Game Review: Proof! {Math}

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{I purchased this game myself. All opinions are my own!}

Read on for a detailed REVIEW.

When I went to buy Adsumudi, Amazon was kind enough to suggest I also look at Proof! {They’re so clever!} Turns out, not ony is Proof another great little game for mental math, it’s even made by the same people as Adsumudi. I’m finding that the games made by The Master Theorem Games are high quality with excellent educational value and think you’ll probably agree.

In addition to reviewing the

FUN FACTOR and the

EDUCATIONAL VALUE,

I will also include info on the

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT,

TIME COMMITMENT,

CLARITY LEVEL

and an OVERALL SCORE.

NAME: Proof!

PUBLISHER: The Master Theorem Games

CATEGORY: Math

SUB CATEGORY: All four operations plus square roots

TIME COMMITMENT: Minimal+{15-30 minutes}

PLAYERS: 2-6

AGES: 9+

HOW TO WIN: Earn the most points by being the first to create a mental math equation out of the displayed cards.

CLARITY LEVEL: ♥♥♥♥♥ The instructions are clear and include awesome images as well, but it did take some actual playtime for us to really understand it, but that was just a matter of a minute or two. CLARITY LEVEL SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

FUN FACTOR: ♥♥♥♥_ Okay, I won’t lie. I do not find mental math to be fun at all! But, my son, who does not like math and stinks at mental math in particular, actually really liked this game and found it fun! And, he probably represents the true target market for this game so we’ll go with his opinion. 🙂 Just don’t expect it to be laugh out-loud, rolling tears kind of fun. There are NO silly gimmicks or fun gadgets with this game. FUN FACTOR SCORE: 4/5 ♥♥♥♥_

EDUCATIONAL LEVEL: ♥♥♥♥♥ If you are looking for a game that allows for practicing all four operations AND is pure mental math, this is a game you should seriously consider. The components are simple but the concept is serious. I did not realize, until we were in the middle of the game, that much of the game is spent on creating two equal equations! At first, I was trying to do simple math with an equal sign in the middle and a single number on the other side, like 2+2=4. But, then I figured out that I could create a whole lot more if I looked for two equations that equaled the same thing! Like, 2+2 = 10×4-36. My math brain got a bit overwhelmed with it all but my mama brain was thrilled that my kid was working on some serious math with multiple steps. I also like the fact that you CAN use harder math with multiple steps and square roots but you can also just try to stick to simple addition/subtraction. EDUCATIONAL LEVEL SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT: ♥♥♥♥♥ Proof comes in a nice and sturdy little box and consists of only 100 cards {sized just like playing cards} and a fold-out set of directions. That is it! So easy to keep organized and store! ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

OVERALL SCORE: ♥♥♥♥♥ This game might be small and seem simple with only numbered cards, but the little box is actually packed full of some serious mental math practice! OVERALL SCORE: 95% ♥♥♥♥♥

If you are ready to offer your kids “the fast pased game of mental math magic,” you can buy it here on Amazon.

If you would like to see how to play, continue on….

ONE: Shuffle cards and shuffle them well!

TWO: Lay out nine cards for all to see.

TIP: Lay the cards out so all players can see them equally well. If your players are unevenly matched, make sure the cards are facing the player who is less mathematically-inclined.

THREE: At the same time, all players attempt to find an equation using the nine cards. Nobody gets to touch or move the cards. It’s all mental math.

FOUR: Once a player finds an equation, he/she yells out a number {the answer to the equation they came up with.} This pauses the game.

FIVE: The player who yelled out the number, now needs to show proof that his/her math is correct.

TIP: The instructions do not explain if this is allowed or not, but we allowed the player to show proof by moving the cards around. Otherwise, it was too hard for some of us {ME!} to keep track of the equation we were trying to check.

SIX: If the math is correct, that player takes those cards and keeps them. They will count as one point each when the game is done.

SEVEN: The dealer replaces the missing cards and another round is played.

EIGHT: When all cards have been played, the players count their cards. The one with the most cards, wins the game!

EXAMPLES: Note: I added the math signs to use as a visual for you, but the purpose of this game is mental math so it’s actually done all in a player’s head.

If the above nine cards were displayed, here are a few equations that could work: