Coffee Table or Game Table – Are you Game?

19 Jul Coffee Table or Game Table – Are you Game?

Note to my tribe:  This post contains affiliate links to games I actually have, I actually play, and actually recommend. Want them too?  Feel free to use the links in this post.

My son, who just recently turned 10, is a game lover.  He loves a good puzzle, board game, or card game. I love card games the most, but I have found a few games that get double points from me because they are 1) Educational–they work on important math skills and 2) they work for many age groups.  My daughter (12) likes games, but she has to be forced a bit to play. So, finding games that don’t feel like work or math practice is an extra challenge for me. 

I decided this summer that I would put out one or two games on the coffee table each week and just wait to see what happened.  I loved having a game table in my classroom. Just a place where there were always brain teasers, a good puzzle and perhaps one other easy game that didn’t require a start and a stop.  I found the best games for the game table were ones where students could go place a piece, play a round, etc. without investing in a full game. 

So, I wondered what would happen if I didn’t say anything and did the same thing at home.  I have been pleasantly surprised. I tried this earlier in the school year and set out Shut The Box  on my kitchen table.  That very night, an impromptu game of Shut the Box ensued while we ate our pork chops and green beans.  I left it on the table, and my son played himself during breakfast. We got several good rounds of the game in during those first few days.

Shut The Box is a great game for addition and subtraction facts.  One person rolls the die and then he/she has to put down any of the remaining digits that equal the sum on the die.  The more addends the better as you want to put down as many of the numbers as you can. As long as you can put down numbers, you keep rolling.  Your goal being to “Shut the Box” by getting all numbers down. Once you can’t put numbers down, you count what is left and that’s your score to compete against the other player (lowest score wins).  It’s easy, can be played in groups or individually. We even made up our own rules to include subtraction, for example, You roll 8. So you say, “10-4 = 6 + 2 = 8” and then you got to put down 4 numbers.  We tried making up variations with multiplication and division, too, and are still working on that. Of course, strategy comes into play and the mental math is AWESOME. Both my 10 and 12 years old enjoyed this game, but I could definitely see it being prime material in k-3rd grade.

After my success with Shut the Box, I thought I would try some other games on the coffee table.  I put out a Tetris Puzzle I found on Amazon.  I have a deep-rooted love for the Tetris video game, and I wanted something similar that was more hands-on and not tech bound. 

WINNER WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER.  

This Tetris Puzzle has gotten SO MUCH USE.  Both my kids randomly grab it and have found several different solutions.  Neighbor kids come over and they grab it too. It’s a great logic and spatial reasoning game.  We’ve had kids ages 6-13 play the game as it sits on the coffee table. 

Mobi reminds me of a lot of dominoes.  You build chains of equations until all of your numbers and operations are gone.  Can’t make a move? Both players grab the additional number of pieces. This game can be played with all four operations, or you could play with just two (add/sub or mult/divide).  This makes the game great for all ages. This is great fact practice as you are racing against your partner but also uses some strategy and logic to be able to use all of your pieces.  Although it is meant to be played in pairs, I set it on the coffee table to see if kids would just start making equation chains, and sure enough– they did!

Rubiks Cube.  The ultimate fidget toy.  My son happens to be a master of these things.  We have them in all sorts of sizes, colors, etc.  Strategically placed around my house, including on the coffee table, they provide hands-on logic fun and don’t involve any devices.  I even find myself picking them up and messing with them as I hold conversations, watch TV, etc.

What other games or puzzles do you love that you can suggest for us to have on our coffee tables or at a game table at school? Shoot me a note below!   I’ll keep you updated on my new finds as well! Game On, Friends!

P.S. Over the weekend we finally got to try out a game I’ve had for about a month,Math for Love Prime Climb.  It has SO many variations but forces kids to think strategically and use math facts of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, single digit, double digit, prime numbers, etc.  Great for all ages as you play what you know!  I am thinking you could do this as a classroom game, but if on a game table, have a recording sheet where anyone who walks up to play has to log ‘their moves.’  Maybe each table group is a different color player and the table tries to get to the finish line throughout the week.  Hmmmmm…..tell me how it goes!