Count Down

Last week, I had a student bring in some things from home that their family no longer used.  These were things like flash cards and workbooks that the youngest kid in the family had outgrown.  It was very sweet and a great way to pass on things to younger children in the building.  The student also brought in a 4 player math game that I had never seen before.  I decided to try it out with a group of students that afternoon and I am so glad that I did.

 The game is called Count Down and requires no prep and very simple rules.  Up to 4 players can play and they each have "keys" labeled 1-10.  They take turns rolling 2 dice (right into the middle of the game board) and they can add, subtract, multiply or divide.  The object of the game is to use an operation that will give a number on a key that has not yet been put up.  This really made the kids think of multiple operations each time they roll the dice.  The most fun part for the students?  If you roll an 11, you get to put all the keys of any opponent back down so they essentially have to start the game all over again.  This was very popular and made the game quite exciting for everyone.   This seems like a great game for kids in grades 2-4.  I think it will be the perfect present for my nephew's upcoming birthday!

 Have you used Count Down with your students?