Stalactites

  Menu   Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4  More... 

1

stalactite stalactite

Player 1

Player 2

Enter the names of the players.

Player 1:

Player 2:

Start

Choose a number from those remaining below to grow your stalactite.

Play Again

The player whose stalactite is shorter takes the next turn.
If both stalactites are the same length, the next turn
goes to the player who did not play last.

Transum.org

This web site contains over a thousand free mathematical activities for teachers and pupils. Click here to go to the main page which links to all of the resources available.

Please contact me if you have any suggestions or questions.

Email address

Mathematicians are not the people who find Maths easy; they are the people who enjoy how mystifying, puzzling and hard it is. Are you a mathematician?

Comment recorded on the 1 May 'Starter of the Day' page by Phil Anthony, Head of Maths, Stourport High School:

"What a brilliant website. We have just started to use the 'starter-of-the-day' in our yr9 lessons to try them out before we change from a high school to a secondary school in September. This is one of the best resources on-line we have found. The kids and staff love it. Well done an thank you very much for making my maths lessons more interesting and fun."

Comment recorded on the 26 March 'Starter of the Day' page by Julie Reakes, The English College, Dubai:

"It's great to have a starter that's timed and focuses the attention of everyone fully. I told them in advance I would do 10 then record their percentages."

Each month a newsletter is published containing details of the new additions to the Transum website and a new puzzle of the month.

The newsletter is then duplicated as a podcast which is available on the major delivery networks. You can listen to the podcast while you are commuting, exercising or relaxing.

Transum breaking news is available on Twitter @Transum and if that's not enough there is also a Transum Facebook page.

Featured Activity

Snooker Angles

Snooker Angles

This must be the most enjoyable way to practise estimating angles and learn about bearings. Snooker Angles is an interactive game for one or two players.

Numeracy

"Numeracy is a proficiency which is developed mainly in Mathematics but also in other subjects. It is more than an ability to do basic arithmetic. It involves developing confidence and competence with numbers and measures. It requires understanding of the number system, a repertoire of mathematical techniques, and an inclination and ability to solve quantitative or spatial problems in a range of contexts. Numeracy also demands understanding of the ways in which data are gathered by counting and measuring, and presented in graphs, diagrams, charts and tables."

Secondary National Strategy, Mathematics at key stage 3

Go Maths

Learning and understanding Mathematics, at every level, requires learner engagement. Mathematics is not a spectator sport. Sometimes traditional teaching fails to actively involve students. One way to address the problem is through the use of interactive activities and this web site provides many of those. The Go Maths main page links to more activities designed for students in upper Secondary/High school.

Teachers

If you found this activity useful don't forget to record it in your scheme of work or learning management system. The short URL, ready to be copied and pasted, is as follows:

Alternatively, if you use Google Classroom, all you have to do is click on the green icon below in order to add this activity to one of your classes.

It may be worth remembering that if Transum.org should go offline for whatever reason, there are mirror site at Transum.info that contains most of the resources that are available here on Transum.org.

When planning to use technology in your lesson always have a plan B!

Chris Smith, Scotland

Sunday, June 8, 2025

"[Transum: This was my first introduction to the game that this activity is based on.]

I was introduced to a game recently that was devised by folk at New York University some time ago:

https://game.engineering.nyu.edu/projects/catch-up/

Basically, let's say that we have the numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6.
We'd take it in turns to pick numbers. As soon as someone's score matches or exceeds the other player's the control of the game switches. For example:
John takes the 6 to get in the lead.
Chris decides to take the 5. He's still in control because John is in front. So he takes the 4 too. Now Chris is on 9 so John is in charge.
John takes the 2. That brings him up to 8 so he can go again. This time he snatches 3 moving on to 11. Turn over as he is in the lead.
Chris has only one option. The 1 gets him to 10.
Game over. John wins.

It's a great wee game and the strategy isn't simplistic. There's loads to explore."

Do you have any comments? It is always useful to receive feedback and helps make this free resource even more useful for those learning Mathematics anywhere in the world. Click here to enter your comments.

Transum.org is a proud supporter of the kidSAFE Seal Program

© Transum Mathematics 1997-2025
Scan the QR code below to visit the online version of this activity.

This is a QR Code

https://www.Transum.org/go/?Num=1126

Description of Levels

Close

Level 1 - 1,2,3,4,5,6

Level 2 - 2,3,4,5,6,7

Level 3 - 1,3,5,6,7,8,9

Level 4 - 2,4,5,6,7,8,9

Level 5 - 3,3,4,4,5,5,7

Level 6 - 2,2,6,7,7,7,8

Level 7 - 1,2,2,3,3,3,5

Level 8 - 2,3,4,4,5,5,6

Level 9 - 3,6,6,7,8,8,9

Level 10 - 2,2,5,5,7,10,10,10

Level 11 - 3,3,6,6,8,11,12,12

Level 12 - 4,4,8,8,10,11,12,14

Level 13 - 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9

Level 14 - 2,3,5,7,11,13,17,19

Level 15 - 1,1,2,3,5,8,13

Level 16 - 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55

Level 17 - 3,1,4,1,5,9,2,6,5,3

Level 18 - 2,7,1,8,2,8,1,8,2,8,4,5,9

Level 19 - 1,6,1,8,3,3,9,8,8,7,4,9,8

Level 20 - 1.9,2.8,3.7,4.6,5.5,6.4,7.3,8.2,9.1

More Games - all with a mathematical connection.

Answers to this exercise are available lower down this page when you are logged in to your Transum account. If you don’t yet have a Transum subscription one can be very quickly set up if you are a teacher, tutor or parent.

Log in Sign up