More Math Games & Activities from Around the World
around the world a follow up to my Math Games and Activities from Around the world Here you will find more versions of three in a row games and Mankala old games going back hundreds and thousands of years to Africa as well as less familiar games from many lands Children in Mongolia in the Far East of Asia play games similar to Tic Tac Toe on several kinds of boards Kids in other parts of Asia pretend that tigers eat lambs in their board games Other activities deal with your own environment and beliefs How can you save water and precious materials Do you think that some numbers are more lucky than others You will find out why magic squares are magic You will learn to make beautiful designs and copy some of the lovely patterns in quilts and other objects and perhaps read books about these designs All these games and activities use math Some of the math is different from math you learn in school ideas like fractals in Native American baskets and networks from West Africa and India Read the hints and suggestions and don't give up Perhaps you will want to discuss the problems with your friends or a grown up A few of the activities have answers in the back of the book Most are self checking You can decide whether your answer makes sense If it doesn't you will have the satisfaction of finding the reason even if it takes a while Most of the board games are for two players or
teams You can also work out strategy by playing the games by yourself Pretend that you are two people and play both sides of the board Of course everyone likes to win But if one player is always the winner the other player is always the loser and may give up Help your opponent to learn better strategies and the game will become more interesting for you Win ning isn't everything I hope you and your friends have fun with this
1 Three in a Row Games In most parts of the world people play some form of three in a row games The object of the game is to place your three markers in a row on the game board You have probably played Tic Tac Toe Many of these games are more complicated than Tic Tac Toe All the games are for two players sometimes for two teams You can also play them by yourself Pre tend that you are two people and play on both sides of the board This is a good way to learn a new game or to work out the fine points of strategy as though you were solving a puzzle The games in this chapter gradually become more complicated They begin with a simple game called Nine Holes from England with three counters for each player As you go through the chapter the games will require more counters Finally you come to Murabaraba from southern Africa in which each player starts with 12 counters Of course the game board also becomes more complex as you go from one game to the next In the last activity you will analyze the connection between the type of game board and the number of counters These games call for two kinds of counters or markers Kings and princes used to play with beauti ful pieces made of gold and ivory Ordinary people used stones or seeds or peeled and unpeeled twigs You can also use red and black checkers or two kinds
of coins or make your own special counters Game boards for three in a row games have been found scratched in the stones of the rooftop of an ancient Egyptian temple built 3 300 years ago and in several other ancient sites The games in this book come from many parts of the world Look up these places on a map or globe Wherever you might travel you will probably find that people play some version of these games Although you may not be able to speak their lan guages you can make friends all over the world with three in a row games TIPS TO THREE IN A ROW FUN Three in a row games require several types of game boards You will probably want boards that will last for a while Draw the lines neatly with a ruler on paper and glue the paper to cardboard or mat board It's a good idea to make a pattern on a sheet of scratch paper first Some people play games just to win and they get upset when they lose Playing a game should be fun When one player always wins the other player must always lose and may give up after a while Helping an opponent to improve his or her skills makes the game more interesting for both players Each player should have an equal chance of win ning In some games the first player to move is more likely to win Players should take turns going first in
