Brain games and puzzles
Maze Maker
Design your own maze on squared paper with one true path and lots of dead ends, then swap with a friend.
Thinking sheet · Brain games and puzzles
Dots and Boxes
The classic pencil game: take turns joining dots, close a box to claim it and draw a tiny face inside.
- Grades
- 1–5
- Time
- about 15 minutes
- Kids practice
- strategy, counting, planning ahead
What kids do
“Join two dots on your turn. Close a box? Draw your face in it and go again!”
- Game board
- Boxes won
- My strategy:
How to run it
- Agree on a smaller area of dots for younger kids.
- Lines go up, down or across, never diagonal.
- Claimed boxes get a tiny doodle face.
Talk about it
- When should you avoid making the third side?
- Who won and why?
- How is this like chess?
Take it further
Play on a bigger board and keep a class record.
Pairs well with
Free for home and classroom use. Print as many copies as you need.
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