Zeus on the Loose

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas and is enjoying their time off!  We actually had a white Christmas this year which is extremely rare in Texas. 

I came across a neat little game for addition practice that I thought some of you math teachers would be interested in.  I wasn’t familiar with it until my daughter received it from Santa in her stocking this year.  My family has already played this game a zillion times this week so I know it’s a keeper.

Zeus on the Loose is recommended for kids 8 and up.  The object of the game is to be the person holding Zeus when the total on Mt. Olympus reaches 100.  Players take turns adding cards to Mt. Olympus.  As each card is placed on the pile, the person who plays the card must mentally add the value of their card to the value of the pile and announce the sum. The primary math skill needed for this game is addition, but it also includes: subtraction, rounding, and multiples of 10.  Even though there is plenty of math involved, this game’s primary focus is strategic thinking.  You have to play your cards right in order to steal Zues from your opponents and be the one holding him when Mt. Olympus reaches 100.  For a more detailed description of the game, download the instructions from Gamewright’s website.

This would make an excellent math center or a great rainy day indoor recess game.  I’m going to buy a set to add to my classroom.  Since I know some of my 3rd graders will have difficulty with the mental computation, I’m going to allow them to use a 100s board as a reference.

Has anyone else played this or other Gamewright games before?  Zeus on the Loose is my 1st Gamewright game but I’ve read great reviews about their other games.  I’m definitely going to be getting more!

I hope you’re having a relaxing and peaceful winter break!

1 comment addition, fun, math