Basic Multiplication Facts Games

For many kids, learning multiplication facts is a frustrating but necessary task. Multiplication games allow students to practice their multiplication tables while at the same time getting to play a game. The gaming aspect makes studying multiplication less tedious and more enjoyable.

Houses

Houses is a multiplication game for two people which can be played with one, two or several multiplication tables at once. To begin with, draw a rectangular box on a whiteboard with a little decorative roof. Write the name of the times table you are using on the roof. For example, you could write "8s" or "8x." Make a grid of 3 rows of 4 multiplication problems in order. The leftmost one is 8 x 1, the next is 8 x 2 and so on, up to 8 x 12. The object of the game is to get as many combinations of 3 in a row as possible.

To begin the game, the first player picks one of the problems and solves it. The next solves one in a different color marker. When the game is over, both players tally all the sets of three in a row they have. Any three problems in a row count, so if player 1 solve the first four problems, he gets two points--one for problems 1 through 3 and another one for problems 2 through 4. For a more involved game, put two or three houses side by side, each representing a different multiplication table.

Dice

There are many different dice games that use multiplication facts. One simple one uses two 10-sided dice. Players take turns rolling both dice and multiplying the results. They then add the result to their previous total. Players can play until one player gets 500 points, or decide to stop the game after 8 rounds. For a simpler variation, roll one die at a time and multiply it by whatever multiplication family you are studying. For example, if you are studying fives and you roll a six, you would multiply 6 x 5 to get 30 points.

Board Games

Many board games can be turned into multiplication games by substituting the six-sided dice with one or two 10-sided dice and throwing in a multiplication problem every turn. For example, to play multiplication Monopoly, exchange the two sixes for 10s. Each turn, the player rolls the dice and multiplies each by a particular table before moving. For example, if you were playing 7s Monopoly and rolled a three and a six, you would have to say, "Three times seven equals 21 and six times seven equals 42" before moving nine spaces.