Best Math Games for Test Prep and Review
Why this matters
Review season is when students are most tired of math and teachers have the most to cover. A review game gets students practicing a wide range of skills with energy instead of dread, and shows you which topics still need work.
Review packets are thorough, but they're also where students' attention goes to die. A good review game covers the same ground, and students actually do the problems.
What a review game needs
- Mixed topics. Review means pulling several units together, not one skill at a time.
- Control over content. You should be able to choose which units are in play.
- Grade-level problems. The difficulty should match what's on the test.
- Visible weak spots. When a whole team misses a topic, that's your next mini-lesson.
Review games that fit
- OSTP Review Showdown (grades 7–8): Teams pick categories and point values from any units you choose. Built for the smartboard before state testing.
- Math Escape Room (grades 3–8): Crack five topic locks before time runs out. A new room every game.
- Math Quest: The Lost Kingdom (grades 3–8): Earn a key in each region of math, from Number Valley to Coordinate Space.
- Math Detective Agency (grades 3–8): Mixed problems where every solved clue clears a suspect.
- Math Mogul and Math Racing League (grades 3–8): Mixed review with Easy, Medium and Hard choices.
For grades 3–8 games, choose your grade on the start screen so every problem matches your course.
Plan the review
- List the units on the test and match each to a game using the free curriculum guide.
- Start with a mixed review game to see which topics are weakest.
- Spend the next few days on those topics with focused games, like Ratio Rummy or Balance It!.
- End with one more mixed game to check progress.
Common questions
Are the games aligned to state tests?
Every game lists the Common Core standards it practices, and many are aligned to the Oklahoma Academic Standards. OSTP Review Showdown is built for Oklahoma state test review.
