These games can be played with flashcards or playing cards (even if you're not playing with a full deck!). Tic-Tac-Toe       Lay out nine flashcards in a 3x3 square. Give the two players different playing pieces, such as coins, buttons, or paper clips. The first player places her piece on a card and says the word or letter or does the math problem. If she is correct, her piece remains on that card. If incorrect, she must remove it. The second player may attempt the same problem (if #1 was wrong) or do a different one. The winner is the first person to make three in a row. Pyramid       Remove the jokers and face cards from a deck of playing cards. Arrange 21 of the remaining cards in a pyramid; i.e., one in the top row, two overlapping the bottom of that one, three overlapping those two, etc. You should be able to read all the numbers when you're done. To play, remove sets of ten on fully exposed cards. In other words, you can remove a 10, or a 7 and 3, or two 5s, or an Ace, 3, and 6. Only those cards that are not covered by another can be removed. Play ends when no one can move. This game can be played by one player, or by two or more taking turns. Math War       Each player receives half the deck of flashcards. Both players flip over a card and do the math problem. The one with the highest correct answer takes both cards. In event of a tie, players each put three cards face down, then a fourth face up and do their respective problems. Winner takes all. Play continues until one player has all the cards or both get bored. Variation: Using regular playing cards with the face cards removed, play like regular War except flip over two cards at once and add or multiply them. How Close Can You Get?       Remove the tens and face cards from a deck. Shuffle, then deal each player four cards, face down, and two in the middle, face up. The first face-up card is the tens place, the second the ones place. For instance, if you dealt an ace and a 5, the target number is 15. Each player then turns up his cards and uses them to create a two-digit subtraction problem such that the difference is as close to the target number as possible. For example, if you were dealt a 3, 4, 6, and 8, you might come up with 84 - 63 = 21. You can even let players trade cards with each other to get closer. Your score is the difference between what you got and the target number. In our example, if the closest you could get was 21, your score for that round would be 6. The winner has the lowest total score after five rounds. Variations: Have a one-card target number to make it easier, or a three-card target number to challenge. (Deal six cards to each player for the harder variation.) If players differ in ability, give them separate target numbers, with the advanced player doing the three-digit variation.