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What is it?
Each year, when looking at our schemes of work, the first thing I always check is when Factors and Multiples are coming up. The reason is I simply cannot wait to play The Factors and Multiples Game. I thought there was no more room in my life for another amazing factors and multiples related, rich activity. I was wrong. Step forward Gonzito. The rules are pretty similar. This time students roll a dice and look for numbers on the board that are multiples of their number. This allows them to capture a square in their quest to get 4 in a row, or get across the board. From this simple beginning, a whole host of mathematics follows.

How can it be used?
Like the Factors and Multiples Game, Gonzito works well with students in pairs playing against each other. Once students have mastered the basics and played Gonzito a few times, it is time to wheel out the probing questions and variations. The author provides some of his own:

One dice or two?
Six sided dice or ten?
Four or Five in a row?
What if there is no winner?
The Longest Chain?

I would add a few suggestions of my own:

What number can you get in the most ways? How about the least ways?
What is the easiest board you could design? How about the hardest?
What is the most useful number on your dice? How about the worst number?
What rule change would you bring in to change the game?

As regular readers will know, I adore rich tasks like this, where students start off at the same point, and then differentiation happens through probing questions and lines of inquiry. Gonzito will be a regular feature of my Factors and Multiples lessons for years to come.

Thanks for sharing!
Craig Barton

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