The Best Math Games for Your First Grader
I have to be honest, I am loving this tour back through my old newsletters. There are so many games I forgot and have rediscovered through this process!
If you're curious, you can find my recommendations for Pre-School and Kindergarten as well. To be honest, most of these games are capable of scaling up or down to fit kids of different age levels. That's why they're so good! So check those games out as well if you haven't already.
And now, on to first grade!
Zeus on the Loose
Every so often, you find a game that perfectly targets a specific math topic, while still being extremely fun. Zeus on the Loose is maybe the best example of this sort of game.
Each player gets a bunch of cards containing one-digit numbers. You take turns discarding cards, adding them to the existing sum as you go. So if four players discard a 1, a 3, a 7, and a 5, then the total rises from 1 to 4 to 11 to 16. If you play a card that brings the sum to a multiple of ten (like 20, 30, 40, etc), then you get to steal the Zeus statue and hold it until someone steals it from you! Whoever is holding Zeus when the game ends is the winner.
Finding numbers that add to ten is a hugely important skill in first grade, and this game gets kids thinking about that precise topic with every turn of the cards. But the game designers didn't stop there: They also created a bunch of special Greek God cards that allow kids to skip a player, reverse the direction of play, change the sum, and all sorts of other fun bonus actions. This makes the game exciting enough that kids will play it over and over again.
Click here to buy Zeus on the Loose on Amazon (affiliate link)
Dragonbox Numbers and Big Numbers
If you've subscribed to this newsletter for a while, you know that I rarely recommend digital games. Digital games are often superficially mathematical, but rarely provide the deep engagement or wide-ranging conversation that a tabletop game can. But I'll swear by the Dragonbox games.
Dragonbox Numbers is a game that honestly, I could have included in either my pre-school or kindergarten lists as well. The game gives a clear visual model for basic addition and subtraction operations, and the puzzles help kids practice their basic math facts.
Dragonbox Big Numbers, which is more appropriate for elementary students, extends this model and allows kids to explore multidigit operations. Still, they are trying to solve puzzles and problems that keep them engaged and excited.
When it's raining and the kids are stuck inside, they're always allowed to play Dragonbox.
Mancala
When I was in first and second grade, I played Mancala with my friend John all the time. I loved the game because the strategy felt both clear and complex. First graders will be extremely comfortable with the gameplay, but the strategic decisions will present some challenging math.
If you haven't played Mancala, you're in for a treat. You grab a cup full of stones and deposit a stone in each cup as you move around the board. The goal is to get as many stones inside your goal, or "mancala." This happens through normal gameplay, but also if your last stone lands in an empty cup on your side of the board, you steal all the stones from the opposite cup. And if you place your last stone in your own mancala, you get to go again!
Each turn presents a challenge - which cup should I start with? The more your kid plays, the more sophisticated their understanding of the game will be. They'll start anticipating their opponent's moves, planning ahead and setting up powerful counterattacks. In short, they'll be thinking strategically, using the most obvious tool available: math!
Click here to buy Mancala on Amazon (affiliate link)
Connect 4 - Add to 10 Variation
Connect 4 is a classic for a reason - it has a simple set of rules, but a complex set of strategy. The traditional game is fantastic for helping your child develop their spatial reasoning and strategic thinking.
But if you want to raise the challenge a bit, you can grab a Sharpie and make the Add to 10 variation. Take each checker and mark it with a number from 1 to 4 - I like to put the numeral on one side and the dot arrangement from dice on the other side. The rules are the same, except you win when you line up checkers in such a way that they sum to 10.
You'll notice that the strategy changes quite a bit! Now your kids can win with three, four, or five checkers in a row, depending on which numbers those checkers represent. Most importantly, they are pairing an arithmetic challenge with a spatial one, thinking constantly about numbers, spaces, and strategy.
And if your kids get sick of the Add to 10 variation, you can always ignore the numerals and play the original version. Win win!
Click here to buy Connect 4 on Amazon (affiliate link)
Knock-Out
Last week, I recommended Shut the Box, which is one of my all-time favorites. Knock-Out feels like a spiritual sequel to Shut the Box, taking the best aspects of that game and turning it into a more complex, two-player game.
You roll three dice, add them together, and then split that sum up into different whole numbers. So if you roll a total of 15, you might split the number into 1, 6, and 8 or perhaps 2, 3, and 10 or even 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
You claim those whole numbers with your tokens and then pass the dice to your opponent. The goal is to claim a number twice, at which point it is "locked" and cannot be used by either player.
Before you get that chance to claim a number twice, your opponent might choose to knock you out of that space, claiming it for themself!
Like many of the games shared here, Knock-Out perfectly combines strategic thinking with arithmetic fluency. Your kids will do dozens of addition and subtraction problems in their heads, turning these problems into known facts over time. And they'll be having so much fun, it won't even feel like math practice.