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FACTOR GAME
NUMBER SENSE
N
OBJECTIVE: Students will gain an understanding of prime
and composite numbers by distinguishing between numbers
with many factors and numbers with few factors.
SUPPLIES:



Factor game board
Bi-colored counters
Students bring: pencil & scratch paper
APPROXIMATE TIME: 15 minutes
TEACHING TIPS:
In this game, one player will begin by selecting a number. That number will count as
points for that player. The other player will then select all the proper factors for that number. All the numbers he/she selects will go to points for him/her. The strategy behind the
game is to select numbers that provide the opponent with the least amount of proper factors. The game provides the opportunity to discuss prime and composite numbers, and
will challenge students’ multiplication fact skills in a fun and engaging way.
Expanding Game Ideas: Have the students create a chart (like the example below) that
records moves and results to create a graphic understanding of the best moves to make.
Continue the chart through the first 30 numbers, then to 49. Discuss what the best first
move would be and what the worst first move would be and why. Look for patterns in the
list and describe them.
First
move
Proper
factors
Player 1
score
Player 2
score
1
none
Lose a
turn
0
2
1
2
1
3
1
3
1
4
1,2
4
3
Math Terms
Factor– a whole number that divides exactly into another
number (including and itself)
Proper Factor - Any factor other than 1 and itself.
Prime - number that has only two factors, 1 and itself
Composite - a number with more than two factors.
Source Adapted from: About Teaching Mathematics 2nd Edition A K - 8 Resource, Burns, Marilyn, © 2000 Math Solutions Publications
? GUIDED QUESTIONS:
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

TO PROMOTE CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING
What number is a good choice for a first move? Why?
What number would be a poor first choice? Why?
Is it possible to circle all the numbers on the board? Why or Why not?
©MANGO Math Group 2010
FACTOR
GAME
A Game for 2 Players
1
Players will need a game board, bicolored counters, pencil & scratch paper. Each player selects a color.
6
A player does not receive any points if
they select a number with no factors remaining.
2
Player 1 selects a number, covers it
with a counter, and records that number as points on the scratch paper.
7
The game is over once there are no factors remaining on the board. The player
with the largest total score wins.
3
Player 2 finds all the proper factors of
that number and covers each factor
with his/her colored counter.
4
Player 2 records the sum of the numbers covered by his/her counters on
their score sheet.
5
The players alternate turns, selecting
new numbers from the numbers remaining, until there are no factors left
on the board.
Player 1’s total score so
far is 44.
While Player 2’s total
score so far is 57.
d)
(re
1
yer
Pla
3
2
+9
3
12
Player 2 (yellow)
2
4
8
+16
27
30
©MANGO Math Group 2010
FACTOR GAME
GAME BOARD
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
©MANGO Math Group 2010