TOP-IT GAMES

Addition Top-It

Materials:
  • 1 deck of cards with 4 each of the numbers 1 through 10
Number of Players:

Two (2) to Four (4)
Object of the game:

To collect the most cards.
Directions:

Shuffle the cards and place the deck number-side down on the playing surface.

Each player turns over 2 cards and calls out the sum of the 2 numbers.  The player with the largest sum wins the round and takes all the cards.  In case of a tie for the largest sum, each tied player turns over 2 more cards and calls out the sum.  The player with the highest sum wins the round and takes all the cards from both plays.

Answers can be checked with an Addition Table or with a calculator.

Play continues until there are too few cards left for each player to have another turn.  The player who took the most cards wins.  Or, players may toss a penny to determine whether the player with the most or the fewest cards wins.

Variation:

Each player turns over 3 cards and finds the sum.

Advanced Version:

Players turn over 4 cards, form two 2-digit numbers, and find the sum.  Players should consider how they form their numbers since different arrangements have different sums.  For example, a player turns over 2, 5, 7, and 4.  74 + 52 has a greater sum than 25 + 47.

Subtraction Top-It

Directions:

Each player turns over 3 cards, finds the sum of any two of the numbers, then finds the difference between the sum and the third number.  The player with the largest difference takes the cards.
Example:

A 4, 8, and 3 are turned over.  There are 3 combinations that will result in a positive number.

4+8 = 12; 12-3 = 9
3+8 = 11; 11-4 = 7
3+4 = 7; 8-7 = 1

Advanced Version:

Players turn over 4 cards, form two 2-digit numbers, and find the difference.  Players should consider how they form their numbers.  75-24 has a greater difference than 57-42.

Multiplication Top-It

The game is played the same way as Addition Top-It, except that players find the product of the numbers instead of the sum.  The player with the largest product wins the round and takes all the cards.

Answers can be checked with a Multiplication Table or with a calculator.

Variation:

Players turn over 3 cards, form a 2-digit number and multiply by the remaining number.

Division Top-It

Each player turns over 3 cards and uses them to generate division problems as follows:

Divide and drop the remainder.  The player with the largest quotient wins the round and takes all the cards.

Advanced Version:

Turn over 4 cards and choose three of them to form a 3-digit number.  Divide it by the remaining number.  The arrangement of the numbers may result in a greater quotient.  For example:  462/5 is greater than 256/4, but 654/2 is even greater.

Addition Top-It with Positive and Negative Numbers

Materials:
  • 1 deck of number cards (4 cards for each of the numbers 0-10, 1 card for each of the numbers 11-20)

When using a deck of playing cards instead of an Everything Math Deck, use the 2-10 cards to represent these numbers, the aces to represent the number 1, and the queens to represent 0.  Mark the jacks, kings, and jokers (10 cards total) to represent the numbers 11-20.
Number of Players:

Two (2) to Four (4)
Object of the game:

To collect the most cards.
Directions:

Black cards (spades and clubs) show positive numbers and blue cards (Everything Math Deck) or red cards (hearts and diamonds) show negative numbers.

Shuffle the cards.

Each player turns over 2 cards and calls out the sum of the 2 numbers.

The player with the highest sum takes all the cards.  In case of a tie for the highest sum, each tied player turns over 2 more cards and calls out the sum.  The player with the highest sum takes all the cards from both plays.

Answers can be checked with a calculator.

Play continues until there are too few cards left for each player to have another turn.  The player who took the most cards wins.
Example: Player A turns over a red 5 and a black 7.  Score:  -5 + 7 = 2
Player B turns over a red 3 and a red 4.  Score:  -3 + (-4) = -7
2 is greater than -7, so Player A wins the round.

Variation:

Each player turns over 3 cards and finds the sum.

Subtraction Top-It with Positive and Negative Numbers

Each player turns over 2 cards, one at a time, and subtracts the second number from the first number.

Example:

Player A turns over a black 2 first, then a red 3.  Score:  2 - (-3) = 5
Player B turns over a red 5 first, then a red 7.  Score:  -5 - (-7) = 2
5 is greater than 2, so Player A wins the round.