Defensive Struggle

Looking for a fun way to practice your addition facts? This game combines strategy with math! You and your child will battle to control the game board and earn points. Your child will be using their addition facts constantly as they consider where to place their cards. You’ll see them improve in their speed and accuracy in no time!

Skills:

• Addition
• Strategy

What You Need:

• One deck of playing cards (Print a deck.)
• One Defensive Struggle game board (Print out two copies of the attachment and tape them together to make a 4x4 game board.)
• Pencil and paper (to record scores)

What You Do:

1. Create the game board by printing out two copies of the attachment and taping them together to create a 4x4 grid.
2. Use all of the aces, twos, threes, and fours from the deck. Divide the aces through fours into red and black cards. Give each player (or team) either the red or black aces through fours.
3. Players take turns placing any one of their cards in an empty space on the game board.
4. Whenever a player finishes a line of four cards (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) that adds up to 10, that player earns ten points. (If your child is still a beginning counter, help them add up the cards by pointing to the symbols on each card as you count together.)
5. Play continues until all spaces on the board are filled. The player with the most points wins.

Variations:

• Play until 100 points. Each time the board is filled, clear it, redistribute the cards, and keep going.
• Play best out of 3 rounds or best out of 5 rounds.
• Use a 3x3 board and only Ace through 3s (Sum = 6). Or use a 5x5 board with Ace through 5s (Sum = 15).
• Use different numbers. For example, take just the 3s through 6s out of the deck. Adjust the total of each row to 18, or another number of your choosing. (A good way to determine an appropriate total is to add up the cards you’ve chosen. In this example, 3+4+5+6 = 18.)
• Keep the 4x4 board and the Ace through 4s, but use multiplication instead of addition. Change the total for each row to 24.