I have a new favorite game. Integer War.
It’s played like regular War (the card game): everyone flips a card, the person with the highest card wins, play until someone gets all the cards. But all the cards represent an integer: black for positive numbers, red for negative, and all the face cards are taken out.
The game seems simple enough, but my 7th graders are ENTHRALLED with it! Many take it very, very seriously–they like to pretend it’s a game of skill, even though it’s not. Some hilarious quotes from the day:
Before a tiebreaker: “Oooooh, it’s on like popcorn! Like popcorn and ranch, boy!”
When a round is lost, regardless of the honesty of the other players: “They cheatin’! They cheatin’!!!”
When comparing -2 and -5: “OH yeah, that’s right! Would you rather owe 2 or owe 5? That’s right–owe 2!” (Negative numbers represent money you owe; positive numbers represent money you have–it helps them compare negative numbers)
Upon winning: “I took ‘em to the cleaners! Yeah, I took them to the CLEANERS!”
And, of course, there HAS to be an epic battle to end all battles in each class–the winningest players from each table must come together to fight to the death (or the end of the period, whichever comes first). It’s just so hilarious to see them get SO INTO the game–it almost feels like I’m tricking them into comparing integers.
This is such a fun idea. Awesome!