How it works
Two multiplication board games, 28 boards. In four in a row, two players slide paper clips along a strip of factors and claim the product. On a race track, players roll a die and answer the fact they land on.
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Play four in a row
1. The first player puts both paper clips on the factor strip and colors a box that holds the product. 2. From then on, each player moves one clip, multiplies the two numbers and colors that product. Both clips may sit on one number. 3. If no box with your product is open, move a different way. 4. Four boxes in a line, in any direction, wins.
Play the race
1. Roll a die and move that many spaces. 2. Say the product of the fact you land on. A partner checks it on the answer key, page 2. 3. Wrong? Go back to where you were. 4. The first player to reach Finish wins.
- Math multiplication board games go stale on easy facts. When a pair wins quickly on factors 1 to 6, try the 6 to 9 board.
- In four in a row, blocking counts as much as building: check which products your partner needs before you move a clip.
- Slide a board into a sheet protector and mark it with dry-erase pens, and one print lasts the year.
Questions and answers
What do you need to play?
Four in a row: one board, two paper clips and a colored pencil for each player. The race: one track, one die and a counter for each player. Nothing else is needed, and neither game has cards to cut out.
Are these multiplication games printable in black and white?
Yes. Every board is black line art on one page of Letter or A4. A race track prints a second page with its answer key, which you can skip when an adult is checking the answers.
Why are some products on a board twice?
A strip from 1 to 9 makes exactly 36 products, one for each box of a 6 by 6 board. A strip from 2 to 9 makes 31, so 5 spare boxes go to 12, 16, 18, 24 and 36, which two pairs make.
Which board should a class start with?
Start with factors 1 to 6 or 2 to 5, or the 2, 5 and 10 times tables race track. Move on to factors 2 to 9, which drops the 1 times table, and then to 6 to 9.
How many players can play?
Four in a row is for 2 players, or 2 pairs who agree on each move. A race track takes 2 to 4 players with a counter each.