Practice math addition facts with this fun game

I’m always trying to find great ways to practice our homeschool math because I don’t tend to make math fun.  Actually, I pretty much say “Get out your book and complete the problems,” that’s it.  So, when I find a game that is actually fun and doesn’t just add two dice together, I’m pretty happy.  That’s what I found with this super cool addition math facts game.

{This post is sponsored by Logic Roots, opinions are my own}

What is this addition math facts game?

Well, I sent my boys off to read the instructions for Ocean Raiders, as I finished off a project I was in the middle of, and my boys taught me how to play it in under two minutes.  That’s a weird feeling for me because I’m used to board games with 50 pages of instructions.  However, my heart sank when I saw the board looked like Chutes and Ladders, a game I have rather bad memories of playing with them as preschoolers.

I needn’t have worried.  It’s really fun.

First off, as you look at the Ocean Raiders board game, the numbers are not in order.  So you can’t just “count on” on the board game.  You actually have to practice your math.  The novelty of finding your solution made the game a lot of fun.

Next, unlike my memories of Chutes and Ladders, where I slowly moved forward only to hit that stupid slide back to start on square 97.

First, you are rolling a 10-sided die, which actually has you practicing ALL OF YOUR MATH FACTS! No more am I limited to homeschool math apps for all of our addition practice. I loved that all by itself.  Next, that means the game moves faster, so we completed the entire game in 20 minutes, and that’s with letting everyone complete, and half of us managed to start over several times.

I don’t know if you’re familiar with the math game, race to 100.  It’s a common game among elementary teachers, you use a 100s board, roll a die, and fill in the squares as you roll them.  It gives the appearance of math practice without working too much on math facts because you can just count out the 5 you rolled, and you never get above 6, unless you take the time to find special dice.

This board solves that by mixing up the numbers, but it also gives you a dry erase board for each player to fill out as they work out the answer to the question.  Of course, my kids didn’t really need it, but once Princess saw me fiddling around with it, she had a lot of fun writing out her problems and erasing them afterward.  I also love that the game introduces adding higher numbers without making it scary.

Get your own copy

With Christmas coming up, Ocean Raiders would make a great Christmas present for kids who would enjoy the silliness, and might not realize they are practicing their math facts.  I’m holding on to our copy for a few years to give to my niece and nephew once they start practicing their math facts because I think they’ll love it.

If your kids are older and need multiplication practice more than they need addition, check out my review of Say Cheese Cafe.