GAME DESIGN

6th grade math project

Creating a Math Board Game

Beginning the Project

• What makes a board game so much fun? You have challenges like roadblocks or false paths that make you backtrack. Then you land on a lucky square that lets you leap forward past your opponent. Best of all, you are with your friends as you play. For this project, you will use mathematics to create a game. Then you will play your game with friends or family for a trial run. Finally, you will decorate your game and bring it to class to play.

ACTIVITY 1: PLANNING

• Choose a setting for your game board. Is the game in a cave, in a castle, or in a person’s digestive tract?

• Decide whether you want players to move by selecting cards, rolling number cubes, or both.

• Do you want the end of the game to be determined by the number of points someone has or by reaching an end square?

ACTIVITY 2: DEVELOPING

• Make a draft of your game board.• Add details• Use good judgement in determining questions

to answer in order to move around your board.• Think of adventures and misadventures for

your game like: “See a shooting star…round 12.392 to the nearest tenth to make a wish and move forward 5 spaces” OR “Fall off a cliff. Multiply 15.7 x 0.0003 correctly or move back 3 spaces.

ACTIVITY 3: DESIGNING

• Add details to your game board that requires decimal skills, such as: adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimals; place value; rounding and estimation with decimals; comparing and ordering decimals; reading and writing decimals.

• You may include other math skills as well.• Make the size of the game board at least 11.5 in x 15 in.• Use illustrations and color.• Put a cardboard backing on the game board.

ACTIVITY 4: ORGANIZING

• Finish your game board.• Write the rules of your game.• Organize everything needed to

play your game.

HOW WILL THE PROJECT BE GRADED?CATEGORY 4 3 2 1

Decimal Knowledge Your game included opportunities to use addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of decimals, as well as other decimal related concepts

Your game provided opportunities for most, but not all decimal related concepts.

Your game focused on one or two decimal related concepts. For example: addition and subtration only

Your game included no more than one aspect of decimal calculations and uses.

Rules Rules written clearly enough that all could easily participate

Rules were written, but one part of the game needed slightly more explanation.

Rules were written, but people had some difficulty figuring out the game.

The rules were not written.

Creativity The group put a lot of thought into making the game interesting and fun to play as shown by the creative questions, game pieces and/or game board.

The group put some thought inot making the game interesting and fun to play by using textures, gancy writing, and/or interesting characters.

The group tried to make the game interestin and fun, but some of the things made it harder to understand/enjoy the game.

Little thought was put into making the game fun or interesting.

Presentation The game board, rules, and other related material was very well presented and was free of any errors.

The game board, rules, and any other related material was well presented. It was mostly error free.

The game board was not well presented bul only contained minor errors.

The game board was presented in a way that showed little or no effort. It contained many errors.

16 pt = 100 A+ 15 pts = 92 A- 14 pts = 91 B+ 13 pts = 87 B 12 pts = 83 B-

11 pts = 82 C+ 10 pts = 78 C 9 pts = 74 C- 8 pts = 68 D <8 pts = 64 F

DEADLINES

• September 26th = Rough Draft of Board• October 3rd = Final Game Board• October 17th = All Materials Finished• October 26th – 28th = Presentations