How to play Shut the Box

By -

Shut the Box is a traditional game and can be played by one or more players. It is usually played with tiles numbered from one to nine, although there are variations with numbers up to twelve, and two dice. Although the origin of the game is a little unclear there are references going back to roughly the 12th century in Europe and it is believed that is was being played in England in the middle of the last century.

In recent times this game has become very popular again and is a very good mathematical game for teaching children basic numeracy and improve counting skills.

At the start of the game all the numbers are turned up and are facing you. The first player throws the two dice and the numbers thrown are added up and a combination of tiles equalling that number are turned over. So for an example if the dice thrown are showing a 3 and a 6 then the following numbers could be turned down, 9, 1 and 8, 2 and 7 and so on. If the remaining numbers uncovered do not total more than 6 then only one dice is used.

The player carries on throwing the dice until he unable to turn down any more numbers and then his total of the remaining numbers still standing are added, so if he had a 1, 3, and 4 left his score would be 134 and the next player starts his turn. You can play an agreed number of rounds and the winner being the one with the lowest total at the end of play. We now have a smaller travel shut the box version of this game which is great for occupying little minds on long car journeys and a handy addition to take on any holidays.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

History of the spinning top - How does the spinning top work?

By -
Image
I received a lovely letter this morning from the year 1 pupils at Highters Heath Community School in Birmingham, that are currently studying toys from the past. When I opened the letter, it contained many letters mainly asking how a spinning top works, and does the spinning top contain a spring? In an attempt to settle these curious minds, let me tell you a little bit about the history of the spinning top, and then how a spinning top works. The History of the Spinning Top The spinning top has been in existence for thousands of years. Like many traditional toys, such as marbles, the earliest spinning tops are made from clay, and were discovered in the Middle East as early as 3500 BC, although it is likely that children would have been spinning small rocks or acorns long before. Later wooden spinning tops emerged in around 2000 BC, and early spinning tops made from bone have been found in Europe.  These spinning tops would have been much simpler than many tops found in old fashioned
Read more

How to Play Farmyard Donkey Card Game

By -
Image
A couple of weeks ago I posted the instructions for the card game Pairs on Wheels . Another popular traditional family card game is Farmyard Donkey. Again, this game is fairly straight forward but a great way to keep children occupied and get them thinking. The card game consists of 17 pairs and the "Donkey Card". Firstly, shuffle the cards then deal them in a clockwise direction to each player. All players then look at their cards and take out all their pairs, the player to the left of the dealer arranges their remaining cards in their hand like a fan. The back of the cards are shown to the player on the left who then picks a card. If this card makes a pair then the cards are put in the middle of the table with the other pairs. If the player isn't able to make a pair then they keep the card and continue the game by offering their cards to the next player. When a player eventually loses all their cards they are 'saved' and stop playing. At the end of the gam
Read more

Caps, Cap Bombs, Cap Guns - I loved them all!

By -
Image
Cap guns became popular following World War 2, TV's were being watched all around the UK and companies began to create all different types, styles and colours of cap guns for children. Children all over the world saw their heroes fighting crime and therefore began reenacting their own scenes by collecting these toy guns . Cap guns were always a highlight toy during my childhood; especially for my 8 year old brother and his friends. I remember my siblings and I feeling almost like James Bond with our pretend, smokey gun shots around the house. Pretending to be spies or action heroes...we could play for hours and hours with our cap guns and bombs.   They really are something so simple yet so affective. What a brilliant toy! It's amazing to see them still being sold. They were a classic toy in the 50's, 90's and they seem to be just as popular now! The cap bombs produce a puff of smoke when thrown on the ground (completely harmless!) Similarly with the cap gu
Read more