Finding Zero
Every number turned over says how far zero is, so the hunt closes in by reasoning rather than guessing.
- Grades
- 1–6
- Subjects
- Counting & Estimating, Adding & Subtracting, Logic
- Kind
- Two-player game
- Cost
- Free, no account, no ads
What it is
Every square on the board is face down, and one of them is 0. Turn a square over and the number on it says how many steps away 0 is — not which direction, only how far. The numbers lie in order along a closed path, so 35 can be one step from 0 rather than thirty-five, and nothing on the board is ever more than half a lap away.
What it gives you to practise
Almost no arithmetic. What the board asks for is the use you make of an answer you already have: a high number means look somewhere else, and two low numbers with a gap between them pin the loop down. In the blindfolded packs the path itself is hidden, so the only map is the one built out of taps already spent. The race packs price a tap at three seconds, which turns the same question into a different one — is this tap worth what it costs?
In a classroom
A good first conversation about searching. Put two children on one board taking alternate taps and they will start arguing about where the next one should go, which is the whole lesson; the board is just the referee.
The rules
Every square is face down, and one of them is 0.
Turn a square over and the number on it is how many steps away 0 is. Find 0 in as few taps as you can.
The numbers lie in order along the path, and the path is a loop — so 35 is one step from 0, not thirty-five, and nothing is ever more than half a lap away. Warm colours mean near, blue means far.
Blindfolded, the path is hidden and the numbers you turn over are all you have. In the race your score is seconds, and every tap adds three.
Near it on the shelf
- Finding the LongestThe longest road in a tree is found by walking away from anywhere twice — a guess by eye, then a count to check it.
- Slug SaladEach slug eats a number equal to everything it has eaten before it — addition with a reason to check and go back.
- Stained GlassSkip-counting turned into a picture: the pattern each times table draws across a hundred square.