Get out your math facts and strategic skills to take on opponents in Rival 5. I played with a 12 and 14 year-old who loved the game and said, “It’s a thinking game but it’s fun!” Follow the simple instructions but get ready for some complex strategy. Players take turns rolling 3 number dice and must use all three numbers in any sequence of calculations –add, subtract, multiply or divide to reach a number on the game board grid that they cover up with their colored token. Players carefully weigh their different computational options to arrive at numbers that form a 5 chip row horizontally, vertically or diagonally to win the game. My first turn I rolled 11, 9 and 2. I thought easy, 11 x 9= 99 – 2 = 97. Oops, there isn’t a 97 on the board. The number grid is made up of multiples of 1-12. Hence the “thinking” aspect again. My playing partners were delightful as they verbalized options on their turns and often offered solutions for other players, which I welcomed. “I got one!” I was amazed at the speed with which they came up with different combinations of calculations. I randomly started out in a corner of the board with lower numbers which I thought might be harder but I just subtracted more. Kids were calling out and asking for help with computations, and decided this was a lot more fun than learning math facts with flashcards. Lots of language accompanied the math learning as players were solving problems out loud and offering strategic options to others. Rival 5  would be fun to play in teams of 2 players as kids collaborate to come up with different options to line up their tokens for a win, making it a great gift for the classroom or family fun. My players even decided which math teacher they would give this game to for his class.

Available at Rival 5 Game. Click here.