Alright, here it goes. I would like to share what I have so far for the game Domain Rangers. I would love to have you download the graphs, but that's just not possible yet, because our scanner is down and the graphs are drawn by hand. Sorry. Stayed tuned for that update.
*UPDATE*
Here are the graphs:
I printed these back to back (one for each player). Once the students are okay with up, down, left, and right; they can flip it over and start using domain and range.
*UPDATE*
Here are the graphs:
Materials:
Anyway you would print four sets the graphs below, cut them out, and tape them to color index cards. You could just print them out on color paper, but I like the stability of index cards.
You could just make you own graphs in the mean time, however to keep things balanced, you will need to make sure the numbers in your domain and range are used equally. My graphs are drawn between -6 and 6 inclusive.
Next, you will need the number cards. I may have gone a little overboard, but I made 13 sets of the number -6 to 6. I think 7 sets would be enough. Mixed in with your number cards you will need about 4-5 cards that say Shield.
Here's a picture. You get the idea.
Finally, you need to create your weapon.
I printed these back to back (one for each player). Once the students are okay with up, down, left, and right; they can flip it over and start using domain and range.
The Story:
A long time ago in a land far away there were three brothers and one sister who each inherited a large piece of land due to their father's untimely death. All four children married and lived happily for a long time. However, the sister was unable to have children, became jealous of her brothers, and lost her mind with rage. The sister and her husband began to create a devious plot of revenge for her siblings' happiness. Together they made plans to take over the land of the other three, but knew they could never defeat them as they would defend each other.
They began by telling the eldest brother that the youngest brother planned to attack his country because he was always favored by their parents. To the youngest brother they lied and spun a dark tale of how the oldest brother murdered their father. The remaining brother had the most beautiful wife, so the sister and her husband told a story of how the beautiful wife committed adultery with the other brothers.
With the three brothers at war with each other the sister and her husband believe it will be easy to take over the other countries. But will it be that easy? Will her lies prevail and make her queen? Will one of the brothers prove victorious and become king over all the land? Only time will tell.
Set up for a 4-player game:
The graph cards: Each card is a city. The graph is the formation of the army that defends the city.
The weapon: The country has a weapon that will fire its ammunition in the shape of a rectangle.
Load the weapon: Use the number cards to load the weapon. The weapon must be loaded precisely to fire at a city. For example, suppose you want to attack this city:
You would need to load your weapon like this if you are a beginner:
Or like this if you are little more advanced:
Give each player 25-city cards all of the same color, one weapon, and a piece of scrap paper. Deal 7 number cards to each player, place the remaining number cards in the middle and place the top number card face up next to the pile. Each player will pick any 9 of their cities and place them in a 3x3 array, the remaining cards will sit in a pile near the player until later. The capital is the far corner city for each player. Each group will need about 10 items to use as a shield (I used black buttons).
All players will want to take some time to develop a strategy. A county can attack another country's city only if he has a city adjacent to it (no diagonal attacks). At first there are 6 cities that each person could potentially attack (the 3 cities of the person sitting next to him and the 3 cities of the person sitting across from him). Each player may take notes as to which numbers they will need to load into their weapon to take a city. I found it helpful to focus on no more than 4 cities at a time, it was too overwhelming for me otherwise.
Play begins with the person whose birthday is the closest.
The player takes either one number card from the pile or the top number card on the discard pile.
If he has the four cards he needs to load his weapon then he places them on the correct place and says "fire". If he is correct, the city is removed and replaced with one of his own. Those four number cards in his weapon are placed on the discard pile. The player picks up 4 more cards and discards one (he should now have7 cards in his hand again) . Play continues clockwise.
If a player places 4 number cards in the weapon but is incorrect, he places the 4 number cards back in his hand and the city remains.
If a player cannot load the weapon, he will pick one card to discard and play continues clockwise.
Shield cards: If a player has a shield card he can use it one of two ways. First, he can use it to shield any city of his by placing a button on that city. In order for that city to be captured another city would have to hit it twice (once to remove the shield and again to take over the city). The shield card can also be used to remove shield from cities. To use a shield card, the player must use it as his discard. The next player may not pick it up.
Winning the game. Once a country has captured another country's capital the game has ended.
*Note*
I feel like I forgot to mention something here. Feel free to make suggestion in the comments below.
Sounds like a well thought out game Nora! Let us know how your students like it & if you make any modifications.
ReplyDeleteI know it may sound odd, but I really like that you incorporated weapons into your game in a reasonable way. Violence in games/education settings is a loaded topic & I think people forget there's a pretty wide range to the whole idea. Unfortunately people often toss the baby out with the bathwater when they say absolutely no violence, but you included it in your game as a way for students to relate to the game plot/motivation to play the game & leverage math concepts in a fun way. So, good job!
My friends are working on a 3D math adventure game targeting middle schoolers. We've included bazookas which could be considered "bad", but the bazookas are really just number vacuums that also work in reverse. Would love your feedback if you felt so inclined to check out our trailer :) www.mathbreaks.com