[Get Friendly with Games] Math Games, Apps, and Activities
There are probably many people who still struggle with math even as adults.
If only we had gotten more comfortable with it back when we were little—maybe starting from basic arithmetic—we might not feel so intimidated by math now, right?
In this article, we introduce math games for children that help them get familiar with arithmetic from the early years of elementary school—fun activities that teach math through play.
We’ve lined up a wide range of options, from games kids can play solo to ones for groups, including apps and card games.
Of course, adults can enjoy them too, so be sure to try playing together with your child!
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- A game where you can learn the multiplication table while playing
- Math quiz for elementary school students
- A math quiz for adults. Can you solve it?
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[Get Friendly Through Games] Math Games, Apps, and Activities (1–10)
Arithmetic Ninja
This is the app “Math Ninja,” playable on smartphones and similar devices.
Kids can learn addition and subtraction at a brisk pace.
The gameplay is to choose the correct answer from multiple options for each problem that appears.
The satisfying feeling of advancing with a single tap might get your child hooked.
There’s also a collection feature for gathering character cards, which helps keep motivation up.
It’s especially recommended for first graders who are just starting to learn math!
Brain-Boosting Math Karuta “Shisock”
Shisoc is a tabletop game themed around addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
You can play “4-Cell Math Karuta,” where you quickly find the answer card for two given numbers like in karuta, and “4-Cell Math Speed,” where you play any answer card that matches a row of four numbers.
It’s great for multiplayer! Everyone who comes over can enjoy it together, and it looks like you could have some heated battles with Mom and Dad too.
There are quite a few math-themed tabletop games out there, so be sure to look them up!
Multiplication Table Match
First, prepare a deck of cards with all the answers from the multiplication table, from the ones row to the nines row.
Use this as the draw pile and start by drawing five cards as your hand.
The goal is to make the five numbers in your hand all be answers from the same row of the times table.
For example, if you’re aiming for the sixes row, you draw one card from the deck and discard a card from your hand that is not an answer in the sixes row.
You repeat this process until all five cards in your hand are numbers from the sixes row.
It’s like playing a card game while studying the multiplication table!
Getting Friendly with Games: Math Games, Apps, and Activities (11–20)
Multiplication Sugoroku
A game where you move forward the number of spaces equal to the product of two numbers: Multiplication Sugoroku.
Prepare several cards with numbers on them, draw two cards, multiply the numbers, and move forward that many spaces.
It’s fun to craft your own sugoroku board, and best of all, multiple people can play together.
Many of you have probably experienced the joy of playing sugoroku with others.
The key is to keep the numbers on the cards small so players don’t leap too far ahead at once.
Column addition game
It’s not just about solving problems—you develop your thinking skills, too.
This “Two-Digit Addition Column Game” is played like a card game.
You place number cards from 0 to 9 into a vertical addition grid and repeatedly do two-digit additions.
Its key feature is trying to get the answer as close to 100 as possible.
You swap the cards you’ve taken with the remaining ones while aiming for 100, so it’s not simply about doing as many additions as you can.
It might help build applied math skills.
Trump addition game
A game where you place four face-down cards each for numbers 1 through 6, then flip cards while doing mental arithmetic to reach the target number.
It’s like a mix of Concentration and mental math.
If you hit the target number exactly, you get to keep the cards.
If you exceed the target, you lose and the next player takes a turn.
When all face-down cards are gone, the player with the most cards wins! By remembering where you flipped certain cards and figuring out which numbers you need to win, you build memory and situational judgment—and of course you train your mental arithmetic skills too!
Learn Addition and Multiplication Tables! Scissor Calculation Game
The math learning board game that uses a numbered board and dice is called “The Scissor Calculation Game: Learn Addition and the Times Tables!” To give a quick overview: for example, you choose a number on the vertical axis, roll the dice to get a number on the horizontal axis, add them together, and place your piece on the square with the answer.
If, on the straight line connecting the piece you placed with the numbers you selected on the horizontal and vertical axes, there is an opponent’s piece, you can capture it.
The player who has more of their pieces on the board at the end wins.
It makes you think quite a bit, so it could be good brain training for adults too.