Kids Math Games:
Best Board And Card Games
To Teach Math

Teaching homeschool math can be a struggle, so it's brilliant to find the best kids math games to do all the work for you.

Board and card games for teaching math

These games come top of the list recommended by 2,000 homeschool families as their favorites.

N.B. At the bottom of the page is a link to a video by a qualified teacher saying games like these are by far the best way to teach math and work far better than anything else you can do.

The Winners

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#1

Prime Climb
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Fun Game Great For Math

Overview: In Prime Climb players race to be the first to get to the center of the board while avoiding getting knocked back to the start.  Players take turns rolling two 10-sided dice and applying the values to their two pawns using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The color coding allows players a way to quickly analyze the factors and multiples of the numbers on the board. This helps players check their multiplication and division, and even allows kids who haven't yet learned multiplication to play the game.

  • 2-4 players, ages 10 and up

"We just got Prime Climb. My kids love it. Teaches all math - multiplication, division, addition, & subtraction."

~ Jennifer, Courageous Homeschooing Facebook group

#2

Uno

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Family Favorite

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Overview:  In Uno players race to empty their hands by playing a card by matching its color, number, or word to the topmost card on the discard pile. If unable to play, players draw a card from the draw pile.

  • Age 7+

"Uno is fun for number recognition. Our almost 3 year-old is starting to play it now; she doesn't really understand the concept yet but loves finding the matching number or color."

~ Jessica, Courageous Homeschooling Facebook Group

#3

Math Fluxx
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Recommended by Ruth 

Overview: In Math Fluxx players use numbers in their quest to achieve a goal but there are also special victory rules, action cards and goals.

  • Ages: 8 years and up

"Fluxx comes in different themes, there’s the original Fluxx which is great for reading as well like with many games learning to think strategically . There’s also Anatomy Fluxx, Maths Fluxx and Nature Fluxx as well as others that you could learn facts from. It’s one of our favourites because the game play changes, it’s easy to set up and super quick to learn."

~ Ruth, Courageous Homeschooling Facebook group

#4

Cloud hoppers math game
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Overview: Cloudhoppers is a math board game. Kids ride spaceships and go an outer space adventure while mastering addition and subtraction. They also ace number sequencing and backward counting along the way.

Age: 6+

"The main 'characters' of the game are aliens that have to travel from their ships to the Earth to get the magic flower. Kids really liked to be 'aliens masters' and the subtraction was done almost with ease (which made me happy!)"

~ Olga, Courageous Homeschooling Facebook group

#5

Yahtzee
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Classic Dice Game

Overview: Yahtzee is one of the classic kids math games played with 5 dice. Each player's turn consists of rolling the dice up to 3 times in hope of making 1 of 13 categories. Examples of categories are 3 of a kind, 4 of a kind, straight, full house, etc. Each player tries to fill in a score for each category and when all players have entered a score for all 13 categories, the game ends and total scores are compared.

  • Age 8 years+

"Yahtzee is great for addition as you have to count up your scores."

~ Jessica, Courageous Homeschooling Facebook Group

#5

Farkle
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Highly Recommended Dice Game

Overview: Farkle is a push-your luck game played with six dice. You roll 6 dice, and remove any dice you want to use for points. You can stop, keeping the points, or re-roll the remaining dice. 'Bank' your points and end your turn at any time. The highest score over 10,000 wins the game.

  • 2+ players, age 8+

#6

math dice
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Great Dice Game

Overview: Easy to learn with 2 target dice, 3 scoring dice and lesson booklet.  Math Dice was given the GEI institute seal of approval, and is used in elementary math classrooms all across the United States.

  • Age 8+

Recommended by Sarka, Courageous Homeschooling Facebook group

#7

Sum Swamp
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Overview: Sum Swamp is an adventure journey through Sum Swamp by adding and subtracting the numbers on the dice. Take the crocodile shortcut through  the endless loop as you play a swamp critter. Winner of 6 Awards.

  • 2-4 players, ages 5-7

Recommended by Lynn, Courageous Homeschooling Facebook group

Traditional Board Game Favorites

#1

Monopoly
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Surprisingly perhaps, Monopoly still cuts it after all this time.  The classic game comes top of many homeschool lists for kids math games, though perhaps it  teaches tolerance as well as number skills!

If you'd like a more modern alternative, try this:

Monopoly Deal
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"Monopoly Deal is a great card game, age 7 plus. Skill, maths, tactics, plus it takes 10 min.  Much better than full length version!"

~ Emily, Courageous Homeschooling Facebook group

#2

Dominoes
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  • Age 8+

Still holding its place, the classic dominoes game is highly recommended as a great way of making numbers familiar and fun.

#3

Shut the box

Shut The Box

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  • Age 9+ (We have played this from much younger)

A nice version of the fisherman's classic.

Gets a big thumbs up from homeschoolers.

#4

cribbage

Cribbage

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Overview: Cribbage is a card game that is played with a Cribbage Board. There are rules for 2, 3, and 4 player games, but Cribbage is typically played as a 2 player game. Players alternately play a card, scoring points for hitting certain totals, or for making sets or sequences. Score is kept by moving pegs around tracks on the cribbage board.

  • Usually a 2 player game, age 8+

Another homeschool hit. Recommended by, among others, Ann Marie, Jennifer and Dawn from the Courageous Homeschooling Facebook group.

Kids Math Games For Teaching Money

#1

Money Bags
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Overview: Available in different versions depending on which country you live (board cover may vary), Money Bags has won 5 Awards. Players collect, count, and exchange money all the way to the finish line while learning money skills. Includes game board with spinner, 100 plastic coins, play bills, markers, and dice.

2-4 players, ages 7+

"Moneybags is good for teaching change."

~ Sa, Courageous Homeschooling Facebook group

#2

Cash Flow
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  • Play your way out of the rat race through real estate, stocks, companies and more.
  • "It's a great way to help your kids practice their math skills (we didn't allow calculators) on life like situations. Much more meaningful than just doing practice math problems." ~ Morgan
  • It has 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazo. Reviewers say it is worth the price and that it does teach essential money concepts
  • Age 14+ (some played it with younger children aged 8 and 11)

"For older kids, if you are feeling flush, there’s Cash Flow, which teaches about the stock market and managing money."

~ Hazel, Courageous Homeschooling Facebook Group

Kids Math Games: Best Overall (UK only)

#1

City of Zombies
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Best Overall

Overview: City of Zombies is a co-operative, dice-based team survival game. Originally developed to help the designer's daughter with her math, this is one of those kids math games that has fantastic learning potential. Players combine dice to target and remove zombies from an ever-advancing horde before their barricade is overrun. The game is suitable for all ages and abilities, and can be played in as little as 15 minutes (in the shorter version).

  • Age 6+

"You have to kill zombies by rolling dice and combining them to hit the right number for each one. It's played cooperatively and can be adjusted to different ages and levels. You can get in a lot of mental maths and fluency with playing with numbers by combining them in unusual ways. There's a times table add-on as well that we also have."

~ Katie, Courageous Homeschooing Facebook group

Best Educational Games

Educational board games

Go to this page to see the top homeschool recommendations for educational board games which teach everything from science to general knowledge and geography.

Proof Kids Math Games Really Work

Have a look at John Bennett's TED talk. He's a professional math teacher and says:

  • Don't bother teaching a standard middle/high school math curriculum unless your child is really keen on math or is going to follow a career in it. 
  • In real life elementary math is all you need.
  • For older children games (like those above) that teach logic and reasoning and cover basic math skills are by far the best way to teach.

Kids math games are definitely one of the easiest and most fun ways to learn number fluency without your child even noticing!

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