Who's Counting Giveaway!

Today I'm giving away a fantastic find that recently came my way--a math game called "Who's Counting?" I was immediately intrigued because one of the areas that I fall short in my homeschooling is making math fun. I can make grammar and spelling fun, but math is an area where I lack creativity, so I have to rely on things other people have come up with to make it really have that "spark" factor. After playing the game with my husband and kids, we all declared the game a winner, and Matty, the winner of the game! We will definitely be incorporating this into our school activities, but it was an excellent way to spend family game time! What a great find!

In the box: a thick deck of cards, score pad, and directions

The game is a card game that could best be compared to UNO in its concept--there are cards that can be played for points and cards that other players can play against you to thwart your progress. Once the rules are mastered, it can be as fast-paced as the ability of the players will allow. At first glance the game looks promising--we're thinking this looks fun and engaging, and the premise is appealing to kids--math-loving Whozits in the land of Wherezit are threatened by a green goo. The players stop the green goo by using their best math strategies.

The directions are simple enough that my 11-year-old son was able to explain them to us. In brief, each player is dealt 7 cards that include green number, white operation, blue "power-up" and red "who's counting?" cards. Players attempt to use the cards in their hand to build an equation (whole numbers only) that will add up to the most possible points. They may also play a blue "power-up" card that may double their points, provide them with a wild card option, or stop another player from playing a "who's counting?" red card. The object of the game is to reach the highest number of points in 20 minutes or 500 points, whichever comes first.

 
The game is for 2-6 players and the recommended ages were from 8 to adult. My 7 year old daughter played on a team with Dad, which was a great approach because she cannot multiply and divide yet. She thoroughly enjoyed the game and used her addition, subtraction and skip-counting skills to their maximum (She can skip count numbers through 12, and is starting to understand how this leads to multiplication). My 11 year old son had no problems at all, and kept exclaiming, "This is really fun!" We decided to ditch the 20-minute rule because we forgot to set a timer, but we were also having so much fun that we wanted to get to 500.

There are several reasons this game was a huge hit. First, the concept was simple--build good equations, try to have as many operations as possible for bonus points, and get the highest score possible. Second, the game had variables in it to keep it interesting. The blue cards were fun because we could double our score or help ourselves with a "choice" card which could be any number or operation. The presence of red cards kept us biting our nails to see if we would be thwarted when we asked, "Who's Counting?" Finally, as we played the game we began to see strategies that would really help in scoring higher points, even when we had only subtraction or division cards in hand. Math skills, logic, and strategy? Bonus!

My husband, who is not a game person at all was skeptical at first, but found himself thoroughly enjoying the game and time with the family. The kids wanted to play another round, but it was getting past bedtime, so we'll be playing again very soon!

A few more points...This is an award-winning game by Teacher's Professional Resource, LLC, that does what it says it does--builds math skills. If you are interested in CCS (Common Core Standards) the game aligns with CCS to build mental math skills, collaborative problem solving, construction of viable arguments, mathematical decision making and estimation, attention to precision, and abstract and quantitative reasoning. Even if you are not interested in CCS, the game still does all that! 

So...Here's the deal. This game is for sale on Amazon for $24.99. I have a brand-new game in the shrink-wrap to give away for free. If you would like to receive this free game, leave me a comment with the ages of your kids and what subject you enjoy teaching the most. A winner will be picked this Friday, November 16th, so enter, and pass it along! Good luck!