Let’s face it, when it comes to math, practice makes perfect – but it’s also kind of boring.

Human beings need repetition to consolidate mathematical skills and concepts, but repetition is the very thing that makes many students dread math.

What if there was a way to give students plenty of practice but keep things fresh and interesting at the same time?

That’s the idea behind Math Maze – make learning mathematics more like a game, a puzzle that students WANT to try and solve. As always, the fun lies in game-based learning and the secret is simple:

Give students a REASON to want to practice their math.

In this case, the reason is simply the desire to solve a puzzle. When a student thinks they know how to get through the maze, they test their answer by doing math.

The aim of the game is simple – get Bug Boy through each maze to the star portal, and eventually help him find his way home by getting out of the maze altogether. Learning the game is easy too. Students are eased into the puzzle by a friendly ogre who acts as a guide while also teaching the rules of the game along the way.

In this 2 times tables maze, students need to pick up the key (with the answer 20) before going through the locked door and entering the star portal with its answer (2).

As students learn the game, the levels increase in difficulty, and students are engaged by the new challenge each maze brings.
The mathematics quickly becomes a means to an end, something that just happens along the way as students try to figure out each puzzle. Students want to beat the level and beat the game, and they get lots of math practice along the way.

Another feature of these puzzles is the focus on mastery – students must enter the WHOLE sequence of answers correctly to get Bug Boy through the maze. This means that order is important, and students have to think carefully about what to do when. The correct answer is always the shortest too, so students will need to choose their path wisely because only the most efficient route will succeed!

“I really liked the concept of how your tutorial guide was an ogre and it was medieval. I like how it’s not just, figure out the math problem to get to the next level, you actually have to think about which order to solve the problems. If you don’t follow the directions you will get blocked and have to restart. I liked the whole concept.”

-5th grade student, USA

Each BOOM Math Maze is focused around a specific math concept that aligns to stages in math curricula. This means that teachers can teach a specific concept in class and then assign the appropriate Math Maze that matches that particular concept. Each resource includes:

• 7 introduction puzzles teaching the game (with included audio narration)
• 10 math puzzles that gradually get harder as students progress

If you’re at a dead-end with math, or your students are lost in the labyrinth of mathematics, you should try out these delightfully addictive math puzzles! The perfect alternative to a math worksheet, these digital puzzle games might be just the thing to immerse reluctant students in learning that is meaningful AND fun!

Who said math had to be boring?!

And just in case you’re not convinced, here’s a tricky puzzle to leave you with!

Can you figure out the shortest route to the star portal? Put your guess in the comments below!

-Gil

Math Maze Testimonials:

“I’ve had a go, as have had my yr6 boy, yr3 girl and yr2 boy, and they all loved it and asked if there was more – imo, a very positive review! The little ones were suitably challenged, older one was more fascinated by the puzzles which are excellent.”

-Martin Westphal, NSW, Australia

“-It’s aMAZEingly fun”

-Tully, 6th grade student, Australia

“My kids, 11 and 13, loved it. It was especially great for my older son, who doesn’t like to check his answers in maths. This game forced him to be very accurate while still having fun!”

-Alice McTyer, NSW, Australia

Credits:
Art for these Math Maze resources were obtained from the “Planet Cute” tileset kindly supplied by Daniel Cook: https://lostgarden.home.blog/2007/05/12/dancs-miraculously-flexible-game-prototyping-tiles/