Before You Play

Check prerequisite knowledge through conceptual questions and spatial reasoning. Students need multiplication fluency and place value understanding to succeed.

What happens when you multiply a number by 10? Why?

Listen for: Students who say "add a zero" without explanation need deeper understanding. Strong responses reference place value structure: "Each digit represents ten times more" or "6 becomes 6 tens, which is 60." Watch their hands: Students who gesture left when talking about multiplying by 10 have spatial intuition worth building on, even if they can't articulate it yet.

If you have 12 ones on your Treasure Tracker, what needs to happen? Why?

Listen for: Recognition that 10 ones equals 1 ten, not just "carry the one" language. Students who say "regroup," "swap," or "trade" understand exchange. Students who say "put a 1 in the tens column" may be following rules without understanding equivalence—critical for the tracker's regrouping constraint.

Point to where you'd record 8 coins on your tracker. Now 80 coins. What's different?

Watch their fingers: Students who confidently point to ones, then tens understand spatial organization of place value. Students who hesitate or point to the same location need clarification that position determines value. Have them trace from the column label down to the circles—connecting the abstract label to the concrete recording space.

Setup Tip: Arrange groups of 3-4 where everyone can see each other's trackers without standing. Position matters—students glance at a neighbor's work and compare totals naturally when trackers are visible. Pair strong multipliers with those building fluency so they can verify calculations together.

During Gameplay

The game creates opportunities for strategic thinking and spatial reasoning. Watch how students calculate, record on trackers, and coordinate with partners.

Movement & Card Draw

You landed on 7 coins and drew ×50. How will you calculate that?

Listen for: Efficient strategies like "7 times 5 is 35, so 7 times 50 is 350" reveal understanding of how multiplying by 10 works. Students who add 50 seven times or count by 50s need that concrete approach initially. Follow up: "Why did multiplying by 50 give you hundreds?"

⚡ Notice: Students who point to the board's coin value while reading their multiplier card are connecting the two numbers spatially. This physical linking—keeping one number visible while reading the other—prevents forgetting which space they landed on.

Multiplication Strategy

When you multiply by 30 or 70, what's your strategy?

Listen for: Students who decompose ("multiply by 3, then by 10") show multiplicative reasoning. Students who recognize patterns ("multiplying by 30 puts the answer in tens and hundreds") develop place value intuition. What matters is articulating a strategy rather than guessing.

For a product like 240, where do those digits go on your tracker and why?

Listen for: Students who explain "2 goes in hundreds, 4 in tens" because "240 means 2 hundreds and 4 tens" understand positional notation. Students who can't explain why need prompting. Have them place one finger on each column header while explaining what the digits represent.

⚡ Try This: If students struggle with where to record, don't tell them. Have them touch each column header (hundreds, tens, ones) and ask: "Which columns will you use for 240?" The physical anchoring to headers helps them think through positions.

Recording on Tracker

You're shading circles one at a time. Is there a faster way to record 40 coins?

Listen for: Recognition that "I can shade 4 rows in the tens" shows place value thinking—each row represents 10. Students who don't see this efficiency are thinking additively (1+1+1...) rather than multiplicatively. After they discover it, ask: "Why does shading 4 rows give you 40?"

⚡ Notice: How students organize shading. Those who complete full rows before moving to the next work systematically. Students who shade scattered circles lose track and make counting errors. The grid structure supports organized thinking—don't let students bypass it.

Regrouping

You have 13 shaded circles in the ones column. What needs to happen?

Listen for: Language like "I need to trade 10 ones for 1 ten" or "I can only have 10 in each column, so I regroup." Students who recognize this constraint understand the mathematical purpose of place value. Ask them to show you: they should cross out or erase 10 ones and shade 1 ten, physically demonstrating the exchange.

Why does the tracker only have 10 rows per column?

Listen for: Connection to base-ten: "Because when you get 10 of something, it becomes 1 of the next thing" or "10 ones make 1 ten, 10 tens make 1 hundred." The tracker's physical constraint mirrors how our place value system works.

⚡ Partner Check: When students regroup, have their partner watch and verify: "Did they cross out exactly 10? Did they add exactly 1 to the next column?" Partners should point to both spots—where circles were removed and where one was added. This dual pointing builds precision.

Strategic Thinking

You're choosing which path to take. What are you thinking about?

Listen for: Strategic reasoning like "I want treasure chests because they're worth more" or "If I go this way, I might get the bottle bonus." Some students notice that high coin values with large multipliers yield the most treasure. This estimation work—recognizing that 9 × 50 beats 2 × 20 without calculating exactly—is valuable mathematical thinking.

⚡ Notice Body Language: Students who lean forward to scan the board before deciding their move are planning ahead strategically. Those who move quickly without looking aren't thinking about coin value positioning. Slowing down movement decisions encourages this forward-thinking habit.

After You Play

Focus consolidation on articulating strategies and generalizing patterns. Connect gameplay experience to broader place value and multiplication concepts.

What did you notice about multiplying by 10, 20, 30, or other multiples of 10?

Listen for: Pattern recognition like "The product always ends in zero" or "The answer is bigger by a whole place value." Students who articulate that multiplying by 10 shifts everything one column left understand the structural relationship. Push further: "Why does that happen?"

How did the tracker help you think about place value? What made it useful or challenging?

Listen for: Insights like "It forced me to organize my thinking" or "I could see when I needed to regroup because the column was full." Students who found it challenging may say "I kept forgetting to swap" or "I wasn't sure which column"—the tracker reveals whether students understand place value or just follow procedures.

Compare your tracker with two others. How can you quickly tell who has more treasure without counting every circle?

Listen for: Place value comparison: "Look at thousands first, then hundreds, then tens" shows understanding that position determines magnitude. Students who count all circles miss the power of place value notation. Have efficient students explain their strategy. Watch for students who physically place trackers side-by-side to compare column-by-column—they're using spatial organization effectively.

If you played again, what would you want to get faster at?

Listen for: Self-awareness about which multiplications slowed them down. Some identify specific facts (7×8), others recognize they need strategies for multiples of 10. This sets learning goals.

Extensions & Variations

Simplified Multipliers

For students building fluency, limit cards to ×2, ×5, and ×10 for the first few games. This reduces cognitive load on multiplication facts while they focus on place value recording and regrouping. Gradually introduce larger multipliers.

Three-Column Challenge

For students who find the full tracker overwhelming, use only hundreds, tens, and ones initially. This simplifies place value work while maintaining the regrouping constraint. Core mathematical ideas remain but with less spatial complexity.

Estimation Contest

Before calculating each product, students estimate whether the answer will be in tens, hundreds, or thousands. Award bonus points for correct estimates. This builds number sense and forces thinking about magnitude before computing.

Strategy Comparison

After gameplay, students share their most efficient multiplication strategy. Chart these as a class. Did someone decompose 7 × 40 cleverly? Did anyone use doubling? Building a class strategy library makes thinking visible.

Target Number Challenge

Set a target total (500 or 1,000) before starting. Players try to get as close as possible without going over. This adds strategic decision-making—play it safe with smaller coins or risk large values? Encourages estimation and planning.

Decimal Extension

For advanced students, add ones and tenths columns to the left. Landing on fractional coin values (0.5, 0.2) and multiplying extends place value to decimals. The same regrouping principles apply: 10 tenths become 1 one.

Practical Notes

Timing

First game takes 20-25 minutes including setup and establishing routines. Subsequent games run 12-15 minutes as students develop efficiency. The unpredictable end (when Tenbeard appears) means some games are shorter—this variability keeps engagement high.

Prerequisites

Students need basic multiplication fluency (comfortable with facts through 10×10). If students are counting on fingers for 6×7, the simultaneous cognitive load of place value recording will overwhelm. Build automaticity first, then add place value complexity. The game reinforces facts but doesn't teach them.

Grouping

Groups of 3-4 work best. Pairs move too quickly for mathematical discussion; groups of 5+ create excessive wait time. In a group of 4, each student turns about every 2 minutes, maintaining engagement without rushing. Mixed-ability grouping works well—stronger students model strategy and verification.

Materials

Print trackers on cardstock or laminate for reuse with dry-erase markers. Paper trackers wrinkle easily, making it harder to see the grid structure. Each student needs something to shade with—pencils work best because they erase for multiple rounds. Keep the board flat and central so all players see coin values clearly.

Common Errors

Watch for three mistakes: (1) Wrong place value column—students put 240 in ones and tens instead of tens and hundreds; (2) Forgetting to regroup—accumulating 12+ shaded circles in a column; (3) Incorrect swaps—crossing out the wrong number (not exactly 10) or forgetting to add to the next column. Address through partner verification and deliberate pausing: "Check your columns with your partner before moving on."

Assessment

Collect completed trackers to examine patterns. Look for: systematic row-based shading (indicates place value thinking), accurate regrouping, and appropriate column usage. The tracker is a written record of understanding. Students who struggle to read their final total without counting every circle need more foundational place value work.