Guess the Coins Money Game: FREE Printable Math Activity

Provide a fun way to practice counting money and utilize critical thinking skills. Download the FREE Guess the Coins printable game boards today!

Make math more fun by turning it into a game! I enjoy making fun, hands-on math games and activities for kids. My hope is that the printable games and math printables that I created for my own children will be beneficial for your children or students! The Guess the Coins math game is a great way to practice counting money all while using critical thinking skills.

Materials Needed for the Game:

• lots of coins (I like to use real coins, but you could also use pretend coins.)
• Guess the Coins printable (scroll for download instructions)

Prepare the Game:

Download and print one of the Guess the Coins game boards. There are three different styles to choose from based on the child’s proficiency with money.

Laminate or slide into a page protector for durability and repeated usage.

How to Play the Game:

The first player picks out some coins without letting the other players see.

The player tells the others the total number of coins they selected AND the total value of the coins they selected, but NOT which specific coins were selected.

As shown above, the player selected 9 coins that totaled $0.59. The player records this information at the top of the printable Guess the Coins page so that the other players can use it as a reference during the game.

Now, the critical thinking begins! The first person to correctly guess which coins were selected and place them on the page wins the round.

Players ARE allowed to physically use coins to count as they try to figure out which coins were selected. For an optional added level of difficulty, you can require the players to figure out the coins in their heads without being able to physically count them.

Continue playing as many rounds as you would like. Each round a new player takes turns selecting coins while the others guess…unless you prefer to be the sole coin selector so that the children get all the critical thinking practice!

This post was originally published on April 18, 2012.