest to 100, without going over, wins a point.  In the case of a tie, a point is awarded to each person.
    5. Shuffle the cards before dealing another round.
    6. Play continues for 5 rounds.  The player with the most points after the last round wins the game.

    Variations:

    • Change the number of cards dealt, the number of cards used, or the goal.
    • For younger players, restrict the number of cards dealt to 4 per player, allow them to use only 2 of the cards, create single-digit numbers, and set the goal to 10.
    • To make the game more challenging, deal 8 cards to each player, let them choose 6, create 3-digit numbers, and set the goal to 1,000.

     

    Quick Stop: An Addition (or Multiplication) Card Game 

    This card game is a fun way to practice addition.  Compete for the highest score as you flip over cards.  Add up your cards until you reach 100 points.  The first one there wins! Ready for a challenge? Check out the variations at the bottom of the page!

    To play Quick Stop:

    1. Place a well shuffled deck of cards, face down, in the center of the playing area.
    2. Each player begins by drawing one card from the pile and placing it face up in front of themselves. Players write the value of the number at the top of their paper. (Aces are worth 1, and all face cards are worth 10.)
    3. When all players are ready, they draw another card from the pile. They add the value of these cards together.
    4. Keep playing until one player reaches 100.

    Variations: 

    • Play until the deck runs out. The player closest to 100, without going over, wins.
    • Add jokers into the deck. If a player draws a joker, their score drops back to zero.
    • Start with 100 points, and subtract your way to the finish.

     

    Multiplication Squares: 

    Print out the game board.  The game board contains 81 squares with the products of any two numbers that can be rolled with two dice (i.e. 1 x 6, 2 x 4, 3 x 5, etc).

    To play Multiplication Squares:

    1. Grab two dice and a different colored marker for each player.
    2. During a player's turn, the player rolls both dice and multiplies the two numbers shown on the dice.  The player looks for the product on the board and draws a line to connect any two dots that form part of the square around that product.  Since each product appears multiple times on the board, the player can be very strategic about where to draw a line.
    3. When a player draws a line that closes a square, that player gets to color in the square with a marker.  That player rolls the dice again and takes another turn.
    4. When all of the dots have been connected, the player with the most squares colored in wins!
Last Modified on February 28, 2020