Byron's Games Review: Math Sprint - The Mental Math Game

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

 

We've been slacking on our mental math, and it shows. The number of times every day I have to remind certain children of how to do their times tables is not insignificant. But I didn't have it in me to drill them until they had the facts down pat! Enter Math Sprint - the Mental Math Game from Byron's Games. Created for kids, by a kid, this kept the children from age five through eleven engaged in our family, and I'm definitely looked forward to playing it more as the weather turns colder and we spend more time indoors.

 

 

Each player chooses a colored game piece that resembles a track runner - while each piece is identical except for different colors, the game has "biographies" and pictures of each runner, so my kids quickly memorized which color player matched up with the runner they identified with most. While I didn't care about this particular detail, the kids really loved it! Which goes to show you that sometimes kids really do have the best ideas when it comes to games for other kids their own age.

After choosing our game pieces, we decided how long of a game we really wanted to play... The options are 100, 200, or 400-yard races, depending on how much time you have. Arranged around the track are different physical challenges as well, such as jumping jacks, or arm circles. This gave me a pretty funny look at how little formal physical education we've done in our house, since several of my children had no clue how to do a jumping jack. I think this might have been their favorite part of the game actually, and it inspired a lot of laughter from all of us!

While the game is intended for ages seven and up, our almost-6-year-old had no problem jumping in, though we did change the rules a little bit to allow for children of very different age levels to play together. More advanced players were required to wait ten seconds before answering a question (though when they faced off against each other, they didn't have to wait), which leveled the playing field for us quite well! 

You can choose different decks of cards to use for each round of the game you play, so younger players won't have to fumble through multiplication and division problems. Being able to easily adjust the game to fit the skill level of the players was a huge plus! I loved that we could do simply addition and subtraction for the 5- and 7-year-olds, and move on to multiplication and division for the 7- through 11-year-olds. There are also quite a few wild cards you can throw in, which help add to the chance aspect of the game, and keep it from resulting in the oldest player winning every time.

If you're looking for an educational family board game to add to your collection this holiday season, Math Sprint is a great option! With all the easy options to adjust the game to fit different learners, most families with elementary-aged learners would benefit from the fun mental math involved in this engaging game.

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