In this activity, a character is hiding within the multiplication table. Students use clues to identify where they are hiding.

The game contains multiple layers of difficulty. We recommend starting with "Show Numbers" checked. This keeps the table visible throughout the game. In the first level, students are provided with a clue such as "Starting at 2, I hopped 10 spaces". Explain to students that we will start on the left and hop to the right (rather than beginning at the top and hopping down). Students locate 2 on the left side and "hop" 10 spaces to the right to land on 20. The game includes clickable cells to help students count if needed.

Once they have selected their value, press the "Look" button. If they made the correct selection, the dragon will appear on the cell and players gain a point. Encourage students to verbally announce the translation. In this case, "10 groups of 2 is 20". Highlight the order. If counting two groups of 10, we would count 10, 20. In this case, to reach the dragon we needed to count 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, meaning we had groups of size 2. The game also provides support as the dragon will announce the number of groups as well.

After students have played, highlight how we can use the numbers across the top to help us navigate. If the dragon started at 4 and hopped 6 spaces, we can look where row 4 and column 6 collide to find their location.

When students earn 10 points, the game will offer to advance to a higher level. In Level 2, the dragon provides riddles like the warm up activity. Remind students the dragon is at a value that can only be reached by the numbers given. For example, if the dragon says "You can find me by counting by 3's or counting by 3's" students might think this can be any number in the 3 row or column. Clarify the dragon is saying it must be in both the row and column. In this case, only the 3×3 cell is correct as it is the only place in both row and column.

In other cases, such as "You can find me by counting by 2's or counting by 5's" there are two options. Students could select 2×5 or 5×2 cells. This part of the game requires some luck. However, the dragon also tells students how many of his number appear on the board. In this case, 10 can be found 4 times. The purpose of this is to encourage students to hunt for numbers on the table and begin to see patterns and recognize duplicate values. 

For students who are doing well with Hide and Seek, encourage them to try with "Show Number" unchecked. In this version of the game, the numbers are removed from the table. Students read the clue and select the correct cell. Next, an input box appears on the selected cell and they are asked to determine what number the dragon is on. Students may skip count to determine the number and in time will begin to build enough familiarity to increase their recall speed without counting.

As with all our digital games, for the best experience we recommend students select full screen mode (this can be achieved by clicking the button in the bottom right corner of the game) and utilize a device with a larger screen such as a tablet, laptop, or desktop computer.

©MathBait created with GeoGebra