The Story of Tables-Tastic
How do you persuade your child to practice their times tables at home, especially if they don't like maths, or find it difficult? That was the challenge I faced (no doubt alongside thousands of other parents) back in March 2020, when I was thrown into home-schooling during the first UK lockdown.
I've always loved games, and was keen to give my daughters a break from endless screen-time, and so the idea for Tables-Tastic was born! The original version of the game, known as "mum's maths game" had the number cards written on cardboard from a cereal packet. Much to my surprise the girls really loved it - OK, we were in fairly heavy lock-down at the time, so there wasn't a huge amount else to do - but even so they were choosing to play it rather than family favourites like Uno or Cluedo!
So I wondered if others might enjoy it too, and made a few prototype sets to share with friends and family.
Again, the feedback was highly encouraging. One friend said she'd had 3 games with her partner before remembering that they were supposed to be testing it with their children! Another wanted extra sets to use with their primary school class, and an 8 year old effectively invented the solo version of the game. There were useful comments too, particularly on the rules, which needed to be written more clearly.
At this point I started looking more seriously into getting the game into production, and heard about Kickstarter, the crowd-funding platform, which allows you to promote your idea and see if other people will back it. I was overwhelmed when 155 people from all over the world backed me, enabling me to move to full on production.
Fun, and they don't even know they are learning,
5 stars!
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My three children (11, 8 and 5) all love Tables-Tastic. My 5yr old is able to play using the 'cheat' card and my 11yr old beats me every time! It's really easy to learn, can be adapted for all ages and abilities and is super portable. Great for popping in your bag and taking out and about with the kids. A really fun way to get the kids to memorise and learn their tables.
Rod, UK, January 2021
Amazon Review
I really hope you enjoy playing Tables-Tastic as much as I have enjoyed creating it!
Alison Critchley
Isle of Wight, UK
March 2021