Math is an essential skill and the faster you are at doing it in your head the better. I think we can all agree with this. But math isn’t often fun—work sheets, number lines, times tables—there’s not too many of us who have ever wanted to do those just for fun. So what’s a parent to do? We want our kids to blossom but we don’t want to nag. So we created a list of our Top 12 sneaky math dice games!
Dice games are a great way to sneak in some math. Weather it’s the start of the school year, holiday break, spring break, summer vacation or just when math feels tough, dice games are a fun way to get some practice in. You’ll be having so much fun playing that the kids won’t even notice that they’re doing math!
I will admit that although I loved math class as a kid (crazy I know) my mental math is not my strong suit. (I’m much more a “give me an algebra problem and I’ll solve it” kinda girl.) But I will say that even as an adult I have found that my mental math skills have increased due to our Friday night dice games.
So let’s get to the list of games that are not only fun but sneaky math.
Amazing Dice
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To start, I would like to say that just about any dice game has some math in it. For little ones dice are a great number recognition tool. They help with counting and help with probity awareness. Dice games even help with critical thinking, memory skills, focus and concentration. I told you dice are amazing!
A great way to get kids on board even more is to have everyone have their own set in their favorite colour. This is great for a number of reasons. First, we love not having to pass dice around and waiting for someone to pass them.
Second, kids love being in charge of their own set. Third, you can play while eating dinner and not have to worry about using someone else’s messy dice! (And after dinner you can give those dice a quick wipe and they’re as good as new.) If you need some new dice, or want to get everyone’s colour, shop dice here. Canadians here.
Top Sneaky Math Dice Game: Beat That
Beat That is a fast game that can be changed into any number of games. The name says it all: two players who are trying to get a higher roll than the other. For very young players, just one dice is used. Then you graduate to two dice and then to 20 sided dice and even to place values and multiplication! This game really is a math teacher’s dream. To learn how to play and see all the ways to play check out the post here.
Top Sneaky Math Dice Game: Shut the Box
This sneak math game started as a pub game, but don’t worry it’s completely kid friendly. Player’s take turns roll their dice and seeing what numbers they can put together to “shut” numbers on the board. This is great for critical thinking. Do you shut the 7 when you roll a 3 and 4 or do you shut the hard to roll 3 and 4. There are multiple ways to play including having only the numbers to 9 or 10 or 12 on the board. You can also play with just addition, with addition and subtraction, place value and more. To learn all the ways to play Shut the Box read the full game info here. There’s also a similar game called Everest that has a different twist.
Dice Game Ohio
Ohio is one of our family’s favorite Friday dice game. Players take turns rolling three dice and seeing how far up the board that they can get by adding together or using the dice individually. This game really teaches you the different combos to make the numbers from 1 to 12. There’s lots of addition in this game and it’s so fun that the math is sneaky! Learn how to play here and get your free score board in the Fun Library. (You can get your password in the black box below.)
Sneak Math Game: Ants
This game I created when my oldest daughter was learning how to do addition. I wanted to give her a game to play but make it a co-operative game so that we all either won or lost. I have fond memories of sitting on the floor with both girls, rolling dice and celebrating when we didn’t get doubles and therefore got to add to our side or booing when we rolled doubles and giving the points to the ants who were trying to take all our picnic food. Read the full rules here and you can get a free score sheet in the Fun Library.
Sneaky Math Game: Pig
To continue the animal theme our next sneak math dice game is Pig. This is a very simple press-your-luck kind of game that needs only one die. On your turn, you roll the dice and then decide if you want to stop and take the score or risk it and roll again to add to your score. There is one catch: if you roll a 1 then you lose all of the points you’ve accumulated. The first time we played with my Dad he almost won the whole game on his first turn—until he rolled the 1 and ended up with no score that turn! The kids loved watching that! To learn how to play, visit the post here.
Cops and Robbers: Another Sneaky game
This game steals the boredom in math. It’s a four player game where two players are robbers and two are cops. You roll and subtract your score from the total to see who will win. Will the cops catch the robbers or will the robbers get away? It’s a little bit more obvious math than some of the other games but who can resist a good game of Cops and Robbers? Visit the post here to learn to play and get your score sheet in the Fun Library.
Sneaky Math Dice Game: Going to Boston
Our next game is Going to Boston. This is an old game where players are trying to get the highest score over three rolls. There are plenty ways of mixing this up with adding two and then subtracting one. Or you can throw in some multiplication. To learn to play and see all the ways to play visit the post here.
Santa’s Sleigh A Sneaky Math Game
Although Santa’s Sleigh is a holiday game, our family plays throughout the year. This is another one of our most favorite games. You could change it to whatever season you’re in or to suit a family interest. Or you can be like us and play Christmas all year! In the game, you have to roll a Santa (1), and elf (3) and a sled (6) before you can load your sled with presents which is your score. We have lots of memories around this game and we practiced some math while we were at it! To learn how to play visit the post here.
Sneaky Math Dice Game: Stuck in the Mud
This is another family favorite. In Stuck in the Mud, players have to avoid rolling this dice into the mud (2s or 5s) to add to their score. You keep a running tally of your score until all of your dice are stuck in the mud. Players of all ages love this game. To learn how to play, visit the post here.
Sneaky Math Dice Game: Blizzard
This is yet another seasonal game that we play all year. In this original game, players are trying to make the best blizzard as they can. Played over three rounds, each round has its own rules and sneaks in math by matching, addition and sequencing. It’s a fun way to embrace the snow or cool off on hot summer days. Visit the post to learn how each round is played.
10,000 Another Sneak Game
The dice game 10,000 is a combination of press your luck, luck and quick decisions. Players have to have a 1000 points to “open” and then can choose to roll on other player’s rolls, keep rolling or play it safe and take the points. It’s a little more complicated to play but once you get the hang of it, it’s hours of fun. We have an easy to use score sheet in the Fun Library too. Visit the post here to get the low down on this game. We even have a book with the rules and tons of score sheets that make score a breeze. See the book here; Canadians here.
Sneaky Math Dice Game: Bank
Bank is another great game to sneak some math in. All players use the same roll. They have to decide as the total keeps climbing if they are going to bank the money or if they are going to risk it and wait for the next roll. The high of a good decision is awesome but there’s just as much heart break as you watch your money be whisked away when there’s a bad roll. You can learn all about Bank and all of it’s highs and lows here. There’s a score sheet in the Fun Library too. (Be sure to grab your password in the black box to get all the fun.)
Fun Math Everywhere
As I said at the beginning, just about every game that has a dice has some sneaky math in it. What better way to get your kids adding, subtracting and even multiply than when they’re playing and don’t even notice that they’re doing math!
If you want to invest in some new dice and your family’s math fun shop dice here. Canadians here.
Be sure to check out our Family Game Shelf shop where you’ll find printable instructions for all the games mentioned here in our rules section as well as some original games like our Whacky Putt mini golf game and our secret mission Dice Sticks!
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