Game of Pig
The Decimals Edition
A game to explore tenths and hundredths in a decimal form. It also allows explorations of skip counting patterns.
Aim:
– to explore counting by 10ths & 100ths
– to explore number patterns on the 100ths chart
– to experiment with concepts of probability
What You Need:
1 game board
2 players
1 die
2 different colored counters.
Before we Begin:
– This is a game of 10ths and 100ths so when throwing the die students can no longer say, 1, 2. 3, 4, 5 & 6 they must say ‘one hundredTHs, two hundredTHs, three hundredTHs, 4 hundredTHs, 5 hundredTHs, and 6 hundredTHs’.
– I find you can have a bit of fun overemphasizing the ‘th’ when speaking aloud esp when a student mistakenly says whole numbers instead of the decimals.
How to Play:
1. Decide who is going first.
2. Place both counters on the board near 0.01.
3. Player One rolls the die and moves their counter forward that many spaces. They may choose to throw again as many times as they like until they either decide to end their turn or the end of their turn is forced upon them.
FORCED END OF TURN:
If the player throws a one… (Quick double take) I mean one hundredTH 🙂 they must return to the square they started their turn on and their turn is concluded. This is known as ‘Pigging Out’.
One More Step:
In order to encourage familiarity with number patterns and number fluency, the player may advance one more square if they move their counter directly to their destination square by using a pattern or strategy and not relying on one-to-one correspondence.
4. Once Player One decides to end their turn Player 2 repeats Step 3.
How to Win:
Be the first player to reach 1
Two Dice Version:
– Players throw two dice instead of one.
– Players throw two dice and then one die alternately i.e. use one dice for the first throw, two die for the second, one dies for the third, etc, etc.
Additional Rules for the Two Dice Version:
– If a 1 is thrown on either die before a player decides to stop rolling, their turn is ended and they must return to the square they started on.
– If a double 1 is thrown (cat’s eyes) then the player must return to the start.
Possible Before the Game Activities:
• Before playing the one die version of the game explore patterns on the hundredths chart formed by skip counting by 2 hundredTHs, 3 hundredTHs, 4 hundredTHs, 5 hundredTHs & 6 hundredTHs.
• Explore the patterns made / ‘tricks’ to be used when adding on a hundreds chart. Look for the shapes and patterns made when adding: 0.05, 0.08 , 0.09, 1 tenth, 0.11 & 0.12.
• Make your own set of laws for adding with a hundred chart? Use these laws in the game.
• Explain how no counting by ones is allowed in this game. Strategies must be worked out and used. This will aid number development.
After the Game:
– What laws have you made up to help you be more efficient when adding hundredths.
– What strategies have you developed to help you win this game?
– What strategies did you try which didn’t work?
– Is there any such thing as ‘luck’? What are your thoughts?
– Does your strategy work all the time?
– When your opponent has a big lead, taking big risks means you will win more often. True or False? Why or why not?
– If your opponent gets close to the end they have a greater chance of winning then you. True or False? Why or Why not?
– Is it more likely you will win if you are far ahead of your partner? How can we test this?
– And pigs might fly!!! If you just keep throwing without giving the other person a turn you will always win. Why is this false?
Tips & Tricks:
– It is a good idea to establish a procedure for remembering what square a player started each turn on as conflict may ensue 🙂
Other Variations:
- Throwing Double 6 hundredths gets you 25 points.
- Count down from a whole to 0.01
Did You Know?
– This type of game is known as a jeopardy game i.e. a decision has to be made regarding whether or not to jeopardize what you have already gained.
Included in this Download:
7 Full-Color Boards
7 Low Color Boards
1 PowerPoint Version of the Game Boards for Easy Display and Discussion
