Puzzles, games and puzzle hunts · Maths CAS idea
Design a maths board game for a primary school
CreativityServiceProject-ready
Design, test and produce a board game that helps primary children practise a skill their teachers choose, and give copies to the school.
Where the maths comes in
Probability of dice outcomes, game balance and matching the game to a learning goal.
Which CAS strand it fits
- Creativity: The arts, and other experiences that involve creative thinking.
- Service: Unpaid, voluntary work with others that also has a learning benefit for you.
Your CAS coordinator decides how an experience counts at your school. Strand summaries are provisional (our words, being checked).
How to run it
- Ask a primary teacher which skill to target.
- Design rules and work out the probabilities so the game is fair.
- Test it with players and revise.
- Produce copies and hand them over with instructions.
This can grow into a CAS project if your CAS coordinator agrees: see planning a maths CAS project.
How to evidence it
- Rule versions and probability calculations
- Playtest notes
- Teacher's response
Date everything and keep it in your school's CAS portfolio as you go. More on what counts as evidence.
Reflection prompts
Questions to think about, not answers to copy. Write your reflections in your own words, in whatever form your school accepts.
- How did probability calculations change your rules?
- What did children do with the game that you had not expected?
- How did you know it helped with the skill?
Learning outcomes this often gives a chance to show
- Challenge and new skills. What could you not do at the start that you can do now? Which moment felt most uncomfortable, and what did you do next?
- Initiative and planning. What did you plan, and what did you have to change once you started? Who did you need to ask for permission or help, and how did you go about it?
- Global significance. How does the local need you worked on connect to a wider issue? What did you learn about that issue that you did not know before?
Whether you meet an outcome depends on what you actually do and reflect on, not on the idea. Outcome labels are our short summaries, being checked.
Safety and ethics
- Testing with children goes through the school with a teacher present.
- Small pieces are a choking hazard for very young children.
Agree every plan with your CAS coordinator first. Safety and ethics for maths CAS.
For puzzle ideas to adapt (never copy), browse competition maths.