Board Games for Cognitive Development in Math

Math Board Games

• EducationalLearningGames.com provides math skill games. The Payday Game requires players to manage paychecks, bills and expenses. Two other real-word math games are Department Store Math and Bank Account Game. In Big Deal Money, players deal in properties and taxes while in Decisions Stock Market Money Management players trade in stocks.

  For abstract thinking, Equate requires the players to create math equations in a crossword puzzle format. In Crosstown Coordinates Graphing, players are on a scavenger hunt and maneuver through town via plotting and graphing. For multiple levels of cognitive thinking, try Integer Chess.

  Riding The Word Problem Train Into History provides interdisciplinary studies as it incorporates historical events with word problems. Other word problem games include Measure Up For The Real World, in which players develop measurement knowledge while exploring potential careers.

Create Board Games

• Take a classic game such as Monopoly and upgrade it. Require players to pay taxes on properties and houses when passing "Go." Replace the dice with a deck of equation cards. The student draws a card, then solves the equation. The solution is the number of spaces to move. If the student cannot solve the equation, he loses his turn and the next player can solve the equation or draw another one.

  Make Bingo cards. If the cards have answers on them, draw out equations and write them on the board. The students solve the equation, then see if they have that answer. Otherwise, draw out numbers, and the students must determine if that number solves an equation on their card.

  Create games by cannibalizing other games for money, spinners and playing pieces. Using cardboard and paints, markers or printed images, create your own playing board.