Mul Ti Pli is an interactive board game that helps improve children’s multiplication skills. With simple rules, the game combines number sequences and challenges students to find the factors that make up the operations, performing the multiplications in reverse.
In each round, new cards are dealt, and new challenges must be solved—but players need to be careful with the “forbidden numbers,” which can’t be used to form the operation. The objective of the game is to be the first to run out of cards.
Mul Ti Pli supports the development of logical thinking and exercises multiplication skills in a dynamic and didactic way. The game is recommended by the Portuguese Mathematical Society (APM) in Portugal.
Mul Ti Pli is a game that can be played by up to four students simultaneously. In the absence of one or more players, the “machine” takes over the vacant spots. The game’s home screen displays four spots for players and a central menu with the following features: “Options” (to enable or disable music, sound effects, and narration), “Information” (to view the game description), “How to Play” (to view the game instructions), and “Scoreboard” (to view the scores registered after each round).
The game offers four difficulty levels: Basic, Medium, Expert, and Super. In Super mode, for example, students have only a few seconds to make their moves. The cards feature multiplication operations from tables 3 to 9. The goal is to consolidate multiplication concepts and promote the development of logical reasoning, mental calculation, observation, and analysis skills. Players also need to pay attention to their opponents’ cards, as the goal is to run out of cards. To start the match, simply tap the “Play” button.
The game Mul Ti Pli is a valuable tool to make the multiplication learning process more dynamic and fun, providing a rich and effective educational experience.
By integrating this game into their lessons, teachers can explore several strategies to make learning more effective, engaging, and meaningful, whether individually or collectively.
The game goes beyond solving mathematical calculations, as it challenges students to develop critical and creative thinking skills to apply problem-solving strategies. As a result, it contributes to the understanding of properties of mathematical operations and to the development of different calculation strategies with natural numbers.
In addition, the different difficulty levels in the game are useful features that allow teachers to tailor the experience to each student’s learning pace. For Special Education, through problem-solving challenges, the game develops the investigative spirit, strengthens attention and working memory, and allows students to compare, communicate, question, and validate hypotheses about numerical writing and reading.
