Last Draw

Critical thinking is an important skill! Play this card game with your child and practice using a variety of strategies. As you play, open up a dialogue about what the best possible moves are. This will help your child develop decision making and problem solving skills that are necessary to succeed in math!

All you need to get started is a deck of playing cards. Lay them out face down in a grid and take turns removing groups of cards. Successfully avoid drawing the last card, and you'll win!

Skill:

• Strategy/Critical Thinking

What You Need:

• One deck of playing cards (Print a deck.)

What You Do:

1. Shuffle the deck of cards. Place 16 cards face down in a 4x4 array.
2. Each player takes turns removing one or more cards from the same row or column. Cards that are removed must be adjoining with no gaps between them.
3. The player who draws the last card loses.

Variations:

• For younger players, play the game with 9 cards in a 3x3 array.
• For a more challenging game, play with more cards in a larger array.
• Change the rules so that the winner is the player who takes the last card.