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Hard Times

This game is designed to offer children plenty of opportunities to practice those troublesome times tables; the 6x, 7x, 8x and 9x. The game is for two players, you need the Hard Times board, the Hard Times number cards, and a set of counters – 8 of one colour and 8 of another.

The Hard Times board is a grid of 16 squares with 16 product cards.

The players place the board between them. Shuffle the 16 product cards face down on the table. One card is then chosen (without being looked at) and slid face down under the main board. The players now take it in turns to place their 8 counters on the board. Where they place the counters is up to them, but after they have played a few times they may begin to work out a strategy.

When all of the counters have been played on the board the players begin taking it in turns to turn over any of the face-down product cards.

times table game

On their turn, they see where the product card would fit on the board; if the space is occupied by one of their own counters they can play the card and keep the counter. If the space is occupied by their opponent’s counter then they replace the card and mix them again.

Over time, counters will be moved from the board, replaced by product cards, and collected by the players.

times table maths activity

The game will end with one player’s counter still on the board (belonging to the product card hidden earlier)

The winner is the player who manages to ‘rescue’ all of his/her counters.

fun maths games

Here 'Red' won! 63 had been under the board from the beginning and 'Yellow' couldn't play their last piece.

Tip – we've found that if you keep the face down cards in a shallow box (or upturned lid) it will make mixing and choosing easier. The whole thing could even be covered by a cloth during the mixing if you think the players may be devising ways to cheat!

The attached download consists of a high quality four page pdf - teacher instructions, two game boards and two sets of coloured 'product cards' to cut out.

maths teaching resource - times table game

As far as we are aware, this is another unique mathsticks-original maths game... yes, the winner is purely chosen by luck, but that doesn't stop it being educational and great fun to play.

mathsticks+ members get access to an additional version of this maths resource.

Please note:
this resource is not part of the Creative Commons Licence, and is copyright Mathsticks 2011

If you found this maths game useful please spare a couple of seconds to tell others about it.
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24 Comments

Fantastic - I will be using

Submitted by kristy.barry on Wed, 05/15/2013 - 03:33.

Fantastic - I will be using this for my top Year 3 group! Thank you

I downloaded this game a year

Submitted by class4c on Fri, 11/30/2012 - 18:18.

I downloaded this game a year ago, laminated it and it is still going strong. It is a favourite with my top ability year 4's. One of the many fantastic resources from this site.

This really focuses the

Submitted by kmor on Sat, 11/24/2012 - 09:51.

This really focuses the children who say I don't know the tables. They often know very many of them, this resource demonstrates that there are really only these few multiplication facts which have still to be learned. I like the 'mystery' touch to this game.Also the reducing number of counters let's me know how they are progressing and work out their finish time. Lots of fun !

This is actually the reason

Submitted by nmsunsetangel on Sun, 11/18/2012 - 19:12.

This is actually the reason that I joined this website!! I saw this game on Pinterest and followed the links to download it. (I'm glad I did because now I have access to so many other awesome resources!) However, when I first saw the game I thought it was a multiplication version of Connect 4. Now that I have seen the full directions, I think there may be too many steps for my SPED students to remember. My modification will be to print the blue and orange answer tiles so that each player gets all of the answers in their own color (eliminating the confusion of what to do with the chips) and then they will take turns putting the answer to which ever factor pair they choose. They will "win" if they get 4-in-a-row. The students will be reviewing their multiplication and be coming up with strategies to "block" their opponent from winning! Thanks!

That's a great adatation, and

Submitted by johdu on Wed, 11/21/2012 - 00:23.

That's a great adatation, and very helpful feedback. Thank you. I understand why you may have thought this was a maths version of Connect 4 - since the counters we used are from an old Connect 4 game. They were the perfect size. But, yes, I can see that elements of this may be layering on confusion for some children, so you adaptation makes this a cleaner, clearer maths game.

Thanks.

This game is so helpful! It's

Submitted by Cathryn Jackson on Fri, 11/16/2012 - 15:07.

This game is so helpful! It's going to be a homework activity in preparation for a times tables focus week next week. Hopefully the children will get a head start with the trickiest bits of the tables. Thanks!

This game reminds me of the

Submitted by kathyhelfrich on Mon, 08/27/2012 - 12:30.

This game reminds me of the gameshow with the suitcases that are opened with different money values inside. For the life of me, I can't recall the name of the gameshow, but anyways, I think the mystery product element of the game adds a neat motivational twist to practicing the tough facts. This will definitely be part of my math workshop rotation.

I'm not sure if you are

Submitted by johdu on Sat, 09/01/2012 - 20:10.

I'm not sure if you are thinking of 'Deal or no deal' - that's the UK version. But, yes, the mystery element adds something that helps to keep the children focussed. Good to hear that it is working well for you. John

This looks like fun for my

Submitted by auntiebarb on Mon, 07/02/2012 - 05:05.

This looks like fun for my more able students as it is more than just recall - they can think strategically as well.

A brilliant resource for

Submitted by helenoxley on Mon, 06/11/2012 - 23:13.

A brilliant resource for making tricky x tables fun!

You could easily adapt this

Submitted by charliechips on Sun, 02/12/2012 - 17:19.

You could easily adapt this for older children For example instead of 6 x 6 you could have 60 x 60 to help reinforce using multiplication facts when multiplying higher numbers. So on the board game each number would be a tens rather than a units number. Or instead of 6 x 6 you could have 6 x 0.6 for a decimal version again reinforcing multuplication facts. Will be doing this for my year 6 class!

Thank you for your feedback.

Submitted by johdu on Tue, 02/14/2012 - 22:20.

Thank you for your feedback. Yes, this maths resource can be adapted to meet a range of different teaching or learning needs... I like you notion of using decimal numbers too. Cheers..

An excellent game to use

Submitted by littlemisssunshine on Sat, 02/11/2012 - 13:52.

An excellent game to use with those tricky times tables!!

My children have loved

Submitted by charliechips on Tue, 01/31/2012 - 11:57.

My children have loved playing this game and it has improved their knowledge of the times tables very quickly.

Perfect for the time

Submitted by maths on Mon, 12/26/2011 - 16:49.

Perfect for the time tables!!!

I am definetly use this

Submitted by Ozgur on Sun, 12/04/2011 - 17:38.

I am definetly use this activity during the last week of the term. It will be a good idea to do some Maths in a fun way.

This game has saved me so

Submitted by bottle_blonde on Sun, 11/20/2011 - 22:25.

This game has saved me so much time! Another fun game that can be used to reinforce multiplication. Thank you!

perfect for the times tables

Submitted by marika t on Sun, 11/20/2011 - 21:08.

perfect for the times tables which are most difficult to learn!

A great site and a simple but

Submitted by zwilkinson on Tue, 10/11/2011 - 12:37.

A great site and a simple but effective game - have used something similar before, but this is better!

What a brilliant site - only

Submitted by BobbiHan on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 18:27.

What a brilliant site - only just found it by accident! I have downloaded the measures pairs game -- brilliant ,clear graphics and simple to play Thank you