Best Math Board Games and How to Incorporate Into Your Homeschool

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Whether you’re winding down the school year and just need some more “fun” in your homeschool days, or gearing up & planning a new year and want to incorporate games, OR if you need a mid-year refresh adding in games can be the answer! This can be especially true when it comes to math – both for parents and kids.

Math can be a struggle for all, but it doesn’t have to be thanks to games.  A new-ish trend in homeschooling is gameschooling, where the majority of your schooling is done through games.

However, while I love the idea of gameschooling it’s worth noting that it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing style of homeschooling.

Adding in games when you need some extra practice or just for fun is a great way to enjoy some of the perks of homeschool, despite your homeschool style.

Benefits of Including Games in your Homeschool

Adding in games to your school days is fun, for sure, but there are so many benefits!

Practice in math fact basics, like number recognition, place values, addition and subtraction fluency, as well as pattern recognition are key building blocks for future math success.

Accomplishing these while having a great time, in a no pressure environment, like a game, will only reinforce or add to what your child is already learning. 

Some of the best math board games out there focus on learning logic, a skill needed in so many parts of life including math. Same for strategy practice.

Allowing your child to figure out “how” to get somewhere while using math is such a great way to practice learning strategy. 

Learning about money and how to make change is something that again is a life skill. Why not practice with play money and a game? 

Below I’ve compiled a list of some of the best math board games to help add some fun to your days! 

Best Math Board Games for Homeschool

Place Value Safari

This was one of our first homeschool math board games we started out with and it’s such a favorite for younger elementary aged kiddos! Each player must fill their boards with base ten units and rods to win. Along the way, simple math problems like addition and subtraction help practice place value awareness.  Players must avoid the tiger in the jungle and will encounter cards in the deck where they have to roll the dice & solve problems, as well as other fun actions. 

Money Bags

Another favorite in our family is this game! The main concept is to reinforce the value of money. Players practice counting money, making change and even exchange money throughout the game. The player with the most money at the end of the board, wins the game! The game includes play money, coins and dollars which my children love!

Sum Swamp

Sum Swamp is a great game for the younger math learners practicing basic addition and subtraction skills. Cute, colorful pieces and a very understandable set of “rules” make it very appealing to kids. The object is to add and subtract your way to the end all while making it through an endless loop of math fun! Basic math fact fluency is being taught all while having a good time. 

Dominoes

This is a game everyone probably already has in their house and is such a great way to make math fun in a variety of ways! Perfect for number recognition or subitizing with the number patterns on each domino. Also, dominoes can be used to play/practice math facts solo – place 10 dominoes face down, ask your child to flip over two and either add or subtract or multiply and write or say the answer. You can also make it fast paced and competitive with more than one player, by flipping dominoes over at the same time and the first player to add, subtract, multiply the numbers wins the two dominoes. The player with the most dominoes at the end wins! This is kind of like the card game war, which my kids love. 

Tenzi

A really fun, fast paced adding dice game. Most kids love dice games and this one is no exception. There are many ways to play the game and instructions are included with each set. The most basic game is each player gets 10 dice and the first player to roll and get all of their dice on the same number wins! Number recognition is heavily practiced with this game so even the youngest in the family can play. It’s really fun and very fast paced!

Math Dice

There are two versions of this game, a junior edition (focusing on addition and subtraction) and the regular edition (focusing on multiplication and division.) To play you roll a larger/multi-sided die and then smaller/regular sized dice, solving your way to the target. Both are great for practicing quick solving & math facts. One great advantage to dice games, especially this one, is the portability of the game. Perfect for traveling, or for waiting for an appointment or even in the backseat on road trips. 

Math Noodlers

This game also comes in two versions, one geared toward younger kids practicing addition and subtraction and a version for multiplication and division practice. The older kid version also practices fractions, decimals, graphing, measurements, money and time! These games are so much fun because the players choose to write, doodle, use math manipulatives and more fun ways, to answer questions. There are also some silly/wacky cards adding to giggles and more fun. Kids don’t even realize they’re doing math with this game!

Rummikub

This game is so much fun for the whole family. It’s fast paced, plays differently every time and is such great practice of the number line and teaches strategy at the same time. The game is played using number tiles that are placed in “runs” or sequences. All players place and remove tiles according to the runs and the player with no tiles left wins the game!

Sequence

Speaking of sequences, while this game may not come to mind right away when thinking about the best math board games, it can definitely be a great way to practice math skills. Strategy & logic are needed to win this game. Strategy and logic are key skills children need to master in order to have a great learning experience with math. One of the best aspects of homeschooling is the ability to teach your children life skills, like learning strategy and logic skills, rather than just learning facts to pass a test.

Prime Climb

This game is definitely on a lot of homeschooler’s lists of best math board games for a reason. Older children will get fabulous practice with prime numbers in this colorful, complex game. Really wonderful multiplication facts practice as well as division and even some addition and subtraction are included. Easy to learn, and can easily & happily be played in back to back games. 

Have some homeschool math fun!

I hope this list of what I consider the best math board games used both for homeschool and just for some family fun helps you add some fun to your homeschool days! I’m sure there are many other games out there I’ve missed and would love to hear from you!

What are some of your votes for best math board games? Share in the comments below!