Based on the card game by the same name, this is a fun and easy dice game that can be modified to teach addition, subtraction and multiplication skills.

Skills Learned

• Less than and greater than
• Addition
• Subtraction
• Multiplication
• Place value

Materials Required

• 2 dice for each player
• Counters (beads, sticks, rocks, pennies, etc.) and/or paper and pen for scoring

How to Play War

Have each player roll one die. The player with the highest number goes first. Each player rolls their two dice. The numbers on both dice are added together to come up with an individual player’s score. The player with the highest scoring combination wins the round. Winning rounds can be noted on a pad of paper with a tally mark under the winning player’s name, or with counters such as beads, rocks, or pennies. Play a number of rounds and have players add up their counter or tally marks at the end to come up with a game champion.

Variations of the Game War

• Play with one dice for younger children to practice basic less than/greater than sequencing.
• Learn subtraction skills by having players subtract the lower die from the higher die to come up with a number for each round.
• Increase the number of dice in the game to 3+ to teach more complicated addition skills.
• Practice place value skills by having players create a double-digit number from the rolled dice. For example, rolling a two and a five becomes either 25 or 52.
• Learn multiplication skills by multiplying the numbers on the two dice to determine the winning score.

☆ You can also use fraction dice to compare, add, subtract, or multiply fractions or use decimal dice!

from:

http://www.granby.k12.ct.us/uploaded/faculty/wyzika//Dice_and_Card_Games_to_Practice_Math_Facts.pdf