Math Games with Bad Drawings: 75 1/4 Simple, Challenging, Go-Anywhere Games & And Why They Matter

Great Christmas present for my Mathsy daughter Loads of fun and actual Maths and a bit of philosophy

Very good book! Gave us fun activities to do with pen and paper. Good explanations, very pleased.

My son (9 years) is hugely enjoying this book and it really is a great way to see how diverse and fun math can be. Pro tip if giving as a gift: buy this book but also buy paper with square grid, as you will need it for many games.

I can’t wait to use this in my classroom

Brilliant book. My 14 yo read it from cover to cover and we spent an afternoon playing pencisl and paper maths games in the garden. Couldn't ask for more. Lots of games that are simple to pick up and understand but that spark like TS of discussion and thought, all explained well with some maths thrown in. Can't recommend more highly.

Full of intriguing games, a few familiar but mostly new to me. Has been popular with maths-loving recipients from 8 to 13!

My son is studying maths at uni and Santa was kind enough to bring him this book for Christmas. We have had so much family fun over the Christmas break on the blackboard challenging each other with the games in this book. Just one issue: the drawings are fantastic!!

My fifteen-year-old son loved this!

Vabbè, Ben Orlin e i suoi disegni brutti non hanno bisogno di presentazioni. I giochi qui presenti (non sono davvero 75 1/4: alla fine c'è tutta la spiegazione di come è arrivato a quel numero) mi erano in parte noti ma generalmente sconosciuti: Orlin si muove nel sottile crinale tra non spiegare assolutamente le possibili strategie e dare troppe spiegazioni. La struttura secondo me è anche ottima, non tanto per la suddivisione in capitoli a seconda della matematica che sta dietro il gioco quanto per le variazioni indicate alla fine di ogni gioco e che spesso sono giochi dalla strategia completamente diversa. Ma soprattutto quella che mi è piaciuta è la parte "perché è importante" alla fine della spiegazione di ogni gioco. Spesso quando giochiamo non vogliamo farci tanti problemi: ma se uno è un matematico dentro, a volte i problemi sono più divertenti del gioco stesso, e sapere quali sono i temi matematici toccati può essere utile. Ricordo che esiste anche la scatola con gli strumenti per giocare, se uno è un collezionista :-)

Großartige Auflistung einer riesigen Sammlung einfacher aber trickreicher Spiele

Leuk boek om af en toe er even bij te pakken

I teach middle school and high school mathematics. One of my students' parents mentioned this book to me. It looked intriguing so I got a copy. Spoiler alert: It has been revolutionary in my math teaching. The games are very easily explained, even to squirrely seventh-graders, who can start playing almost right away but soon discover what appears to be a simple game actually has lots of twists and turns and strategies. I just finished playing one with a group of 30 kids (the combination game "Neighbors") and it was a huge success. We played three games and the kids' strategies completely changed by the end of the third game. You could watch their minds take in information, think it over, and come up with new plans. At the end, a student said, "That was so much fun! We should do that every Friday!" I agree with the author that current math curriculum is dreadfully boring. This book of games brings the beauty and joy of math back into the classroom. I especially love how he relates the games to real-world situations which require similar thought processes. I feel it should be part of everyone's math curriculum. Heck, it should be part of every curriculum; it covers ideas in science, statistics, government, physics, and more! If you are a teacher, you won't be disappointed.