Dice War

MATERIALS NEEDED:

• 2-4 dice (we use our Tenzi game)

• 10 small counters (we used pebbles, but you could use pennies, buttons, Goldfish crackers, etc.)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Each player starts with 2 dice and 5 rocks (or other counters).

2. The objective of the game is to capture all of the other player’s rocks.

3. On the count of three, both players roll their dice. Each player adds up the sum of his/her two dice, and whoever has a higher number gets to “steal” a rock from the other player.

4. Continue playing until one player has ALL 10 rocks. In our experience, it took 10-15 minutes for each game. If that’s too long for your child’s attention span, you can set a timer and declare the winner to be the person with the most rocks when it goes off.

VARIATIONS:

• We decided that getting doubles trumps any other number, and you get to steal TWO rocks from the other player (This rule helps the game go faster, I think).

• For younger kids, you can just use one die each and focus on number identification instead of addition. For older kids, try using three!

• You could practice subtraction instead of addition skills. Subtract the smaller number from the bigger number, and the player with the larger difference gets to steal a rock from the other player.