We Play on Math Monday – Lego ‘Doku

We recently found the game “Stardoku” on Gudli Games. It’s a computer-based kids version of the popular game Sudoku. It uses colored stars and either a 4X4 or 6X6 grid, depending on how difficult you want the game to be for the child. It got my wheels turning. I knew that I could easily use the concept to make a fun hands on game.

First, I created the following 4X4 and 6X6 grids – feel free to click on either to download it as a pdf file from 4shared:

Click the picture to download the size grid that you're interested in as a pdf file.

Edited to add: The following instructions are for the 4X4 game, for the more challenging 6X6, use six each of six different colored markers.

For our test game, I just printed the grid out in black and white. I later went back and printed it in color on cardstock and I am going to laminate it for durability.

Second, I selected four colors of 2X2 Lego Duplo bricks to use as the games pieces. You’ll need four pieces of each color to play. If you don’t have Duplos, any small marker in four colors can work. You could also print out the 4 copies of the numbers 1 through 4 if you want to make the game more like traditional Sudoku.

Rules of the game:
Each color may only be used once in each row or column, or four square group (each of the colored corners). Once the puzzle is complete, there should be no duplicates in each area.

Setup:
Place some of the colored blocks on the grid, at least 4 to get the child started building out the puzzle. There are some grids available on the internet that show template patterns. When you’re first introducing the child to the game, you may want to start by having only one color missing in each row so that they see how the patterns work. I started Tornado Boy with 4 blocks on the grid. He works the board independently now, usually recognizing pretty quickly if he has created a duplicate in a row. Here are a few pictures of his game play:

The board setup.

Placing the first couple of blocks.

Getting Closer!

Victory! Such a boy!

Tornado Boy really loves this game. I think I may try to move him up to the 6X6 grid this week, though it is a much bigger challenge depending on how many squares are filled in to begin with.

Check out what other kids are playing at Childhood 101 and to see what other kids are working on for math, check out Math Links at Joyful Learner.