Instructions

Each player gets 10 tokens. Use poker chips, coins, checkers, crackers—anything stackable will work. Draw lines on a piece of paper to split it into three parts, or "vaults." Set up a divider between players so you can place your tokens without your opponent seeing.

Each round, stack your tokens into the three vaults. You might try to split your tokens somewhat evenly, in piles of 3, 3, and 4. Or you could choose to put 8 tokens in the middle and only 1 on each side, or put all of your tokens in one pile. Once everyone has arranged their tokens, remove the divider to count and compare. Whichever player has more tokens stacked in each vault gets a point. (If the stacks are equal in a vault, players tie and no point is awarded for that vault.) In the example below, Blue gets two points for having more tokens in the first and third vaults, and Red gets a point for having more tokens in the middle vault.

After three rounds, the player with the most points wins the game!

Let your child count the piles, compare, and keep score.

For older players, help them try different strategies by asking questions: "Do you think I would win if I put all my tokens in one pile?" or "What if I split them up pretty evenly?" Look for opportunities to ask for predictions. If Blue wins the first two vaults that are compared, ask, "I wonder who is going to win the last vault." (Because each player has 10 tokens to distribute, it is impossible for one player to have more tokens in all three sections.)

For the youngest math beasts, consider playing just a single round, and don't worry about strategy. Counting and comparing are important skills in their own right.