30 Card Games That Teach Math (Free Printables)

Card Collector

What Kids Learn: Counting and comparing

How To Play:

•  In this game, players take turns flipping over cards and comparing them, noting the different shapes (suits) and counting the number of each that appear.
• The player with the highest card gets to keep them both.

Number Slapjack

What Kids Learn: Number recognition

How To Play:

• Shuffle the deck and divide it between the players, who each hold their stack facedown.
• Set a target number, such as 4, and start the game by saying, “Go!”
• Moving quickly, each player takes a turn laying a card face up in the middle. When the target number appears, the first player to slap the pile gets all the cards.
• Choose a new number and keep playing!

• Each player tries to collect all four cards of the same number (a set), which they can lay down on any turn.
• The first player starts by asking the next player for any cards of a specific number. (“Do you have any twos?”) If they do, they must hand them all over to the player who asks. If not, they tell the first player “Go Fish!” That player then draws a card from the middle, adding it to their hand.
• When the fish pond is empty, the player with the most complete sets of 4 wins the game!

From 2 to 9

What Kids Learn: Even and odd numbers

How To Play:

• Remove the face cards, shuffle the deck, and deal the cards equally between all the players. (If there are any extra cards, lay them aside for this round.)
• Each player then sorts their hand into two piles of even and odd numbers.
• Roll a die. If the number is 1, 3, or 5, the target for the hand is odds; if it’s 2, 4, or 6, the target is evens.
• Players count the number of target cards they have—the one with the most wins that hand.

How To Play:

• Remove the face cards, shuffle the deck, and deal two cards to each player.
• Players arrange their two cards to form the largest number possible. For example, is a player gets a 2 and 4, they’d arrange them to read 42 (instead of 24), creating the largest number from their two cards.
• The one with the largest number (closest to 100) wins them all.
• Continue until all the cards are claimed; the player with the most wins.

Number I Spy

What Kids Learn: Number recognition

How To Play:

• Lay all the number cards in a deck face up on the table.
• Player one chooses a card, but doesn’t tell anyone which one it is and leaves it in place. Instead, they offer clues to the other players, like “I spy with my little eye a number that’s less than 5” or “I spy with my little eye a number that is the same as Liam’s age.”
• The first player to correctly identify it gets to keep the card, and play continues.

• Remove the face cards, shuffle the deck, and deal each player two cards.
• If any player’s cards add up to 10, they automatically win that round and keep all the cards. (If more than one player has 10, they split the cards between them.)
• If no one can make 10, players take turns drawing one card from the deck and discarding one until someone can make 10.
• Continue until all the cards are claimed, then count them up to see who wins!

• The other players take turns asking questions to guess what number it is. They could ask, “Is it made up of straight lines or does it have curves?” or “Is it greater than 5?”
• The first player to guess correctly keeps the card, and starts the next round.

Pick It Up!

What Kids Learn: Number recognition

How To Play:

• Shuffle the cards, then toss them high in the air and let them fall where they may.
• Call out a number—players race to be the first to find a card that matches it.

How To Play:

• Remove one queen from the deck, then shuffle the deck and divide it between the players.
• Each player looks through their hand, laying down any pairs of numbers or face cards (only pairs, not three of a kind).
• The first player offers their cards, face down, to the next player.
• The second player draws one, and lays down a pair if they now have one.
• They offer their cards to the next player, and the game continues.
• In the end, the person left holding the single queen (the old maid) is the loser!

Higher or Lower

What Kids Learn: Comparing numbers (greater than or less than)

How To Play:

• Remove the face cards and lay the shuffled deck face down.
• Player one turns over the first card, then guesses whether the next card will be greater than or less than the one that’s showing.
• Flip the next card; if they’re right, they keep both cards. Otherwise, the cards are discarded and play continues with the next player.

How To Play:

• Deal each player a stack of cards face down, dividing the deck as equally as possible.
• One at a time, each player flips over the top card on their stack, starting a new pile.
• When someone turns up a card with a number that matches one already showing on another pile, the first player to notice calls out “Snap!” and adds the cards from both piles to the bottom of their original stack.
• Play until one player has all the cards, or set a timer and then count up the cards to find the winner.

How To Play:

• Remove the face cards and shuffle the deck.
• Lay all the cards face down on the table, spread out so no card touches another.
• The first player turns over any two cards. If the numbers match, they keep the cards. If not, they turn the cards face down again.
• Play continues until all the cards have been matched up and removed from the board.

• The goal of this game is to get a hand of cards that’s closest to 21 without going over.
• Shuffle the deck, and deal each player one card facedown and one card face up.
• Each player looks at their cards and adds them up in their head, keeping the total to themselves.
• The dealer then offers each player another card; if they want one, they say, “Hit me!”
• Any player whose total is now greater than 21 is out of the game. If anyone has 21 exactly, they win the round. Otherwise, players may decide to receive another card or stand where they are.
• The player with the total closest to 21 wins the round.

• Remove face cards for this game, but keep the aces.

• Play is similar to Go Fish, but instead of collecting sets, players are trying to accumulate cards that add up to 10. For instance, if a player has 2, 3, and 5, they can lay those down on their turn. They could also lay down an 8 and a 2, or two 2s and two 3s.
• During their turn, players ask another player for a specific card to complete their collection (“Do you have a 3?”) or draw from the fish pond.
• Any player who manages to lay down all their cards, emptying their hand, automatically wins. Or, play ends when the fish pond is empty and the player with the most sets adding up to 10 wins.

How To Play:

• Shuffle the deck and deal each player three cards, then place the deck facedown in the middle.
• Players look at their cards to see if they form a valid math sentence; if a player has drawn 4, 9, and 5, they could create the equation 4 + 5 = 9 or 9 – 4 = 5.
• If no player can form a valid math sentence, the first player draws one card from the deck, then tries to form an equation using the new card. If they’re still unable to, they discard one card, and the next player tries.
• The winner of each round keeps their cards; the rest go into the discard pile.

Math Boggle

What Kids Learn: Math sentences (equations)

How To Play:

• Shuffle the deck, then lay out four rows of four cards each, face up, to form a grid.
• Give each player a pencil and paper, and start a timer for two minutes.
• Players look for math sentences in the grid, across, down, or diagonally, backwards or forwards. For instance, if they see a 2, 3, and 5 in a row diagonally, that forms the math sentence 2 + 3 = 5.
• When the timer goes off, compare equations to see who found the most.

• Give each player a pencil and piece of paper, then shuffle the deck and place it in the middle.

• Players take turns drawing one card at a time and adding it to their running total, trying to be the first to reach 100.
• For example, if a player draws a 7 on their first turn, they write that on their paper. On their next turn, they draw a king and add 10 to their running total, for a new total of 17.
• First to 100 wins!

Countdown

What Kids Learn: Subtraction within 100

How To Play:

• Each player starts with a pencil and a piece of paper with “100” written at the top.
• Shuffle the deck and place it in the middle.
• Players take turns drawing the top card and subtracting it from their running total. For instance, if a player draws a 3, their new running total is 97. On their next turn, if they draw an 8, their new running total is 89.
• Play continues until one player reaches zero.

• Remove face cards but keep the aces, which will stand for the number 1.
• Play is just like classic war, except players draw three cards per hand, and arrange them to see who can create the higher number.
• The winner takes all the cards. In the case of a tie, each player draws one more number and adds it in any place they like to form the largest number they can. 

• Shuffle the deck and deal out the cards between the players, keeping them in stacks face-down.
• The first player turns over the top two cards on their deck, then has five seconds to add them together and say the correct sum.
• If they’re right, they keep the cards and the next player takes a turn. If they’re wrong, the next player has a chance to steal the cards by saying the correct sum.
• After all the cards have been claimed, the player with the most cards wins.

Memory Make 10

What Kids Learn: Addition within 10

How To Play:

• Remove all the face cards except the aces and lay all cards face down on the table, spread out so none are touching.
• The first player turns over two cards. If the numbers add up to 10, they keep the cards. If not, they turn them face down again and play passes to the next player.
• Continue until no more matches are possible. The player with the most cards wins the game. 

• The goal in this game is to collect cards on your turn that add up to 10.
• Lay out the cards just as you would for Memory Make 10, but place the cards face up instead.
• The first player picks up any number of cards that total 10, trying to get as many cards as possible. For instance, the player might pick up an ace, a 2, a 3, and a 4, which add up to 10.
• Play continues until no possible combinations remain on the board.
• The player with the most cards wins.

How To Play:

• In this version of war, each player turns two cards from their stack face up at a time, then arranges them to form a subtraction equation with the higher number first.
• The player with the high difference keeps both cards. For example, player one turns over a 3 and a 7, then arranges them to show 7 – 3, which equals 4.
• Player two turns over an ace and a jack, arranges them to show 10 (face card) – 1 (ace), which equals 9. Player two has the higher difference, so they win both cards.
• In the case of a tie, each player turns over one more card; the one with the lowest card wins the round.

How To Play:

• Deal each player 3 cards, then shuffle the deck and place it face down.
• Start play by turning one card face up. This is the target card.
• If players have any pair of cards in their hands that can add up to or subtract to equal that number, they lay them down on the table during their turn.
• If not, they draw one card from the stack and lay down a pair if they’re able to.
• Otherwise, they keep the card and play passes to the player. Example: If the target card is 7, a player could lay down a 3 and a 4 (total of 7), or an ace and an 8 (8 – 1 = 7).
• When all the cards have been drawn, play ends. The player left holding the fewest cards wins.

Multiply It!

What Kids Learn: Multiplication facts

How To Play:

• Shuffle the deck and place it face down in the middle.
• The dealer lays out two cards face up.
• Players race to be the first to multiply the two and call out the answer.
• The first correct answer keeps the cards, and play continues.
• When the deck is empty, count up the cards to find the winner.

How To Play:

• Each player draws two cards, arranging them to form a fraction.
• Then, players compare the fractions to see which one is greater.
• The winner of the round keeps all the cards.