Games are full of maths.
Sometimes it's obvious. There are scores to add, coins to spend or dice to roll.
Sometimes it's much less visible.
A player decides whether a risky move is worth taking. They compare two pieces of equipment with different stats. They work out the fastest route across a map. They notice that one strategy seems to win more often than another.
They may never stop and think, I'm doing maths right now.
But probability, percentages, statistics, spatial reasoning, resource management and mathematical decision-making can all be sitting underneath the game.
That doesn't mean every game needs to become a maths lesson. It does mean that if your child loves games, there may be more mathematical thinking happening than first appears.
Probability: What are the chances?
Any game involving dice, shuffled cards or random events has probability built into it.
Sometimes the maths is simple. Roll a standard six-sided die and there are six possible outcomes. Draw one card from a deck and the cards remaining affect what you might draw next.
But games can make probability much more complicated.
What are the chances of rolling two sixes?
If an attack has a 70% chance of succeeding, why did it just fail three times in a row?
If a rare item has a 1% chance of appearing, how long might you actually have to wait before you find one?
Does adding another die make a particular result more or less likely?
Players don't necessarily need to sit down and calculate all of these things. They often develop an intuitive sense of probability simply by playing.
They know one outcome is unlikely.
They know they're taking a risk.
They know that drawing one particular card would save them, but the chances aren't looking good.
And sometimes they want to know the actual numbers because the answer matters to them.
Scoring: Who's actually winning?
A score might look like one of the simplest uses of maths in a game.
Then game designers start adding rules.
Perhaps different actions are worth different numbers of points. There are bonuses for completing a set. Some points are doubled. Others are lost at the end of the game. Maybe there's more than one way to win.
Suddenly, players have decisions to make.
Is it better to complete lots of easy 5-point actions or attempt something difficult worth 50?
Is that bonus actually worth pursuing?
How far behind am I?
Can I still win?
Change the scoring system and you can change the entire game.
If collecting something is suddenly worth twice as many points, players may start making completely different choices. Something that used to be ignored could become the most valuable thing on the board.
The numbers aren't just recording what happened.
They're shaping what players do.
Health, damage and percentages
Video games in particular are packed with numbers.
Health points. Attack damage. Defence. Speed. Accuracy. Critical-hit chances. Cooldown times. Percentage boosts.
A player choosing between two pieces of equipment might be comparing several mathematical variables at once.
One weapon does more damage but attacks more slowly.
Another is weaker but has a higher chance of a critical hit.
One piece of armour adds 20 points of defence. Another increases defence by 10%.
Which is better?
The answer might depend on the character's existing stats, the opponent and the way the player likes to play.
This is one reason percentages can suddenly become relevant in a gaming context. A 15% increase isn't an abstract calculation when you're trying to work out whether an upgrade is actually worth using.
Game economies: Spend now or save?
Many games create their own economies.
Players might collect gold, coins, gems, food, energy, materials or some other limited resource.
Then they have to decide what to do with it.
Buy something now or save for something better?
Spend resources upgrading an existing character or unlock a new one?
Is the expensive item actually better value?
Which resource is hardest to replace?
What should you prioritise when you can't afford everything?
Some games take this much further, with trading systems, changing prices, scarce resources or entire player-driven economies.
Even relatively simple resource systems can involve comparison, budgeting and trade-offs.
You have 500 coins.
You want three things that cost 150, 275 and 400.
You can't have them all.
Now the interesting question isn't just Can you add these numbers?
It's What are you going to do?
Maps, grids and coordinates
Not all game maths is about numbers on a screen.
Games can involve a huge amount of spatial thinking.
Players navigate maps, estimate distance, recognise patterns, rotate objects, plan routes and think about where things are in relation to each other.
Grid-based games make this particularly visible.
A character might move a certain number of spaces each turn. An attack might reach three squares. Players may need to position pieces carefully or work out the shortest route to somewhere.
Other games use coordinate systems. Minecraft is an obvious example, with players using coordinates to find locations, navigate large worlds and return to places they've discovered.
Again, the maths has a purpose.
Knowing where you are matters when you've wandered several thousand blocks away from your base.
Strategy can involve maths too
Some of the most interesting mathematical thinking in games doesn't look like a calculation at all.
It looks like making a decision.
Do I take the guaranteed small reward or risk it for a larger one?
Should I use this resource now or save it for later?
Which move gives me the most options on my next turn?
What is my opponent most likely to do?
If this strategy worked four times but failed six times, is it actually a good strategy?
Players can be estimating likelihood, comparing quantities, identifying patterns, predicting outcomes and weighing risk without writing down a single equation.
Not every strategic decision is mathematical, of course. Games can also involve creativity, memory, social understanding, bluffing and plenty of other kinds of thinking.
But maths is often one part of the decision.
Games generate a lot of data
Wins and losses.
Goals scored.
Accuracy.
Completion times.
Damage dealt.
Resources collected.
Character statistics.
Rankings.
Games can generate lots of data, and sometimes players care deeply about what that data tells them.
That creates opportunities to ask interesting questions.
Which character performs best?
Has my completion time actually improved?
What's my average score?
Do I win more often with one strategy than another?
Does the player ranked first actually have the best statistics?
You can also start questioning the data itself.
If one player has won 80% of their games but has only played five times, while another has won 70% after playing 100 times, what can you really conclude?
Statistics aren't only about calculating numbers. They're also about deciding what those numbers can reasonably tell us.
You don't need to extract all the maths from the game
Once you start noticing the maths in games, it can be tempting to point out every educational possibility.
But you don't need to.
If your child is happily building something in Minecraft, you don't have to interrupt them with a question about coordinates.
You don't need to turn their character statistics into a worksheet.
And a board game doesn't need to end with a conversation about probability to make the experience worthwhile.
Sometimes learners will notice the maths themselves because they need it.
Sometimes they'll ask a question because the answer matters to what they're trying to do.
Sometimes you might notice an interesting direction and offer it.
And sometimes they'll just play the game.
Recognising the maths that's already there isn't about squeezing an educational outcome out of every hobby.
It's about noticing that mathematical thinking can happen in many more places than a maths workbook.
Explore the maths of making a game
In Game Makers, learners explore games and work towards creating a game of their own.
Depending on the game they choose to make, that might involve scoring systems, probability, resources, maps, statistics, movement, player abilities or balancing different numbers.
It doesn't need to include all of them.
The maths appears where the game needs it.
A learner might spend ages adjusting the probability of a particular card appearing because it keeps making their game too easy. Another might be completely absorbed in creating a scoring system. Someone else might care much more about the characters, artwork or story and use very little formal maths at all.
That's part of an interest-led project.
There isn't one predetermined path through the learning.
But when maths does appear, there's a reason for it to be there.
