Mathnasium sponsoring Play It! program at 2027 Midwinter Gaming Convention

We're excited to announce that Mathnasium s sponsoring Play It!, a game-playing challenge from the Midwinter Gaming Convention built for students in grades 1 through 8.

Set goals. Track games. Get rewarded.

The idea is simple. From now through December 31, 2026, students play games — at home, at a friend's house, at their local game store, anywhere. Log each game on a Play It! form, and turn in your completed forms at the Midwinter Gaming Convention in January for prizes.

• Five games earns a copy of the just released card game about colors and numbers: Coloroo by Lioness Games, donated by Mathnasium (hey, that's us!)
• Ten games earns Coloroo, a copy of GPS by Allplay, and a third game from a to be determined prize pool
• Fifteen games earns all of the above plus a luxury 7-die RPG set, donated by Botch, Inc.

Students must be present at the convention to claim their prizes.

Games count toward the challenge by category, and the list of games is designed to encourage variety. A game published the year you were born. Your parent's favorite childhood game. A game created in the state you live in. A game about a place you've visited — or a place you'd like to visit someday.

Wait, what do games have to do with Mathnasium?

Games are full of math that doesn't feel like math. Counting, adding, estimating odds, weighing trade-offs, strategically planning two moves ahead, and adjusting when the plan falls apart. That's number sense and problem-solving getting practiced for fun, in a setting where being wrong just means trying something else next turn.

It also gets families around a table together, which is never the wrong answer.

Start tracking now

The program runs through December, so there's plenty of time to get some plays in — but games only count once they're written down. Download the Play It! form and start logging.

Get your badges for Midwinter Gaming Convention

Midwinter Gaming Convention runs January 14–17, 2027 at The Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee. It's four days of board and tabletop gaming fun, with game experiences at all skill levels available, demo games, a vendor hall and more — a genuinely great weekend for a family that likes to play. You can buy tickets for the whole weekend or for a single day. A Junior Gamer (ages 4-11) badge for all four days is only $5 - an incredible deal. Adult badge options run from $30-85 depending on the number of days and whether you buy before 12/14.

Mathnasium of Oak Creek owner (and self-described boardgame nerd) Paul Post will be hosting a number of family/junior gamer friendly games on Saturday! If you have any questions about the convention, how to register, what the vibe is like, what games he's hosting, etc -- ask away!