Math Rush is a great game for the whole family to enjoy over the holidays. This game is not only entertaining, but it is educational as well. With Math Rush, you can experience speed math in an exciting cooperative math game that will make your head spin. Players in this fast-paced card game must work as a team to sequence addition and subtraction equation solutions, all while racing against the clock.
Each round, players receive a hand of Number cards depending on the number of players. Two players, for example, get five cards each. Each card shows an addition or a subtraction equation. Calculating the value of each card will require players to do their own math. Blue cards are addition cards, and pink cards are subtraction cards. On the back of each card is a letter in the corner. For ascending Goals, the letters should be in alphabetical order and in reverse for descending Goals. (Math Rush can also be played solo.)
To begin, one player sets a timer(not included) and game play begins.
Playing cards from the hands is done at any time, rather than in turn. The Gold Cards tell you how many cards are needed for a row. In the case of ascending goal cards, the next card played must be higher than the previous one.
To play a card, players place it to the right of a Goal card and to the right of the card played in that row. Each subsequent card must continue to meet the conditions of the Goal card in its row.
For example, if a Goal card shows ascending odds only, the next card played must be higher than the previous card and an odd number.
Help cards are also available during rounds. When you play a Help card, you can remove any number of Number cards from a row, or you can discard any number of cards from your hand and redraw.
The Goal card is flipped face-down once there are enough cards in a row to equal the number printed on it, after which another Goal card is drawn and played. This ensures there are always three Goal cards in play. The stars on the cards are how many points the card is worth, which are added up at the end of the game.
Once the 3-minute timer ends, players stop playing cards and check the Goals they’ve completed.
Players then shuffle all the cards into their decks and play another round.
After three rounds are played, players total their score and see how well they did.
Due to the difficulty of Math Rush, we created our own version for our eight-year-old daughter. A one-on-one game was played with each opponent flipping a card and the first person to answer would get a point or choose a wild card. She enjoyed the game, and at the same time her math skills improved.
Math Rush isn’t just challenging for kids. My wife and I were pleasantly surprised at how challenging the game was for us as well. The equations might be simple, but the strategy and challenges involved with working together to complete the required goals under the pressure of time has you pulling out your hair. We found ourselves constantly recalculating the values of the cards in our hands to know when and where to place them.
Even though my wife and I enjoyed playing Math Rush the true reward was seeing our daughter’s math improve. The game is much more fun than flash cards.
Be sure to check out other fun family games from Genius Games!
