Multiplication Checkers

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I don't know about you, but Checkers is a solid stand-by game in our house. It never gets old and though we sometimes forget about it when a new flashy game makes its way into our game shelf, it always makes it way to the top of our pile again and again. Which is why Checkers is the perfect game to pair with multiplication. It's so well known that most people already know how to play, and so you can just jump into the multiplication version and start practicing those times tables right away!

Our version is very similar to the regular rules of Checkers. Take a look:

1. Each player needs 12 game pieces that are different than their opponent’s. Use beans, pennies/dimes, etc.
2. Players face each other on each end of the board and place their pieces on the white squares (the squares with the x-tables).
3. Start play as you would a normal checkers game by moving your game piece diagonally. You may hop over an opponent.
4. If you hop over an opponent’s game piece, remove it from board and solve the math problem you landed on.
5. You may hop over more than one game piece if there is a space between.
6. Players solve the problems they land on and keep the answer as points. Use a scratch piece of paper to keep track of points.
7. If a player reaches the opposite side of the board, they become a King and can move backward OR forward.
8. Play until opponent’s game pieces are all gone or until timer goes off. The player with the most points at the end wins.

What about game pieces, you ask? Each player needs 12 game pieces that have a different side. Pennies and dimes make great game pieces because when the piece reaches the other side and becomes King, it can be flipped over to show that it is a King.

You can also glue together two different pieces of paper and cut into squares.

We thought lima beans would be so much fun. Just paint or color both sides of the bean (or just one side to keep it quick and simple....don't worry, when it's turned over it is still easy to see what color it is!) and on the underside, draw a crown with a black sharpie.

We have created 27 different checker boards for you to print and share freely! You may choose from the 0-10 times table set or the 0-12 times table set. Each set also comes with more than 1 mixed board so that you can either choose a specific times table to work on, or the whole range of times tables. Print off as many as you like and share with your friends. Perfect for math centers or free time, these will last a long time if laminated or printed on nice quality card stock.