Mathable

Mathable - Scrabble meets math

Math and Scrabble come together in Mathable, a unique game based on mathematical equations. Play Mathable to improve your math skills or play it because math is your thing. Or like me, play it because you like Scrabble.

If you're already a Scrabble fan (played with letters instead of numbers), you'll see the similarities in the game set up in the image above. A board, wooden tile racks, wooden tiles and a tile bag (not shown) make up the contents.

The board measures about 15" square. It has 196 squares, some white, some with math symbols (add, subtract, multiple, divide) and bonus squares that are marked with 2x and 3x. There are also four squares in the very middle of the game marked 1, 2, 3, 4, which is where you will start the game.

There are 106 wooden, numbered tiles and 2 blank replacement tiles. The blank tiles are not used in the games as they are in Scrabble. These will only come into play if you lose a tile and need a tile to replace it. Just write the number on one side of the tile with a permanent marker. There is one 0, seven tiles each of numbers 2 - 10 and one tile for each number between 11 and 90. Included is a dark cloth bag to keep the tiles in so that you can't see what numbers you are choosing. There are 4 wooden tile racks that will each hold seven tiles. 

The instruction booklet has 8 pages and tiny print and when I saw it I wondered what I had gotten myself into. It turns out the instructions are written in six different languages, so not to worry. Mathable comes in several different versions, including a card game and Mathable Jr., which I will be blogging about soon.

Let's play.

Object:
Be the player with the most points at the end of the game.

Set up:
Open the game board and place it on the table between the players. Give each player a tile rack. Place the tiles in the bag and mix them. Each player will draw out seven tiles and place them on his rack.

Play:
Players take turns. Tiles will be placed on the board in mathematical equations. An equation is completed by adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing two adjacent numbers, putting a token with the result on an adjacent square in front of, behind, on top of or below, but never diagonally or in between. 

A player may place as many tiles as they can on the board in one turn. They do not have to be all in one place, they may place one here and one there, as long as they are finishing and/or making equations. To play a tile on a blue square with a math sign, you must be making an equation that corresponds to that symbol. (See the example in the image below of several different moves a player could make.) After playing as many tiles as they want from their rack, the player will draw tiles from the bag until they again have a total of seven on their rack. Their turn has ended.

Play continues around the board until all the tiles have been drawn and one player has used up all the tokens on their rack, or until no more equations can be made. The player with the highest score is the winner.


Scoring:

• The player will receive points for each tile that he plays during a turn.
• Play all seven tiles in a turn and receive an extra 50 points.
• Play a tile on a blue square (with a math sign) and immediately choose another tile from the bag, if desired.
• Play a tile on the 2x or 3x square and double or triple the tile amount for that tile.
• Play a tile that finishes more than one equation and score that tile amount for each equation it finishes.

Other rules:

• You may skip playing on the board and use your turn to exchange tiles on your rack for new tiles from the bag.
• You may correct another player's mistake only if it occurs on the turn that the tiles were played. If a player is caught making a mistake, he must take back the tile and his turn ends there. He will receive any points he made up until that move.
• You must subtract any points left on your tray from your game total once the game has ended. 

The instruction booklet gives an example of two players taking a turn. Each player places multiple tiles on each turn. The instructions recommend that you play out those two moves before playing a game so that you can better get an idea of how you will be playing. Yes, it may be confusing with all those numbers lying side by side on the board.

If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below.