Thinking Tasks My Students Love - "Math Games With Bad Drawings"

Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics fans, I've found a new-to-me source of thinking tasks that I'm excited to share with you.  It is a book called Math Games with Bad Drawings by Ben Orlin.

Orlin maintains a blog called Math With Bad Drawings that you will simply adore if you love math and that just might help you love math if you don't already.  He's also published a book by the same name.  The book is terrific.  Truly.  I loved it myself, and I have students who ask to borrow it from my shelf every year.

Math Games with Bad Drawings is a collection of 75 and 1/4 games that require little to no supplies and that anyone can start playing in minutes.  It also contains explanations of the math that is hidden behind them, and it even thin-slices most of the games with easier and harder versions.  Perfect for a thinking classroom!
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Yes, I got that number right - 75 and 1/4.  It is right there on the cover.

What Are the Games Like?

The games are math-based strategy games.  They are categorize by the type of mathematical thinking they leverage: spacial, numerical, combinatorial, risk-reward, and informational.  Each game comes with full directions, example steps, "tasting notes," an explanation of where the game comes from, why the game matters mathematically, variations to try (<--thin slices?), and the signature witty writing and "bad" drawings to bring them to life.  Here's what they look like in the book, using an example that Orlin offers for free on his website:

"Dandelions" - a spatial game - has been a big hit for my 4th through 6th graders

Why do "Math Games With Bad Drawings" Make Good tasks in A Thinking Classroom?

Math Games With Bad Drawings are a perfect match for Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics because

• the games are fun and naturally engaging
• they involve mathematical and strategic thinking
• they involve a group of 2-3 competitors
• most of them transfer easily to whiteboards
• they have a built-in low floor and high ceiling

The last point is the most important.  The kids can be playing any of the games in just minutes because they involve few rules and little complexity... to play.  The magic is in the mild, as I always say, and playing the games is a mild task.

While the games are simple to play, they are difficult to master.  As I mentioned earlier, the games are naturally thin-sliced because with each new round of playing the games, the kids will figure out a bit more strategy and refine their play.  Opportunities for consolidation around what we've learned strategy-wise abound, making discovered strategy transferable.
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"Sequencium" is a favorite in all of my 3rd through 5th grade classes right now.  One of my 4th graders beat me 13-10 after she'd only played three times!  Good news, however - when I made her play me again using a rule Orlin suggests to negate the advantage of going first, she only beat me 11-10.

What kinds of Thinking Tasks are Math Games WIth Bad Drawings?

I wrote a post some time back called The Six Ways I Use The Two Types of Tasks.  Liljedahl categorizes tasks for Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics as either curricular or non-curricular, but I've found that those two types of tasks "manifest" in six different ways in my practice:

1. Culture-setting non-curricular tasks
2. Problem-solving curricular tasks
3. Figure-it-out thin-sliced curricular tasks
4. Introduce the minimum, thin-slice to the maximum curricular tasks
5. Non-curricular tasks preceding direct instruction
6. Test day non-curricular tasks

I've used Math Games with Bad Drawings primarily for #5 and #6.  They also make for good "we've got 20 minutes to kill because of a schedule change" type activities.

I have used one Math Game With Bad Drawings as a problem-solving curricular task to introduce a new unit, too.  My third grade class had a unit on area and perimeter of rectangles, and I used a Math Game With Bad Drawings called "Gridlock" to introduce the topic and to give us something to anchor the future learning to.
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With careful planning, I suspect there are more games that could be use this way.
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You Used These Games With third Graders?  Are they for Younger Students?

Not at all!  The book isn't written for children.  Some of the games are more accessible than others to the younger students I'm teaching right now.  Several are far too complex for them.    I think all of the games would be interesting to older students.  Lucky me, some happen to work for younger ones, too.

I particularly enjoy it when the kids ask to play the games if they finish a test early or in some other free time situation.  I've had kids ask to come play them during lunch.  I've had kids ask to take the book home to learn some of the games themselves.  I've had kids who want to read the "why does it matter" section where the math gets explained in detail.  And this is all with 3rd through 6th graders!  I think older kids would love Math Games With Bad Drawings​ even more.
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I absolutely love the game "Mediocrity," but it has proven to be a bit over the heads of my younger students so far.  The fourth and fifth graders don't seem to be getting any better at it, and it is too frustrating for the 3rd graders.

How can I start Playing?

Orlin offers seven of his games for free on his website, including Dandelions and Sequencium, which I have referenced as favorites earlier! 

To get the other 68 and 1/4 games, however, you'll need to get the book.

• ​If you can afford to, buying the physical book directly from Orlin's website likely gets the most money to the author.  
• The ebook, also available from Orlin's site, is about half the price.
• The book is available a bit cheaper on Amazon.  Leaving a review there (whether you buy it from Amazon or not) likely helps move the book up the recommendation list for others, so please consider doing that!
• If a new copy is a stretch, used copies are available on eBay for $10-$15.
• My local library carries two of Orlin's other books, so yours may have this one as well.

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A treasure chest of thinking tasks!

I have found Math Games with Bad Drawings to be a treasure chest of tasks for my Thinking Classroom.  I know that folks are always on the lookout for engaging tasks, and this book has 75 and 1/4 of them all ready to go!  My thanks to Ben Orlin for this book, his original book, and his blog, all of which I've really enjoyed reading myself as someone who loves math. I hope you enjoy them as well!
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