More Math Games & Activities from Around the World

More Math Games & Activities from Around the World — page 7
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