7 trick with dice

Magic trick

Recommended grade: SK+

Suggested Number of Players: 1-4 plus a Facilitator

Materials & Setup: two six-sided dice

How to Play

1. Facilitator rolls the dice and claims they can guess a number on the bottom side of the dice without looking

2. Facilitator announces the number on the bottom side of the dice first, than lifts the dice and shows the bottom part of the dice to everyone

3. Once the players properly intrigued, the facilitator explains the math behind the trick: the numbers on the opposite sides of the dice add up to 7.

4. To make a game out of this trick, start playing with one dice: roll itcand ask players:

• “<Number on the top on the dice> plus what number equals seven?”

or

• “Seven take away <number on the top on the dice> equals what?”

or

• “What number is on the bottom of the dice”?

5. Player who replies first wins the round

6. The game is played until each player won at least 5 rounds

Educational goals

Fluency in complements of 7, mental math, addition with sums under 12

Variations

• Roll 2 dice and ask players to add up what's on the bottom of the dice w/out looking
• Race players against each other or their parents
• Use 3 or more dice

Math can be hard and boring,
we make it fun and engaging!

A student can get a set of two soft dice
at our Centre as a reward for taking a free math assessment.
You can book the assessment here.

To find more dice and card math games - click here.