A game where you can learn the multiplication table while playing
The multiplication table is something you have to learn, but memorizing it can be really tough.
Even if children chant it out loud like a magic spell many times every day, there are probably many who still struggle to remember it.
In this article, we’ll introduce games that help kids enjoy learning the multiplication table!
We’ve gathered a variety of games: ones you can play on a computer or smartphone, card games, and games that help you learn the multiplication table while moving your body.
It can be hard to memorize when you think of it as “studying,” but if you approach it as a “game,” you can enjoy learning the multiplication table!
If you find a game that interests you, give it a try!
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A game to learn the multiplication table while playing (1–10)
Multiplication Table Puzzle
How about using a “Multiplication Table Puzzle” that lets kids enjoy practicing times tables like a puzzle? Prepare a blank multiplication table without numbers, then cut out the number parts separately to make puzzle pieces.
Children fit the number pieces into the blank table, helping them learn the patterns of the times tables through a game-like element.
They can also enjoy conversations with friends, like “These numbers go up by 2 each time, so this must be the 2-times row.” Give this game a try and focus on the discoveries children make along the way!
Multiplication Sugoroku
How about making multiplication practice fun with a game called “Multiplication Sugoroku,” which combines Sugoroku with multiplication? Prepare three blue cards and three red cards, and write numbers on each.
Flip two cards—either blue or red—and move forward the number of spaces equal to their product.
Since smaller numbers are written on the blue cards and larger numbers on the red cards, you can also adjust how many spaces players tend to move.
It’s also fun to create the Sugoroku board itself! This works well for upper-grade students too, as it helps reinforce multiples and factors.
Give it a try!
Times Table Loop
Among games for memorizing the multiplication table, this one called “Kuku Guruguru” is quite original and visually engaging.
Draw a circle on a blackboard, for example, and mark evenly spaced points labeled 0, 1, 2 … 9 clockwise around it.
Once you’re ready, recite the multiplication facts for any chosen number and connect the points in order according to the ones digit of each product.
For example, for the threes you would go “3, 6, 9, 2 (since the ones digit of 12 is 2), ….” As you continue connecting points to the end, a unique pattern emerges for that set of facts.
If you complete all the sets, you’ll notice that some of them produce the same pattern.
It’s a brilliant game that lets you learn the rules of the multiplication table while enjoying the creation of beautiful designs!
A game to learn the multiplication table while playing (11–20)
Rapid-fire times tables
The habit of clapping your hands or tapping on a desk and keeping rhythm for no particular reason isn’t just something kids do—adults often do it too.
The pleasant feeling when everyone claps in unison and the rhythm lines up perfectly can help children focus.
With that effect in mind, this activity called “Kuku Panpan” works like this: the teacher calls out a multiplication problem, and the children clap the number of times equal to the answer.
For example, if the problem is 5×3, the answer is 15.
The tens digit is expressed with hand claps, and the ones digit is expressed by tapping the desk or similar.
So in this case, you would clap once and tap the desk five times.
By solving the calculation while keeping rhythm, children may internalize multiplication not just with their heads but with their bodies too! Give it a try at home with your child.
Multiplication Table Trump Cards to Boost Your Brain: KukuppuCard game
I’m not good at studying steadily on my own… but if I could enjoy it like a game with close friends, I might be able to keep it up.
For people like that, the perfect multiplication card game is “Kukuppu: A Smarter Multiplication Table Trump.” The title doesn’t exaggerate—just like a deck of playing cards, it lets you learn the times tables through gameplay.
You can enjoy four distinct games: “Kuku Karuta,” “Kuku Link,” “Kuku Battle,” and “Kuku Great Reversal,” each with its own twist.
The detailed rules are introduced in the video, so please use that as a reference, but it’s great that it works both one-on-one between a parent and child and in groups of kids.
Designed to make the most of card-game dynamics, it gets players absorbed and learning the times tables naturally.
Adults, why not enjoy it with the kids as a brain workout too?
Fun Multiplication Table Learning: A Multiplication Game for KidsApp
These days, it’s easy to play educational games on smartphones, so it makes perfect sense to use them as one way for your child to study.
“Fun Multiplication Table Learning” is, as the name suggests, a multiplication game developed for children.
While helping the character Kelly—who’s collecting photos of creatures for a space museum—you advance through the story and practice multiplication as part of an adventure.
Instead of just solving calculations, you get to enjoy game-specific fun like clearing problems to obtain items, which naturally makes multiplication more enjoyable.
It’s the perfect app game for kids who would quickly get bored with simply repeating the times tables over and over.
How do I take the Shinkansen?
Some of you might have seen only the title and wondered, “What do you mean you can learn multiplication from how to ride the Shinkansen?” Many Shinkansen cars have seat rows split into three seats on one side and two on the other, and we can use this pattern to teach children multiplication.
For example, if 15 people are going on a trip and you want to assign seats so that no one has to sit alone, multiplication helps.
The simplest way is to think of three rows of five people each—so 5×3=15—to arrange everyone together.
Of course, you could also assign three rows of three-seat sides (3×3=9) and three rows of two-seat sides (2×3=6).
In that case, the calculations 3×3=9 and 2×3=6 both hold.
Once children see that there isn’t just one way to make a total of 15, they may appreciate the depth of math and become more interested in it.