Prime Climb

I have two boys, ages 9 & 11 who really need to work on memorizing their math facts better, so I thought this game might help. I didn't expect it to be so strategy-based, but that's going to be a good thing. We've only played the game once, and right now my boys aren't using good strategy, and are relying heavily on addition to play the game. I can see that as they play the game with my husband and I more, they are going to see the benefits of thinking strategically and they will want to use more multiplication, division, and subtraction. The first time we played, they mostly just tried to move their pawns forward to win, but by the end they were starting to see that moving forward isn't always the best strategy. I think this game is going to be a lot of fun to play for many years to come. Because of the strategy involved, this isn't just a game to help kids learn their math facts, but a game that helps develop deeper mathematical thinking and the ability to predict several moves ahead, like in chess. My kids don't love the game yet, but I see its potential, and I think they are really going to enjoy it once they get the hang of it.On another note, I have an old board game I got when I was a kid called "X From Outer Space" made by Discovery Toys. I used to like it because of the cute little plastic pawns shaped like aliens flying spaceships and the cute space theme. (I got it around the time of the Challenger explosion, and I was very interested in outer space.) My boys have played it with me a couple of times and liked it, but all it really does is help you learn multiplication. There really isn't any strategy to it at all, so after a while it starts to get boring, and it really holds no challenge for parents, so it's a pretty short-lived family game. While I still enjoy it for kids learning their times tables, Prime Climb is really a much more interesting game and offers more room for growth .

I bought this game for my 4 kids for Christmas. After I received it, I thought it was a stupid game. I know all the prime numbers up to 100 and so do my eldest 2 kids. However, when I played this with my 11 year old (who knows all about primes) he LOVED it and wanted to play it with me over and over. And he said *Now I can finally remember what the two factors if 91 are". His little sisters watch along while we play. I think this is the best part of the game. Because when they think of 91, they will remember the colours around it. They will remember that there was more than one, do therefore it is not prime. And will remember the "13" and the colour associated with the number 7. (Green and orange? I can't remember but that's okay, I already know all of this. Great game!!!!!How do you do mental math? You begin with counting and adding small numbers of objects. And then you learn what equals ten. 10+ 0; 9+1; 8+2; etc. If I am asked 9+5, I think... 9 is one less than 10 so 9+5 is the same as 10+4. And I do repeated adding stuff... like beginning with.. 7...how much is 6 more(13) , and 6 more after that, etc.(19) And then in multiplying....it is the same process but with multiplying. Multiplying is repeated addition. 5+5=5 =15. All multiples of 5 end in 5 or 0. All multiples of 2 end in an even number. All multiples of 4 end in a two digit multiple of 4. All multiples of 10 end in 0. The digits of all multiples of 3 add up to a multiple of 3. The digits of all multiples of 9 add up to a multiple of 9. There is a pattern for 11, for 6.......and this seems sensible, if you have a lot of practice and/or if you regularly see things like a numbers chart or this game that shows factorization through colours.

This game becomes more fun the more I play it with my math students. The cards are loads of fun, so trying to get the primes to get a card becomes a goal. Lots of strategies can be used and it's neat to see students of different abilities learn different strategies as they play more games.I will be trying the version of going backwards (so we can divide and subtract more) soon.When I read the variations to the game, I was hoping for some more complex ones, something to tie in the factors of numbers you land on... there's so much on that board that could be interesting to use in some way. Maybe I'll come up with other ways to use that game board. It's very cool.Also wondering why the first prime numbers aren't all in red. Some of my students have asked me why ... so with one student we played that if you land on ANY prime number (including 2, 3, 5, 7) you can get a prime card. Why not... the more cards, the more fun it is!.

My 6 & 8 year old are loving this game! And I enjoy playing it just as much because it’s just as engaging for an adult.They learned their times tables watching “Times Tales” videos and can practice them here.Only one star off because 2 pawns broke within 2 hours of getting the game. We hadn’t even played yet. My 4yo broke one and my Husband stepped on the other. I noticed this design was an upgrade from a previous design of regular pawns. But I’d like to suggest a redesign again with doughnut shaped pieces. Flat to the board. So they aren’t so easily broken. We play board games so often, the ability for them to hold up over time is an important factor.