Math Card Games
Card games are a phenomenal way to help promote math fluency at home. Children can practice with adults, friends or siblings with minimal prep time or clean up. Please feel free to print these directions so your child can practice his or her math facts in a fun and engaging way!
Place Value Number Battle (Grades 1 - 6)
Players: Groups of two
Materials: Deck of cards with the face cards and 10s removed, Ace worth one Skill: Number recognition, place value, order, and sequencing
How to Play: Players split a deck of cards and simultaneously flip over their top three cards to create a 3-digit number. Players may move the cards and place in any position of the number they wish.
Player 1: number is 431
Player 2: number is 874
The highest number wins all six cards.
*Note that you can increase the number of cards to flip if you are working on larger numbers.
Addition/Subtraction/Multiplication “Top It” (Grades 3 - 6)
Players: Groups of two
Materials: Deck of cards, face cards worth ten, Ace worth 1 or 11 (teacher decides)
Skill: Number recognition and multiplication
How to Play: Players split a deck of cards and simultaneously flip over their top two cards.
Player 1: product (or sum or difference) is 30
Player 2: product (or sum or difference) is 80
The highest product (or sum or difference) wins all four cards.
If the cards products have the same value, the cards are placed in a center pile. The next hand is played normally and the winner of the next multiplication number battle takes the center pile as well.
Multi-Digit Multiplication Top-It (Grades 3 - 6)
Players: Groups of two
Materials: Deck of cards with the face cards and 10s removed, Ace worth one, scratch paper
Skill: Number recognition and multiplication
How to Play: Players split a deck of cards and simultaneously flip over their top three (or four) cards. Make two of them into a 2-digit number and multiply by the third. Players may move the cards and place in any position of the number they wish.
Player 1: product is 261
Player 2: product is 384
The highest product wins all six (or eight) cards.
* Note that you can increase the number of cards to flip if you are working on larger numbers.
Fraction Number Battle (Grades 4 - 6)
Players: Groups of two
Materials: Deck of cards, Ace worth 11, Jack worth 12, Queen worth 13, King worth 14, scratch paper
Skill: Number recognition, multiplication, fractions, numerator, and denominator
How to Play: Players split a deck of cards and simultaneously flip over their top two cards, using the smaller card as the numerator.
Player 1: fraction is 3/13
Player 2: fraction is 8/10
The greatest fraction wins all four cards. If the cards are equivalent fractions, the cards are placed in a center pile. The next hand is played normally and the winner of the next fraction multiplication number battle takes the center pile as well.
Reading Multiplication Minds (Grades 3 - 6)
Players: Groups of three (groups of four or five for more advanced)
Materials: Deck of cards
Skill: Multiplication, product
How to Play: In this game for three players, one student is the leader and the other two are the “mind readers”. The product is 21. The two players each draw a card and, without looking at it, hold it up to their foreheads so that everyone else can see it, but themselves. The leader announces the products of the two cards. Each “mind reader” must figure out which card is on his or her own forehead and say it aloud. When both “mind readers” have figured out their cards, a new leader is chosen and the game continues. With Reading Multiplication Minds, all players get practice with products and factors in every round.
Multiplication Zone (Grades 4 - 8)
Players: Two to four players
Materials: Deck of cards, Ace worth 11, Jack worth 12, Queen worth 13, King worth 14, scratch paper
Skill: Multiplication and estimation
How to Play: Each player is dealt 10 cards. A card from the remaining stack is flipped face up.
Player 1 Remaining stack Player 2 Its value is multiplied by 10, and players look at their pile of cards and try to find a pair of cards whose product is in that "decade."
Player 1: 63 Remaining stack
Player 2: 60 Zone: 60 - 69
For example, if the flipped card is a six, then the zone is any number in the sixties (60-69), so a winning pair would be 9 and 7 (product 63) or 12 and 5 (product 60), etc. Any player who can make a pair removes those cards from his or her hand. Flip over the next card in the remaining stack to determine the next zone. Play continues until one player's hand is empty.
Players: Groups of two
Materials: Deck of cards with the face cards and 10s removed, Ace worth one Skill: Number recognition, place value, order, and sequencing
How to Play: Players split a deck of cards and simultaneously flip over their top three cards to create a 3-digit number. Players may move the cards and place in any position of the number they wish.
Player 1: number is 431
Player 2: number is 874
The highest number wins all six cards.
*Note that you can increase the number of cards to flip if you are working on larger numbers.
Addition/Subtraction/Multiplication “Top It” (Grades 3 - 6)
Players: Groups of two
Materials: Deck of cards, face cards worth ten, Ace worth 1 or 11 (teacher decides)
Skill: Number recognition and multiplication
How to Play: Players split a deck of cards and simultaneously flip over their top two cards.
Player 1: product (or sum or difference) is 30
Player 2: product (or sum or difference) is 80
The highest product (or sum or difference) wins all four cards.
If the cards products have the same value, the cards are placed in a center pile. The next hand is played normally and the winner of the next multiplication number battle takes the center pile as well.
Multi-Digit Multiplication Top-It (Grades 3 - 6)
Players: Groups of two
Materials: Deck of cards with the face cards and 10s removed, Ace worth one, scratch paper
Skill: Number recognition and multiplication
How to Play: Players split a deck of cards and simultaneously flip over their top three (or four) cards. Make two of them into a 2-digit number and multiply by the third. Players may move the cards and place in any position of the number they wish.
Player 1: product is 261
Player 2: product is 384
The highest product wins all six (or eight) cards.
* Note that you can increase the number of cards to flip if you are working on larger numbers.
Fraction Number Battle (Grades 4 - 6)
Players: Groups of two
Materials: Deck of cards, Ace worth 11, Jack worth 12, Queen worth 13, King worth 14, scratch paper
Skill: Number recognition, multiplication, fractions, numerator, and denominator
How to Play: Players split a deck of cards and simultaneously flip over their top two cards, using the smaller card as the numerator.
Player 1: fraction is 3/13
Player 2: fraction is 8/10
The greatest fraction wins all four cards. If the cards are equivalent fractions, the cards are placed in a center pile. The next hand is played normally and the winner of the next fraction multiplication number battle takes the center pile as well.
Reading Multiplication Minds (Grades 3 - 6)
Players: Groups of three (groups of four or five for more advanced)
Materials: Deck of cards
Skill: Multiplication, product
How to Play: In this game for three players, one student is the leader and the other two are the “mind readers”. The product is 21. The two players each draw a card and, without looking at it, hold it up to their foreheads so that everyone else can see it, but themselves. The leader announces the products of the two cards. Each “mind reader” must figure out which card is on his or her own forehead and say it aloud. When both “mind readers” have figured out their cards, a new leader is chosen and the game continues. With Reading Multiplication Minds, all players get practice with products and factors in every round.
Multiplication Zone (Grades 4 - 8)
Players: Two to four players
Materials: Deck of cards, Ace worth 11, Jack worth 12, Queen worth 13, King worth 14, scratch paper
Skill: Multiplication and estimation
How to Play: Each player is dealt 10 cards. A card from the remaining stack is flipped face up.
Player 1 Remaining stack Player 2 Its value is multiplied by 10, and players look at their pile of cards and try to find a pair of cards whose product is in that "decade."
Player 1: 63 Remaining stack
Player 2: 60 Zone: 60 - 69
For example, if the flipped card is a six, then the zone is any number in the sixties (60-69), so a winning pair would be 9 and 7 (product 63) or 12 and 5 (product 60), etc. Any player who can make a pair removes those cards from his or her hand. Flip over the next card in the remaining stack to determine the next zone. Play continues until one player's hand is empty.