Math Game Monday: Push the Penny

Many parents remember struggling to learn math. We hope to provide a better experience for our children.

And one of the best ways for children to enjoy learning is through hands-on play.

This game offers young children a chance to practice counting and early addition skills while racing to beat their parents.

Push the Penny

Math Concepts: addition to one hundred, thinking ahead.

Players: two or more.

Equipment: playing cards (remove face cards and jokers), a hundred chart, and a penny or other small token.

Set-Up

Print a hundred chart for players to share. You may choose any style you like: 1–100, 0–99, top-down, or bottoms up.

The 23-page printable (pdf) Number Game Printables Pack file includes hundred charts, graph paper, and game boards from the first two Math You Can Play books.

How to Play

Deal three cards per player and set the rest of the deck face down as a draw pile. Place the chart in the middle of the table, with the penny on the first square.

On your turn, lay one card from your hand face up on the discard pile. Move the penny forward that many squares, and then draw to replenish your hand.

If adding the number on your card would move the penny past one hundred, then you must subtract your number and move backward instead. Whoever pushes the penny to one hundred by exact count wins the game.

Variations

Play two cards from your hand and choose whether you want to add or subtract the numbers to find out how far the penny moves.

Or start at one hundred and push the penny down to number one.

History

My math club students have enjoyed playing a variety of count-to-one-hundred games. This version is a modification of the 99 Game from Julie Reulbach’s collection “Math Games for Classrooms.”