Smart Tools

What’s in a Math Game?

Games have been around for a long time—playing cards and chess are merely evolutions of what our ancestors used to play. The rules remain basically the same, but the tools that have changed.

In this day and age, with games ranging from simple Math games over the Internet to a complicated warfare game played by several players from different countries, it is interesting to dissect the intricacies of games as these can help us make one ourselves.

For example, the game theory is a multi-agent decision problem. There are a lot of people who want a limited reward, and they have to use their skills and know-how (and follow the rules) to get that reward.

Such concept can be related to economics, evolutionary biology, sociology, political science and now computer science. Game theory has two classifications: non co-operative (players work independently) and co-operative (players work interdependently).

The components of games are players, rules, strategies, outcomes and rewards. We can see this in educational math games such as Math Rummy, Towers of Hanoi, Coordinate Geometry Battleship, Get 40, SET, or Equations. They are all designed to develop math skills, devise strategies and understand concepts.

When it comes to the Internet, the components of games are the same. But tools can either be Web games or non-Web games. They are both networked over the Internet, but the former is dependent on an Internet connection.

Simple interactive games that can be edited are:

  1. Ghost Blasters - to find multiples of 10
  2. Banana Hunt - for practicing the degrees of an angle
  3. Billy Bug - for learning coordinates
  4. Math Magic - percentage paint tool
  5. Power Lines 3 - mathematical reasoning
  6. Multiplication -  for practicing multiplication
  7. Sum Sense- Division - for division problems

Some complicated multi-player gaming services are ImagiNation Network, Total Entertainment Network, and Sim-Net . Game Theory Link and Game Theory.net: are useful resources that can explain why many people play games, and how to best understand the psyche of gamers.

Meanwhile, it might help to know several websites dedicated to interactive math games. They are:

  1. Gamequarium
  2. Multiplication.com
  3. Aaamath
  4. Funbrain
  5. A+ Math
  6. Flash Algebra
  7. Mathematical Matches
  8. Mathematical Hangman
  9. Famous Mind-reading Card Trick
  10. BasketMath

With these examples in mind, it won’t be long before students grasp tricky mathematical concepts and use technology in an interactive and fun way at the same time.

Sources:

“Create your own interactive game.” Retrieved October 22, 2008 from http://www.oswego.org/staff/cchamber/techno/games.htm
“K-12 Math Games Lesson Plans.” Retrieved October 22, 2008 from
http://education.mit.edu/drupal/tep/11124/mathgameslessons
Retrieved October 22, 2008 from
http://www-unix.mcs.anl.gov/otc/Guide/faq/linear-programming-faq.html
“Web-Based versus Non-Web Based Games.”Retrieved October 22, 2008 from
http://www.cse.iitd.ernet.in/~rahul/cs905/lecture5/index.html

(Published 03 November 2008, Smart Communications, Inc.)