Mary’s Game

Year 2
2 2
Purpose

Fluency with addition and subtraction using numbers 1 - 6.

Materials
• 2 six-sided dice or Spinner Board (Blue spinner).
• (Optional) School Friendly Cards, where the cards are turned face down once completed.

Organisation

A game for two players.

Aim

To cover the most numbers by 10 turns.

Rules
• Players take it in turns to throw the 2 dice (or use the spinner board twice). Players use addition
or subtraction to make a number from 0 to 12.
If the values shown on the dice are 4 and 2, the player may shade 6 (4 + 2) or 2 (4 – 2).
• The player with the most numbers covered after 10 turns each is the winner.

Player 1

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12
Player 2

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12

© Paul Swan 2020 2 www.drpaulswan.com.au

 A game for 2-4 players Rules: Players take turns to flick the spinner and place that

Year 2
Materials: many counters, all the same colour (eg red), on their board.
Race To TWENTY A game board & 20 two-colour counters per player. On the next turn counters of a different colour (eg yellow)
Aim: To be the first player to reach 20. are placed on to the board.

© Paul Swan 2020

Race to Twenty

3
4 1
3 2
1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
© PAUL SWAN
www.drpaulswan.com.au

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1
Add It Up
Years 3-4
2 1
Purpose

Children will practise addition.

Materials
• A pack of School Friendly playing cards or regular cards with the picture cards removed.

Organisation

A game for two players.

Aim

To win the most cards.

Rules
• Place the deck face-down in between both players.
• Give each player 6 cards.
• Flip out two cards in between the two players.
• Players take turns;
• I f they can put down one or more cards that add up to the sum of the two cards on the table,
they can claim all the cards for their score pile.
• Otherwise, they pick up a card.
• Play until all cards are used or until no more moves can be made.
• The player with the most cards at the end of the game is the winner.

© Paul Swan 2020 1 www.drpaulswan.com.au

Number Board Navigation
Years 3-4
1 1
Purpose Organisation Rules
Practise + - operations. A game for one player. • Start at 1.

Materials • Spin the 1-6 spinner or roll a die.

Aim
• Choose to add or subtract.
• A number board;
To get to a shaded square. • Falling in a pit subtracts 10.
• Spinner Board (Number)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70

71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80

81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90

91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110

111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120

© Paul Swan 2020 2 www.drpaulswan.com.au

Avoiding Seven
Year 4
2 2
Purpose

To add single-digit and two-digit numbers. To explore probability, the chance of rolling a sum of
seven with two dice.

Materials
• 2 × six-sided dice or the 1-6 spinner,
• Pencil and paper.

Organisation

A game for two or more players.

Aim

To be the first player to reach 100 points.

Rules
• Players one rolls the two dice, keeping a running total as they go. Player one keeps rolling and
adding to their score. At any time the player may ‘rest’ keeping their accumulated score for that
round. If however, the player rolls a seven all the accumulated points for that round are lost.
• Player two then keeps rolling until a seven comes up or they decide to rest.
• The first player to reach 100 points is the winner.

© Paul Swan 2020 6 www.drpaulswan.com.au

 Hit Miss Bullseye
Years 3+
2
Purpose
To use place value knowledge and reasoning to determine the
correct order of the digits.
Materials
• 1 × Hit Miss Bullseye Recording Sheet,
• Pencil.
Organisation
A game for two players.
Aim
To get three bullseyes.
Rules
• Player 1 chooses a three-digit number where all of the digits
are different. This number should be written on a separate piece of paper.
• Player 2 states a three-digit number.
• Player 1 states the number of hits, misses and bullseyes.
• A hit is a digit that is correct, but not in the right position.
• A bullseye is a digit that is both correct and in the right position,

• Player 2 uses the recording sheet to keep track of his/her guesses.

• Once you have three bullseyes you have guessed the number.
• Players swap roles.
• The winner is the player who requires the least number of guesses to identify the number.
• Discuss any strategies that you use when playing the game.
• Are some strategies better than others? Explain.
Example: Chosen Number: 471
Guess Digits Hit Bullseye
1 2 3 1 0
3 2 1 0 1
5 4 1 1 1
5 2 1 0 1
4 9 1 0 2
4 8 1 0 2
4 7 1 3

Variations
• Try four-digit numbers.

© Paul Swan 2020 1 www.drpaulswan.com.au

 Hit Miss Bullseye
Years 3+
2
Guess Digits Hit Bullseye Guess Digits Hit Bullseye

© Paul Swan 2020 2 www.drpaulswan.com.au

Battleship
Years 5-6, 7+
2
Purpose

To practise coordinates.

Materials
• A Game Sheet (cut in half) and
• a pen(cil).

Organisation

A game for two players.

Aim

The aim is to be the first player to sink your opponent’s ships.

Fleet
• 1 battleship, 5 dots in a row,
• 1 cruiser 3 dots in a row,
• 2 destroyers 2 dots in a row each.

Rules
• Place your fleet. Do not let your opponent see it.
• Players take turns to name any position they wish to hit. Use co-ordinates to call your shots.
• If you hit your opponent’s ship he/she must say “HIT”, otherwise he/she says “MISS”
• Use your other grid to keep track of your shots.
• A ship sinks only when all dots are hit.

© Paul Swan 2020 2 www.drpaulswan.com.au

 Battleship (Game Sheet)
Years 5-6
2

Player 1
My Fleet Locations Shots at Opponent’s Fleet
10 10
9 9
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Player 2
My Fleet Locations Shots at Opponent’s Fleet
10 10
9 9
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

© Paul Swan 2020 3 www.drpaulswan.com.au

Ship Shape
Years 5-6, 7+
2
Purpose

To practise coordinates.
My Fleet Locations
Materials 10
• A Game Sheet (cut in half) and 9
• a pen(cil). 8
7
Organisation
6
A game for two players. 5
Aim 4
3
The aim is to be the first player to sink your
opponent’s ships.
2
1
Fleet
0
• 1. square 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
• 2. any quadrilateral other than a square
• 3. triangle

Rules
• This game is played along the same lines as Battleships, except that instead of placing
battleships (lines) on your grid, you draw shapes.
• Mark the vertices (corners) of these shapes on your grid.
• You and your opponent take turns calling the co-ordinates of a point.
• If your opponent calls the co-ordinates of a point you have marked, you must cross this out and
tell him/her what they hit.
• The first player to find all of their opponent’s marked points is winner.

Example
• Player a calls (3, 1) and this hits the corner of a square. Player B must say “hit square”. All four
vertices of the square need to be hit to eliminate this shape from the game. The winner is the
first player to locate all of the shapes.

© Paul Swan 2020 4 www.drpaulswan.com.au

 Ship Shape (Game Sheet)
Years X
2

Player 1
My Fleet Locations Shots at Opponent’s Fleet
10 10
9 9
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Player 2
My Fleet Locations Shots at Opponent’s Fleet
10 10
9 9
8 8
7 7
6 6
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

© Paul Swan 2020 5 www.drpaulswan.com.au