Games are a refreshing addition to any math class. Combine those games with times table practice and you have got yourself a classroom winner! We have created 4 new different ways to play dominoes, all with the perfect combination of competition and fun--all for the sake of learning times tables for quick recall. Choose from Domino War, Choose 5, Race to 500, and Domino Match-Up. For complete instructions, print off this instruction PDF. Then, scroll down to read the brief descriptions and watch the short tutorials. Even better, play the tutorials for the whole class and sit back and leave it to us to show your students how to play!
Don't have any dominoes? Simply print this free PDF set of double 9 dominoes onto sturdy cardstock and, if you wish, laminate them.
Print an entire classroom set for times table fun! You can also head to your local store to purchase double 9 domino tiles.
Bicycle brand playing cards has a delightful deck of double 9 domino cards! All the games featured here work with the cards, the tiles, or the PDF domino printable. Choose whatever you like best!
Ready to learn how to play these 4 new fabulous games?
DOMINO WAR: Materials: 1 Set of Double 9 domino tiles or playing cards. Dry erase board or scratch paper for keeping score. Directions: Each player draws 7 tiles or cards. Students mentally multiply the two sets of pips on the dominoes, discreetly identifying the card or tile with the highest product. On the count of 5, students choose their highest product to place in the center. Whoever has the card or tile with the highest product wins that round and gets 1 point. Whoever gets to 5 first, wins that round. Play again and again! 2-4 players.
Watch the tutorial for how to play below:
CHOOSE 5. Materials: 1 Set of Double 9 domino tiles or playing cards. Dry erase board or scratch paper for keeping score. Directions: Dominoes are placed in the middle of the table, face down. Students choose 5 dominoes and multiply the sides together, arranging them in order from least to greatest. Add the total and the player with the most points wins that round. Variation: Subtract the greatest product with the least product and whoever has the greatest difference, wins 1 point. First player to 5, wins! 2-4 players.
Watch the tutorial for how to play below:
RACE TO 500. Materials: 1 Set of Double 9 domino tiles or playing cards. Scratch paper for keeping score. Directions: One at a time, students take turns choosing a domino and multiplying the two sides (pips) together. That product becomes the points earned and the student writes down the points on a piece of scratch paper. First player to 500 wins. If you run out of dominoes during the round, place all used dominoes back into the middle face down, shuffle, and continue play until someone reaches 500. Variation: start at 500...first player to 0 wins (subtract products). 2+ players.
Watch the tutorial for how to play below:
DOMINO MATCH-UP. Materials: 1 or 2 sets of Double 9 domino playing cards and stickers in various colors to attach to the number side of the card (one for each card). Directions: This is similar to the classic game of Uno from Mattel but with a deck of domino playing cards instead. To create this game, add a colored sticker on each card in the deck. In addition to matching a card from your hand to the card on the top of the discard pile either by number or color, you can also match it by playing 2 or 3 cards that when multiplied together, have a product that matches the product on the discard pile. For instance, if the card in the discard pile is a yellow 8, you can play any yellow card, three 2’s (2 x 2 x 2 = 8), a 4 and a 2 (4 x 2 = 8), or even an 8 and a 1 (8 x 1=8), regardless of the color. Players can still play a yellow card, or a matching number card. Variation: If you have stickers with a picture, you can make the game even more exciting by creating values for those stickers. If you have a butterfly sticker, for example, a card with that sticker could be used as a “Wild Card”. A frog could be used as a “Skip Card”, a pencil sticker could be used as a “Draw Card”, etc. The sky’s the limit with this one! Works best with 2 decks of cards. 2+ players.
Don't have colored stickers? You can take a sharpie and draw a thin line with different colors at the top corner, or you can color white hole punch protectors with colored sharpies like we did!
