14 Exceptionally Fun Math Games for Middle and High School

Class is almost over—but instead of zoning out or packing up early, your students are hunched over their work, erasing, recalculating, and debating. The room buzzes with the rich math talk every teacher hopes for as kids actually seem excited to solve problems.

If you think this sounds too good to be true, educator Donna Paul would say you may not have found the right math games yet. “I’ve seen struggling students begin to participate more because a game leveled the playing field,” she explains. “I’ve watched math-loving students push their thinking further. And I’ve seen entire groups of students talk math talk without me having to initiate it.”

Games sometimes get a bad rap, but the benefits extend far beyond creating a more joyful and fun math classroom—though that is a by-product. Teachers say they can defuse math anxiety, challenge and motivate students to strengthen their knowledge of concepts, provide crucial insights on where gaps in understanding exist, and create a space where educator Dawn Johnson says “making a mistake doesn’t feel like such a big risk.” 

Here are 14 math games that work—tested in real classrooms, beloved by students, and designed to get middle and high school students genuinely engaged with rigorous mathematical thinking. 

Attack!: Students break into small groups, and each group sends to the board a representative who has 30 seconds to draw a simple picture (a flower or a snowman, for instance). Give all teams a review question to work on, but select one team at random to provide an answer. If they’re correct, that team gets to “attack” another team’s drawing by marking it with an X. If they’re incorrect, their drawing is attacked. Each drawing can only take five hits before being destroyed. Continue with new questions until one team remains. (Source: The Sassy Math Teacher)

Stand Up or Sit Down: Start by writing a problem on the board with a solution that only you, the teacher, will know is correct or incorrect. Give students a few minutes to solve the problem individually. Once time is up, students have a choice:

• Stand up if they think the displayed answer is correct.
• Stay seated if they think the displayed answer is incorrect.

Reveal whether the answer was actually correct or incorrect, awarding students one point if they made the right choice. Repeat until someone reaches 10 points. (Source: Happy Numbers)

Which Is Largest?: Divide students into small groups, and give each one a set of problems they must first solve and then arrange the answers in order from greatest to least. Check their work against your answer key. The first group that completes this task correctly earns a point. The group with the most points at the end of the game wins. Encourage students to work carefully, double-check their solutions, and submit them only when the entire group feels confident with their work. (Source: Mrs. E Teaches Math)

24: Break students into small groups, and give each group a deck of cards and scrap paper. One student will deal four cards face down to each player. All players then flip them face up simultaneously and race to create an equation that equals 24 using basic math operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) and one pair of parentheses per round. The first player to find a valid solution, verified by the teacher, earns a point. (Source: Learn With Math Games)

The Great Paper Chain Challenge: Small groups of students receive a stack of rectangular pieces of paper, glue or tape, and a notebook to show their work. As the teacher writes math problems on the board, each group works together to find the solution. A correct answer earns the group the ability to add a link to their paper chain. The team with the longest chain by the end of the game wins. (Source: Math Idea Galaxy)

Sticky Points: Cover your whiteboard with sticky notes, each with a random number of points on the back that students cannot see. Provide each small group with a set of questions, and encourage them to work at their own pace. Stand at the board with the answer key. As each group finishes a question, one member will come up to confirm if they’re right or wrong. If they get the answer right, they can choose a sticky note from the board and the group is awarded that number of points. Keep track of the points on the board so that students focus primarily on the math itself. The group with the highest number of points at the end of the game wins. (Source: Hoff Math) 

Taboo: This game can be played as a whole class activity or in pairs. You’ll need a list of review terms to start—like quadrilateral, triangle, area, perimeter, volume, and surface area. For each term, create a list of words students cannot use to describe it. For example, for the word triangle, the taboo words might be three, sides, angles, and shape. One student will be the clue-giver, and the rest will try to guess the term. The clue-giver can say anything but the taboo words. For the word triangle, the clue-giver could say, “Think of something with a base and a point at the top, like a mountain or a warning sign.” Or, “It’s the simplest figure you can draw that connects all the points without making a square.” (Source: Slides With Friends)

Area Roll: Break the class into pairs and provide each group with two dice, graph paper, and two different-colored pencils. Each player rolls the dice twice and uses the two numbers as the length and width to draw a rectangle on the graph paper in their color. For example, if player one rolls a four and a six, they’ll draw a rectangle that’s four units long and six units wide. Continue alternating until no more rectangles can fit on the paper. Each player then calculates the total area of their rectangles, and the player with the greater total area wins. (Source: We Are Teachers)

Showdown: Create flash cards with math problems on one side and solutions on the other, focusing on a concept you want students to practice. Divide the class into small groups, and provide each student with a whiteboard and marker (notebook paper also works). Groups choose a card, and each student solves the problem individually. When the process is complete, a member of the group will reveal the answer on the other side of the card, and students who solved correctly earn one point. The student with the most points in their group by the end of the allotted time period wins. (Source: Math Idea Galaxy)

Pass or Play: Have students stand and form a circle. Choose a student at random to start with and ask them a question—for example, is it possible for the median to be higher than the mean? The student can either answer and the next question goes to the person on the left, or pass and the next question goes to the person on their right. Students earn a point for each correct answer, and the first to get five points wins it all. (Source: Slides With Friends)

Zonk!: To start, you’ll need 20–25 Popsicle sticks—18 of which will be marked with varying point values (100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600), and the remaining sticks marked with the word “ZONK!” Keep the sticks in a cup with the writing hidden. Each group will get a turn to solve a problem that’s displayed for everyone to see. If they get the correct answer, the group can pick out as many Popsicle sticks as they want from the cup, receiving the points written on each stick. However, if they pull out the “ZONK!” stick, they lose all of the points collected from that round. Note: All groups should attempt to solve each problem, since incorrect answers offer other groups the opportunity to steal a turn. (Source: Teaching With Stowe) 

The 100 Squares Challenge: Create a pile of paper strips, each with a math problem on it, and lay them face down on a table that students can easily access. Next, project a 100-square grid onto your wall or whiteboard. In teams of two, students will grab a paper strip, then work with their partner to solve the math problem as quickly as possible. One partner checks with you to ensure that they have the right answer. If they’re incorrect, they can try again. If they’re correct, they sign their initials in the numbered square of their choice from the grid. When the grid is completely full, students can still add their initials to a square, but they must erase those of a classmate first. 

After 20 minutes, generate a random number between one and 100. The winner is the team that has their initials on that square. (Source: Jennifer Feehan via Edutopia)

Math-Tac-Toe: In pairs, students draw a tic-tac-toe grid on notebook paper. On the board, write a math problem for one student to solve individually. Reveal the correct solution. If correct, that student places their mark (X or O) anywhere on the grid. If incorrect, they forfeit their turn and their partner gets the next problem. Players alternate until one gets three marks in a row. (Source: Plays) 

Cake Walk: This game works best with smaller groups. First, arrange chairs in a circle, labeling each with a number. Prepare a set of math problems in advance. Direct students to walk around the circle while music plays, and when the music stops, quickly rush to find a seat. Display a math problem on the board, which each student will solve individually. Then pick a random number. If the student sitting in that chair has the correct solution, they can choose a small prize—like a snack cake or a piece of candy, or you could play for points. (Source: The Sassy Math Teacher)