Described as an ‘addictive number puzzle’, 7puzzle is a brand-new game designed and produced in 2010 by Paul Godding and lightly based on the hugely popular Colour Magic game. It has quite a number of added dimensions though, which makes the game both playable for younger children (5 years and above) and challenging for the more experienced puzzle enthusiast.
As 7puzzle continues to play an integral part of my workshops, our main programme has been renamed the 7puzzle experience, further details of which can be found by clicking the 7puzzle experience on the left of this page.
During the last year, 7puzzle has become very popular and is currently one of the hottest educational games on the market. I was therefore extremely proud and flattered when Techniquest Science Discovery Centre in Cardiff approached me and asked permission to produce a larger version of the game to become a permanent exhibit at the centre. Since being unveiled in October 2011, it has been earning rave reviews by the general public and visiting schools.
7puzzle is a unique product as the contents of the game are kept in an eco-friendly distinctive black/lilac bag. This keeps the playing board clean and tidy, making it extremely difficult for the owner to lose the playing pieces.
The playing board is a 7 by 7 grid of 49 squares, each containing a number, colour and shape. When taking on the challenges, players must place all of the 14 playing pieces (7 of which are straight and 7 angled) onto the board, therefore leaving seven spaces. The intention is that everything on the board will be covered up, except seven of a certain element, which may be a particular colour, shape or type of number, depending on the challenge undertaken.
Most of the challenges, of which there are 40 altogether, are number-related. There are also a few easier shape challenges and some tougher colour challenges to complement the numeracy aspect. The 7puzzle challenges should be attempted in the exact order shown on the instruction sheet as they become more difficult as you progress.
For instance, Challenge No.1 requires you to leave 7 even numbers uncovered on the board. As the board contains 30 even numbers in total, this is quite an easy task to start off your 7puzzle adventure, therefore ideal for the younger player who can be guided through, and taught about, even numbers at the same time.
For instance, the teacher could ask the class to find all the even numbers on the board before attempting the puzzle. This type of learning activity could take place before each number challenge.
One of the many possible solutions for Challenge No.1 is shown below.
As the challenges increase in difficulty, 7puzzle can continue to be used as a teaching aid, as described above, whether it is to improve mental maths skills or perhaps to reinforce existing knowledge by creating challenges against other players.
Timed challenges could be set or even head-to-head contests can take place if there are two or more copies available.
An example of an alternative challenge would be to instruct six teams within a class that they must leave the lilac-7-circle uncovered plus any other six numbers. At the end of the allotted time (1 minute would be ideal), each team stops and the seven numbers that remain uncovered will be added together. The team with the lowest total score wins!
I’m sure there will be many other ideas of different challenges that teachers will think of.
Teachers could even use the playing board to introduce concepts and theories of probability as well as fractions & percentages, decimal places and maybe even calculations involving area & perimeter.
Number Challenges
When undertaking the colour and shape challenges, it is quite obvious what needs to be left uncovered on the playing board, but when taking on one of the 28 number challenges, it may not be that straight-forward.
Players may not be aware of how many options are available on the board, so they are listed here. As mentioned earlier, teachers can even go through the options with a class before attempting a particular challenge.
This list can be referenced either as an educational tool or perhaps used as a check-list to see if a challenge has been completed correctly. It will probably be used mostly as an argument-settler, just like the dictionary in Scrabble!
Remember, there are many more of each type of number in existence. We are only discussing the range of numbers present on our 7puzzle playing board!
For the easier number challenges, there are more than seven options available. The actual amount is given in brackets below. Players are therefore allowed leave any seven of the following numbers uncovered to complete each task:
| Challenge | Number options on playing board |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1. | even numbers (30) | 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 28 30 32 36 40 42 44 48 50 54 56 60 64 66 70 72 80 84 |
| 2. | multiples of 3 (22) | 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36 42 45 48 54 60 63 66 72 81 84 |
| 3. | odd numbers (19) | 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 21 25 27 33 35 45 49 55 63 77 81 |
| 4. | multiples of 4 (18) | 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 56 60 64 72 80 84 |
| 6. | multiples of 5 (14) | 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 70 80 |
| 8. | multiples of 6 (13) | 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54 60 72 84 |
| 10. | factors of 60 (11) | 2 3 4 5 6 10 12 15 20 30 60 |
| 11. | multiples of 7 (12) | 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 70 77 84 |
| 12. | factors of 84 (11) | 2 3 4 6 7 12 14 21 28 42 84 |
| 13. | multiples of 8 (10) | 8 16 24 32 40 48 56 64 72 80 |
| 14. | factors of 72 (11) | 2 3 4 6 8 9 12 18 24 36 72 |
| 15. | multiples of 9 (9) | 9 18 27 36 45 54 63 72 81 |
| 16. | factors of 48 (9) | 2 3 4 6 8 12 16 24 48 |
| 17. | square numbers (8) | 4 9 16 25 36 49 64 81 |
| 18. | factors of 36 (8) | 2 3 4 6 9 12 18 36 |
| 19. | multiples of 10 (8) | 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 |
| 20. | single-digit numbers (8) | 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
| 21. | factors of 80 (9) | 2 4 5 8 10 16 20 40 80 |
For the ten hardest number challenges (shown below), players must leave all seven numbers uncovered:
Challenge |
Numbers on playing board |
|
|---|---|---|
| 23. | factors of 66 | 2 3 6 11 22 33 66 |
| 25. | factors of 70 | 2 5 7 10 14 35 70 |
| 26. | multiples of 11 | 11 22 33 44 55 66 77 |
| 28. | factors of 24 | 2 3 4 6 8 12 24 |
| 30. | factors of 54 | 2 3 6 9 18 27 54 |
| 31. | multiples of 12 | 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 |
| 33. | factors of 42 | 2 3 6 7 14 21 42 |
| 35. | factors of 40 | 2 4 5 8 10 20 40 |
| 36. | prime numbers | 2 3 5 7 11 13 17 |
| 38. | factors of 56 | 2 4 7 8 14 28 56 |
Target Challenge
Timed challenges could be set or even head-to-head contests can take place if there are two or more copies available. We think this is a superb alternative challenge for you.
Choose a number between 40 and 400 inclusive and give your opponent 2-3 minutes to place all 14 pieces onto the board. Then see how close he/she can get to the target number you set when adding the seven numbers that remain. Can they actually hit the target exactly?
Now it’s your turn! Your opponent now sets a different target number. When time is up, the person who was nearest to their target number is the winner.
In a classroom or team situation, the teacher or referee sets the same target number for all teams taking part. Again, the team closest to the target number, after a pre-determined time, is the victor.
The ‘7’ Challenge
Similar type of challenge to above.
Players, or teams, have two minutes to leave seven numbers uncovered as usual, which must include the ‘7’. When time is up, all teams must add together the other six numbers that remain. The team with the lowest total is the winner! Any team who fails to leave the ‘7’ uncovered is automatically disqualified.
Mathematical Terms
Some of the mathematical terms used during the game are briefly explained here, just in case you get asked by younger members of the family:
even number: any number which ends in 2, 4, 6, 8 or 0 - so it is divisible by 2.
odd number: any number which ends in 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 - not divisible by 2.
multiple: these are numbers in a certain times table (e.g. 21 is a multiple of 7).
factor: a number which can divide into another number (e.g. 5 is a factor of 20).
square number: the answer when a number is multiplied by itself (e.g. 36 is a square number as 6 x 6 = 36).
single-digit number: a whole number (integer) from 1 to 9.
prime number: a number that is only divisible by 1 and itself, no other factors.
circle: you should know what this is, but Challenge No.40 is one of the toughest!
square: a four-sided figure with each side being of equal length and each angle being a right-angle (measuring 90 degrees), therefore adding up to 360 degrees. With these characteristics, a square is a type of polygon.
star pentagon: is the shape of a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes and each internal angle being 36 degrees (also called a pentagram). A five-sided polygon could be created from this by joining the five points with lines, and this would be called a pentagon.
heptagon: a seven-sided figure with each length the same and each angle the same, therefore this is also a type of polygon.
Examples of other polygons are:
- equilateral triangle (3 sides)
- hexagon (6 sides)
- octagon (8 sides)
- nonagon (9 sides)
- decagon (10 sides)
Purchasing Options
Please get in touch if you wish to purchase 7puzzle. The retail price is £20 per game, but there are additional options available if you wish to buy multiple copies.
All sets come packaged in one eco-friendly bag:
- family set (2 copies): £38
- mini classroom set (4 copies): £74
- classroom set (6 copies): £108
The above prices do not include postage/delivery. We hope you enjoy 7puzzle.
Finally, if you wish to purchase both 7puzzle and 5teaser, one copy of each game will be packaged in the same eco-friendly black bag, retailing at £37 plus postage/delivery.
© the 7puzzle company 2012 paulgodding.com