Skittles Game

Today I’m sharing the skittles game by Frank Tapson. Skittles is a fun little dice game for two players. You will need dice as well as something like bingo chips to play.

It’s been a while since I shared one of Frank Tapson’s activities here on the blog.  Previously, I’ve shared How Far Can YOU Climb? and Manifest.  His website is a true treasure trove for math teachers.  You should definitely check it out!

For this activity, some of my students opted to use bingo chips while others opted for two-colored counters.

Instructions for Skittles Game

A single marker or counter is placed in each circle to serve as a “skittle.”

Players take turns rolling a single die and removing skittles from the board.

If the die shoes an ODD number then only one skittle may be removed.

If the die shows an EVEN number then two skittles must be removed, but two can only be taken if they are in circles with touch and, if two cannot be removed then NONE can.

When all the skittles have been taken, the winner is the player who has the most.

The game board is a pyramid made of circles.

I mistakenly thought I could just pass out the gameboards and supplies and my students would get straight to playing.  Most of them sat still and confused until I read the instructions aloud and briefly explained what the instructions meant.  Any advice on how to make my students more independent when it comes to reading instructions?  I’ve tried to force them to read them on their own without explanation, but that usually just results in my spending the next five minutes going around the room and informing students that they are playing the game incorrectly.  🙁

My kids must have enjoyed the game because for several days after we played, they would ask to play Skittles every time we had a few odd minutes left at the end of class.

Link to Download Skittles Game

I printed off the Skittles game from page 5 of this PDF file.