Math Skills Your Child Can Learn from the Game Trouble

Playing board games is a fun way to spend some quality time with your kids. Depending on the family game you choose to play, it can also be a great learning experience for them! The game Trouble is one game that you can use to help teach your little ones important math skills.  For Noah’s birthday he received the Despicable Me Minion version of Trouble so it was double the fun.

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One to One Correspondence

A basic math skill that is important for your child to learn is one to one correspondence. This skill basically means that your child is able to assign one number to one object when counting. When playing Trouble, your child has to move the game piece around the board according to the number they rolled on the dice. If your child rolls a three, then they have to be able to accurately move three spaces, one space per number counted.

This area of teaching is also where you can tie in strategy.  Since your game pieces can get into trouble when another player gets too close, it is important to determine which pieces you should move on each turn.  By counting out the number on the dice before actually moving your piece you can decide which of your game pieces would be smarter to move.  Each player has four game pieces on the board.

Counting Up

Counting up is another math skill you can teach your kids when playing the game Trouble. As your kids move their way around the board, you can encourage them to count how many more spaces they need to move in order to move their piece to the finish line. You can do the same thing when your child is behind another player and wants to land on that piece to send it back to the start. Once you’ve counted up, you can practice coming up with different dice combinations that will get them to their desired space.

Quantity Discrimination

Another great math skill you can teach your child while playing the game Trouble is quantity discrimination. This math skill allows your child to look at a set of numbers and decide which is larger or more. When your child rolls a small number, moving only two or three spaces, they’ll be able to visually compare it to you moving your piece six spaces. This helps them develop a better understanding of numbers and their value.

This will come into play towards the end of the game as well when they need to move their game pieces home.  Each player must roll a set number to move along the home steps.

Playing the game Trouble with your kids can be both fun and educational. What is your child’s favorite game to play?