Multiplication war,
fought across the table.
Deal out the deck and flip a card each. Every card is a number wearing a costume — decode both, multiply, and the first player to shout the product sweeps the pile. It's the classic card game of War, powered by your times tables. Two players, a table or a desk, about five minutes. No screens required.
Two players. One deck. Fastest times tables win.
This is the game: a printed deck two players fight over at a table or desk. Deal it out, flip, decode, and multiply — first to shout the product takes the cards. Two to five minutes, no screens. (The online drill further down is just for warming up.)
- 1
Two players (or two teams). Shuffle and deal the whole deck, face-down, split evenly.
- 2
Both players flip their top card at the same time.
- 3
Decode each card into its number — "Legs on an Insect" = 6, "Days in a Week" = 7.
- 4
Multiply the two values. First to shout the correct product — 6 × 7 = 42 — wins both cards.
- 5
War! On a tie, leave the cards down and flip one more each. Whoever wins that flip takes all four.
- ★
Wild card? Don't multiply — add the wild to your opponent's card to steal the pair. (That's the same rule the General rank uses online.)
- 6
Take all your opponent's cards, or hold the most when time runs out. A typical limit is 5 minutes.
Handicap option: stronger players can spot a one- or two-second delay before answering to keep it close.
Free study sheet (the decoder key)Practice solo against the clock
Not the main event — a solo warm-up for the card game above. Same disguised-number multiplication: everyone enlists at Corporal, out-multiply the 60-second clock to earn promotions, slow down and you're pulled back. Climb all the way to General, then go beat a friend at the table.
Score 18+ to earn a promotion · under 10 and you drop a rank · in between, you hold.
Four ranks. The game decides which one you hold.
There is no difficulty menu. You start at Corporal, and every 60-second round is an evaluation: crush it and you're promoted, stall and you're bumped down. Difficulty rises with each rank until, at General, the wild cards enter the fight.
Private
× tables 1–5 · number clues on
The training field. Small products and visible number clues under every card, so nobody gets stuck decoding.
Corporal — you start here
× tables 1–6 · clues off
Clues come off and the sixes join in. This is the honest starting line for most players, ages 7 and up.
Captain
× tables 2–9
The full multiplication grid, sevens and eights and nines included. Fluency under real pressure.
General
× tables 2–9 · wild = add
Top of the ladder. Wild cards now appear — and when one flips, the round switches to addition. A Wild worth 24 isn't a monster product; it's a fast sum.
Promotion at 18+ cards · demotion under 10 · hold your ground in between
Pick a theme.
Print the deck.
Every deck plays by the rules on this page — the same disguised numbers, the same wild-card twist. Choose the theme your students can't resist, from National Parks to Spanish numbers to the periodic table, and battle for math fluency.
Number Battle
Flip two cards, first to shout the product wins the pile. Multiplication fluency under pressure.
Sum of 10 Showdown
Hunt for pairs that add to ten. Fast number sense for the youngest players.
Teachers & parents put it to work as a…
- Math center
- Early-finisher activity
- Family game night
- Class tournament
- Schoolwide fundraiser
- Cross-subject review
Instant digital downloads · also playable on Blooket & Quizlet · sized for cardstock, rules included
Find the deck your class can’t put down.
Every theme plays by the exact rules up top — same disguised numbers, same wild-card twist. Filter by subject, then tap a card to open its deck.
Not sure where to start? Open General Engagement II — the deck this page is built around — or visit the shop.