NUBBLE. pound;18.99 from the Happy Puzzle Company, PO Box 24041, London NW4 2ZN. Tel: 0800 376 3727 to place an order or to request a free catalogue; email: info@happypuzzle.co.uk; website: www.happypuzzle.co.uk
Like all the great games, Nubble is based on a simple premise: in this case you just have to create numbers; but therein lies its subtlety and its value as an educational tool.
Nubble is a board game for up to four players on which the numbers one to 100 are set out in a rhomboid pattern. The task is to throw four dice and from the numbers displayed on the faces create a new number (by applying a number operation - multiply, divide, add, or subtract in any combination) less than 100.
The player then finds the number on the Nubble playing board and covers it with a counter to earn money. That is the motivation - the highest numbers earn the most money. The players choose a banker who will distribute money during the game as well as playing.
As in Scrabble, there are instances where players can earn bonuses, for example by making a “Nubble” move. This is when a player lays down a counter that creates a triangle of counters on the board. Double bonus money is earned by making a Nubble move on a prime number - this is called a “double Nubble” move. A bonus is also earned by the player whose move ends the game.
The winner is the player with the most money when the game ends (when counters connect the numbers one and 100).
Strategies can change throughout the game. For example, initially everyone will try to create as large a number as possible, but as fortunes are amassed the strategy might be to create as small a number as possible in order to forge the link between one and 100 to end the game quickly.
Similarly, throwing low numbers on the dice does not necessarily mean that a reward is going to be small. Players look for “Nubble” and “double Nubble” opportunities on low numbers to raise their reward.
Educationally, this game is a sound activity as it enables pupils to practise those all-important numeric operations. For the less able there is a “cheat chart” of all multiplication bonds as an optional support when creating numbers.
Nubble is an excellent game. Thoroughly recommended.
Chris Drage is ICT manager at John Kelly girls’ technology college in the London borough of Brent
