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Shape Up Your Math Skills - Fun for all grades with 0 to 20 Shape Playing Card Games!

     


At Didax, we’re passionate about creating engaging, high-quality materials that make math fun and accessible for students. Our newest addition, the 0-20 Shape Playing Cards, is a perfect example. These versatile cards aren’t just for one grade level or topic—they’re designed to seamlessly support a wide range of math concepts. From counting to operations, these cards offer endless opportunities for hands-on learning and fun. Since traditional cards don’t have the numbers 0-20, they often do not fully address fluency skills students need to practice with. That’s where this innovative set of cards comes in as they provide the range of numbers needed in K-5 and beyond! 


These fun and aesthetically pleasing cards help students to visualize numbers 0-20 and learn 4 basic shapes - circle, square, triangle, and diamond. Each card shows the number represented as a ten-frame using the shapes. Visualizing numbers using ten as a benchmark supports subitizing as well as more efficient operating. 
 
Each deck includes 4 cards of each numeral 0-20 for fact fluency practice: addition and subtraction, multiplication and even division! The 84 cards come in separate sets of 0-10 and 11-20 to differentiate beginner and advanced play. Students develop collaboration and communication skills as they play a limitless number of card games. Here are some fun ideas for a variety of ages and math concepts:  
 
Number Match   
Ages: 3-6, 1-4 Players  
Concepts: Counting, Number Recognition, Teen Numbers    
Each player (or pair) needs one set of shuffled 0-10 OR 0-20 cards, distributed by shapes (suit). They also need 20 counters. In each round, players select the top card from their deck and then count out a set of counters to match the card. Players may check one another's representations. Play is over when all cards have been represented, but there are no winners in this game.  
To focus on teen numbers as ten and some more, provide students with ten frames to represent the numerals using counters.  
 
Stack It 
Ages: 3-6, 2-4 Players  
Concepts: Number List, Ordering  
Each player needs one set of 0-10 OR 0-20 cards, distributed by shape (suit). Players lay out their seven cards in the middle, side by side, and shuffle their remaining cards. In each round, players select the top card from their deck and try to add the next higher or lower number in their suit, trying to be the first to get rid of all their cards. If they cannot play a card, they place it at the bottom of the pile and try again next round.  
 
Card Sort  
Ages: 3-7, 1-4 Players  
Concepts: Attributes, Sorting, Shapes, Teen Numbers  
Each player (or small group) needs one deck of 0-10 OR 0-20 cards. Students decide on (or are given) categories to sort the cards into groups: shapes, odd/even, ones/tens and ones, colors, etc. Play is over when all cards have been sorted.  
  
Bingo 
Ages: 3-6, 1-4 Players  
Concepts: Number Recognition, Matching  
Each child, pair (or small group) needs one deck of 0-10 OR 0-20 cards. Each player is dealt 9 cards and lays out a 3 x 3 Bingo board. The remaining cards are placed face down in a center pile. Players take turns flipping over the top card. Player(s) who have that number on their board turns their card face down. Play continues until one player has a row flipped over horizontally, vertically, or diagonally and calls “Bingo!”  
 
Count On  
Ages: 3-7, 2-3 Players  
Concepts: Counting On to Add   
Each pair needs one deck of 0-10 OR 0-20 cards and 2 dice. The cards are shuffled and placed face down in a center pile. Players each take a card from the pile and roll their die. They state the number on the card and then count the dots on the dice. For example, they say, “6” for the card and then count, “7, 8, 9” for the dice. The player with the largest total keeps both cards. Play continues until the pile of cards is depleted, and the winner is the player who has the most cards.  
 
Top-It  
Ages: 3-11, 2 Players  
Concepts: Comparing, Operations, Place Value, Rounding, Fractions, Integers, Exponents     
Each pair needs one deck of 0-10 OR 0-20 cards. Optional – provide each pair with an index card with a greater than sign. Each player is dealt ½ the cards, placed in a pile face down. For each round, both players flip over their top card. Whoever has the higher card keeps both cards. Students should use the representations of the numerals to decide. If there is a tie, players play another round, and the winner takes cards from both rounds. Play continues until all cards in the piles have been played, and the winner is the player with the most cards.  


Variations:  
Odd-Even: Players decide if odd or even “wins.” Each flip over a card and determines if their number is even or odd.  
Operations: Students flip over two cards and add, subtract, or multiply; student with the larger result takes all 4 cards.  
Place Value: This game uses only 0-9 cards. Optional – provide students with comma and/or decimal point sticky notes. Students flip 2 or more cards over and arrange them as digits to create the largest multi-digit number they can. For example, cards 2, 0, 9, 3 could make the number 9,320 or 0.932.  
Rounding: This game uses only 0-9 cards. Students flip 2 or more cards over and round them to a pre-determined place. They write the number on a whiteboard and compare.  
Fractions: This game uses only 0-9 cards. Optional – provide students with index cards that have a fraction bar (or use a pencil). Students flip 2 cards over and make a fraction using the cards as a numerator or denominator. Decide prior to playing if the fractions will be less than or greater than one.  
Exponents: Students flip 2 cards over and use one card as the base number and one card as the exponent. Calculators may be used.  
Integers: This game uses 0-20 cards of only two suits (shapes). Players decide which suit (shape) is positive and which is negative. Students each flip one card over and determine which card is largest.

A game may also be played where players flip over two cards and add or subtract the integers.  
 
Race to 100 
Ages: 7+, 2 Players  
Concepts: Addition, Subtraction  
Each pair needs one deck of 0-20 cards and materials for writing. Each player is dealt ½ the cards, placed in a pile face down. For each round, both players flip over their top card. Then they create a running total by adding the card’s number to the previous amount. For example, round 1 card + round 2 card (14 + 7 = 21) + round 3 card (21 + 10 = 31), etc. Whoever gets closest to 100 first, without going over, wins.  
Or players start with a bank of “100” and subtract the number shown on the card each round. The goal is then to “Race to 0”.  
Variations:  
Each player deals themselves four cards and arranges them to make two 2-digit numbers that add up as close as possible to 100 without going over. For a subtraction version, work to get as close to zero as possible. 
 
Guess My Factor (or Addend)  
Ages: 7+, 3 Players  
Concepts: Multiplication Facts, Addition Facts  
Each group of 3 needs one deck of 0-10 cards, placed in a pile face down. Two players each draw a card from the deck without looking at it and hold it up to their foreheads, facing out. The third player multiplies the numbers and calls the product aloud. The other 2 players figure out what factor they are holding and tell one another. Play continues with a new player as the product “caller”. There is no “winner” in this game.  
This may also be played using addition rather than multiplication, caller tells the sum, and players guess their addends.  
 
Memory Match  
Ages: 7+, 2 Players  
Concepts: Addition, Multiplication, Even/Odd, Prime/Composite 
Each pair needs one deck of 0-10 cards. Players determine the number they are trying to find matches for, such as partners that add to 10. Spread out all the cards in equal rows. Players take turns flipping over two cards, and if their cards add up to the pre-determined number, the player keeps the cards. If not, then the cards are flipped back over and remain in play. 
Variations: find matches that add or multiply to an even number, or a prime number.  
 
Go Fish 
Ages: 7+, 2 Players  
Concepts: Addition, Partners to 10 (or another #)   
Players are dealt 5 cards each from the 0-10 card deck. The remaining cards are placed face down in a center pile. Each player looks for pairs from their hand that add up to 10. Players put down the pairs of cards that make 10 and draw new cards to replace the cards they put down.  
Players then take turns asking each other for cards that will make 10 with a card from their own hand. If the player gets the card, they put it down with their match and draw a card from the pile. If the player does not get the card, they must “Go fish” and draw a card from the pile. The game is over when there are no more cards, and the winner has the most matches.  
 
Make it Equal  
Ages: 5-7, 2 Players  
Concepts: Addition, Subtraction, Equality 
Each pair needs one deck of 0-10 OR 0-20 cards. The cards are shuffled and placed in a pile face down. For each round, both players flip over their top card. If the cards are not the same, or equal, players work together to determine how many shapes would need to be added to a card or taken from a card to make the amounts equal. For example, for cards 5 and 15, players may add or subtract to make them equal: 5 + 10 = 15 or 15 – 10 = 5. Players may record their equations. Cards used are placed in a discard pile. Play continues until there are no more cards. There are no winners in this game.   
 
Target Number  
Ages: 7+, 2 Players  
Concepts: Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division   
Each pair needs one deck of 0-20 cards and materials for writing. Each player is dealt 5 cards, placed face up in front of them. The remaining cards are placed in a pile face down. One card from the top of the pile is turned over to be the target number. Players may add, subtract, multiply or divide 2 or more of their cards to hit the target number. The winner of the round hits the target number using the largest number of cards, and they get all the cards from the round. The game is over when there are no more cards, and the winner has the most cards.  
 
Data Games  
Ages: 10+, 2 Players  
Concepts: Mean, Median, Mode   
Each pair needs one deck of 0-10, 0-20, or 10-20 cards and materials for writing. Each player is dealt ½ the cards, placed in a pile face down. Then they place 5 cards face up in front of them.  
Mean: In each round, players find the average of all their cards to determine their points.  
Median: Each player lays out their cards in order from least to greatest and finds the median number to determine their points.  
Mode: The students will look for the mode by finding any cards they have more than one of. The mode is their number of points. If there is no mode, they score a zero. If they have multiple modes, then the modes are added together.  


For all three games, students add their points of each round in a running total. The game is over when there are no more cards, and the winner has the most points.  

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Christine is a veteran educator, instructional coach, professional developer, and math curriculum writer with a passion for ensuring all students have access to engaging mathematics.