Math Memory Game: Turn Over 10

Turn Over 10 is a clever, mathematical twist on the classic memory card game, making it a great game for kids who are practicing their math skills.

Anyone with a child learning math facts knows that making math practice fun with games and activities is very important! That's why so many teachers and parents use games like Make 10 Go Fish or Math Tic Tac Toe to bolster kids' mental math skills.

Card games are excellent ways to practice math because there are no special math tools and materials to gather, no screens to turn on. Everyone has a deck of cards at home!

So be sure to incorporate the fun math card game, Turn Over Ten, into your child's math curriculum!

Objective

Collect the most pairs of cards. Each pair collected must add up to 10.

What you need

• A standard deck of cards. Remove the 10s, jacks, queens, and kings.
• 2 enthusiastic players (can play with more, but best with 2)

Instructions

Shuffle the deck of cards.

Place 20 cards, face down, in a 4 x 5 array. Place the remaining cards in a stack at the side of the array.

The first player turns over any two cards.

If the cards add up to 10, he collects the cards and takes another turn. If they don't add up to 10, he turns them face down and the second player takes a turn.

At the end of a turn, if a player has removed one or more pairs of cards, he fills the empty spots in array with cards from the remaining stack.

The game ends when players can no longer make any combinations of 10 with the remaining cards.

The winner is the player who has collected the most pairs.

Notes

The empty spots in an array are not filled with replacement cards until a player's turn is over, no matter how many pairs they find. However, in the unlikely event they clear the board of cards, they may refill the array and continue with their turn.

Variations and Further Learning

The following are suggestions for ways to alter the rules of the math memory game, or to encourage extra math practice:

• Use a different array of cards, such as 3 x 6.

• Replace cards in the array as soon as a pair is removed, instead of at the end of a turn.

• Players can only remove one pair per turn.

• After the game is over, add up the total of all cards in each player's hand.

• At the end of the game, write down all the equations.

• When the game is over, try to rearrange the cards in your hand to make new equations of 10. See how many you can make!

• Next, play this five pointed star math card puzzle game!