Math Websites with Creative or Complicated Games

Here are some math websites I recommend for middle school students. This page is a work in progress; I am reviewing, sorting, and updating math links I originally collected on my former website, so you may want to look there too.

Calculation Nation: All free, no ads. Click on "GUEST PASS" or create a login at home with your family. I recommend READING DIRECTIONS before playing any game. Any are fine, but some are more fun or better for math than others. My favorites are:

• Square Off: Capture spaceships with rectangles with certain perimeters. Math concept level: high. Strategy level: high. Time pressure: medium.
• Factor Dazzle: Get points by finding factors, and keep your opponent's score low by giving them numbers without many factors. Can you figure out ahead of time how many points you will get from a certain move? Very similar to NCTM Illuminations' Factor Game but has a little extra fun. Math concept level: high. Strategy level: medium. Time pressure: low.
• Drop Zone: "Drop" your fractions on other fractions to add up to 1. More fun than it sounds! Math concept level: high. Strategy level: medium. Time pressure: low.
• Fraction Feud: Make a fraction (less than 1) smaller or larger than the one you’re “jousting” against. Consider using the Fraction Bar Chart. Try to figure out which cards are generally best to use or keep for later. Math concept level: high. Strategy level: high. Time pressure: low.
• Times Square: Tic-tac-toe with times tables, basically. Math concept level: medium. Strategy level: medium. Time pressure: low.
• Flip-n-Slide: Capture ladybugs with a triangle by translating, rotating, and reflecting it. Complicated; could turn out fun after several sessions. Math concept level: medium to high. Strategy level: high. Time pressure: low.
• neXtu: I haven't really played this, but it basically looks like a fun board game. Math concept level: low. Strategy level: high. Time pressure: low.

Fraction Game (NCTM Illuminations): Click on '+' symbols for information. Use equivalent fractions and estimation of fraction sizes to "play" fraction cards on fraction number lines. Play several times. How few cards can you use? What are good strategies to reduce the number of cards you use?

Troy's Toys: Percent discount game. In Level 1, find a discounted price from the original price and the percent discount. In Level 2, find the mystery discount percent from the price and discount. Not super creative, but fairly realistic and thorough.