I am homeschooling two VERY different children when it comes to math ability. My older daughter is a whiz and gets new concepts fairly quickly. Her younger brother, on the other hand, really struggles with math. I try to keep things light for him by adding in fun activities and games. When Math Dash came in for me to review, it sat on the shelf for a while because we were on summer break. Boy, I wish that I had opened it up sooner! This game is played similar to Connect Four. All the child has to do is correctly answer math problems and put markers on the game board to create a row of four markers-vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Players can also strategically place their markers to block an opponent trying to make a row of four! The first person to get four markers in a row is the winner.

The game can be played with up to eight players and covers both multiplication and division using the same game board. The purpose of the game is simple-to help children practice their multiplication and division facts. An answer key is printed on the bottom of the box. As a matter of fact, ALL instructions are printed on the bottom, so there is no loose instruction sheet that could get lost. I like this feature and wish more companies would print directions on the box. The directions also suggest two additional ways of playing the game. We played the game using both variations and found them to be fun too!

Both of my kids enjoyed the game. Because there is a degree of luck and strategy involved, the math whiz was not automatically guaranteed to win. When my children and I play this game together, my "struggler" has the same chance of winning as I do, and he likes that! There is also a Math Dash game for addition and subtraction. This game retails for $21.99. I wish that all of the educational board games weren't so expensive, but this game will be played often in my home. So I would consider it worth the money.

Product review by Kris Price, Assistant to the Publishers, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, September 2006