the math you learn in school If a puzzle or activity doesn't work out at first just keep trying Read the hints and suggestions carefully You might want to discuss the problem with a friend teacher or family member Two heads are better than one Most of the activities are self checking you will know whether they are correct See Chapter 10 for the answers to some of these activities but you prob ably won't need them It's much more satisfying to work out the solution yourself even if it takes a while In this book you will read about two types of games for two or more people games of strategy and games of chance Some games require a game board and certain types of playing pieces or counters Players must decide how they are going to move their pieces on the board These are called games of strate gy Another kind of game depends upon the way the pieces fall The players have no control over the out come of the game and such games are called games of chance It is interesting to see how a game changes as it travels from one place to another and is passed along from ancient times to the present Three in a row games and mankala games are good examples You will learn several versions of each of these games The games of strategy require several types of game boards Although you can draw them on paper you will probably want boards that last for a while Use sections of cardboard or mat board and draw the
lines neatly with the help of a ruler It's a good idea to make a pattern on a sheet of scratch paper first Be sure you measure carefully Many of these games call for two kinds of counters or markers Kings and princes used to play with beautiful pieces made of gold and ivory Ordina people used pebbles seeds or bits of twig peeled and unpeeled You can use red and black checkers or two kinds of coins beans or buttons Or you might like to make your own special counters Most of the games of strategy are for two players or two teams You can also play them by yourself Pretend 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 Some people play games just to win and 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 oppo nent to improve his or her skills makes the game more interesting for both players In traditional games of strategy for two players one side wins and the other side loses Each player should have an equal chance of winning In some games the first player to move is more likely to win Players should take turns going first in this type of game Perhaps you can figure out changes in the rules so that both players are winners Cooperation may be more rewarding than
You may want to vary the games A slight change in the rules or in the shape of the game board or in the number of counters may call for an entirely dif ferent strategy Just be sure that both players agree on the new rules before the game starts Most important have
Three in a Row Games Il over the world children play some form of a three in a row game for two players Tic tac toe is one example of such a game The object of the game is to be the first player to get three mark ers in a row on the game board It seems that people were playing such games long before the time of your great grandparents More than one hundred years ago scientists exam ining the rooftop of an ancient Egyptian temple found several strange diagrams carved in the sand stone slabs They looked like this Figure 0
