Addition Game: Race to Twenty

I’m always looking for easy to implement games for students to practice math fact fluency. This simple addition game is not only fun, but it adds an element of risk that makes each turn exciting! Race to Twenty is a quick game that provides practice for estimation an addition practice are built into each turn!

Materials

Race to Twenty is very similar to Farkle. All you need to play this game are a few materials that you already have laying around your classroom.

• Dice (each group will need 5)
• Race to Twenty Recording Sheet (optional)

Model

The first thing you want to do is model how to play this game. This game is simple but more than likely your students need to be exposed to it multiple times before trying independently.

Model how to play the game several times. Then, choose a volunteer to come up and demonstrate the game where everyone can see it. Once you have modeled this game several times, have students pair up into groups of three or more.

How to Play

The goal for this game is for students to roll their dice and get as close or equal to 20 without going over. Each player will have four rolls per turn.

1. Player rolls all five dice.
2. Player can keep as many dice as they like, from zero to all of them. Any dice that they save cannot be re-rolled during their other turns.
3. Roll the remaining dice for the next three rounds of the game. They can save as many dice as they like or they can choose to re-roll the remaining dice. At any time, they can choose to keep their points or risk it to get a higher number!
4. After the last round, they must add the sums of all 5 dice that they rolled.
5. The total sum of all 5 dice is their score for that round. If the sum is greater than 20, they get ZERO points!
6. The winner is whoever has the highest score at the end of the game.

You can have your students keep track of their points on scratch paper, a dry erase board, or this FREE Race to Twenty recording sheet.

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Tips for Playing

• When you are modeling, discuss strategies for earning the most points. If they roll 16 points on the first roll, should they take the points they’ve earned or risk them all?
• Foam dice are great to control the noise level.
• If they are playing on tables and the dice are flying everywhere, you can make a rule that any dice go off the table, they lose a turn.

Race to Twenty is a simple addition game that is super engaging and gets students excited about practicing math facts. This game also provides an opportunity to encourage mathematical conversations.

If you like this addition game, you may like Math Fact Fluency Races. This is a great activity that I know your students will love!