“When my son opened his Christmas cracker, he discovered ‘The Mystery Calculator,’ a little two-player card game. Of course, I was intrigued and offered to exchange my fake mustache for his game. Little did I know where this gem of a gift would take me.” Exploring the math behind the Mystery Calculator leads to a low-setup, high-fun activity! This session is also suitable for student circles or the classroom.

Algebra / Arithmetic
Mathematical Games
Number Theory

Problem Posing

MP1 - Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
MP5 - Use appropriate tools strategically.
MP7 - Look for and make use of structure.
MP8 - Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.