

And of course, a fun way to keep the tradition going. With our own kiddos, this game has been a great tool. Cribbage combines multiple math skills at once, and players can work on strategy too - which pair should I keep? Should I put this in the crib? What if I hold on to that card? The fund and competition in cribbage games make it one of the best math board games in our view. Why we like it: Putting our own rosy memories aside, we think this is a great game for kids to play and work on building those math skills.Math skills addressed: basic numerical operations (adding, counting by fives, combinatorial math), number recognition, strategy.Like I said – part board, part card but overall one of the great math board games! The game continues until one player makes it around the board. Players score points from the cards in their hands and in the crib. To begin, two cards are selected to be put into a “crib”. For each round, players are dealt a hand of six cards. How the game works: Cribbage uses a standard deck of cards and a pegboard to keep track of scoring.Age group: kids that understand basic addition (1st/2nd grade) and up.However, Mancala introduces them to good counting and addition opportunities. The strategy piece can be better picked up by older kids. This is a simple game to grasp… but also one that can incorporate more strategy. The fine motor skills piece of Mancala (grabbing, placing stones) is great for younger kids who need some work on building that muscle memory. It feels like a “special” game to them because of the pieces. Our Mancala board uses little glass stones that the kids love (aka “jewels”). Why we like it: This is another classic, and feels like one that gets overlooked.Math skills addressed: Counting, strategy, fine motor skill, simple addition.Mancala boards range in cost and quality. The board in the picture at the right is similar to one we got. Players take turns moving the stones around the board, but stones that land in the end “cups” remain in place. Going counter-clockwise, the goal is to move the stones by picking up all the stones in a single cup and depositing one stone in each of the cups to the right. Players start with the same number of stones in “cups” on a board. How the game works: Mancala is a two-player game – the goal is to get the most stones in your tray at the end of the game (see the video below).When the kids ask you to play your 231st Zingo game with them… trust me! You won’t be rolling your eyes. The Zingo tiles go up to 12, so you can also do some small scale multiplication problems. For example, if you have someone working on subtraction, create new math problems on your own sheets. One way we’ve adapted our Zingo game is by building out additional cards. The multiple levels of cards also helps include players of different ages/skills. Games move quick, keeping kids on their toes. However, another great benefit of playing Zingo! We added a few “non-math” skills to the list of math skills being addressed, but this clearly shows Zingo brings a lot to the game table. This isn’t to say that we don’t have some heated matches. Why we like it: The kids really enjoy this one and so do I! The kids ASK to play Zingo (not the other way around) and we take that as a great sign! They love the racing/competition against each other, the red slider and the tiles.Math skills addressed: counting, simple addition, number sense, word recognition, fine motor skills.Two types of cards - counting, addition - offer multiple challenges. How the game works: Players have a bingo card and draw tiles from the red Zingo box.If you’re unfamiliar with the hallmark red Zingo card slider (see the picture), the kids use it to slide out tiles/yellow cards with numbers. Focusing on the bingo version here, this game aims at a younger crowd (preschool-1st/2nd grade-ish). Simply put, they make easy to grasp educational toys for kids that are just really fun. While we also include some card games, I think you’ll see the math/strategy rationale for including them in the list.Īt the top of the list (#1) comes from ThinkFun – Zingo 1-2-3 Number Bingo. You’ll note the list spans a range of ages – some for younger kids, others better suited for older kids.
