Target
Cards Needed: One full standard card deck (per pair of students) with all face cards removed. Directions: Students play in pairs against each other. Each pair is given a deck of cards. Aces count as 1's. The cards are dealt so that the first five are laid out face up in a row. Then the top card on the deck (the Target) is turned over. Each student tries to find a combination of the cards, using at least two of the five cards, which equals the Target. No single card can be used twice in the combination. Any mathematical operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division) may be used. The first student to call "Target" gets to offer his solution. For example, suppose the five cards which are laid out are 5, 1, 9, 10, 3 and the Target is 7. One student may yell "Target" and announce that his solution is 5 + 3 - 1. He gets to keep those three cards. If his solution is not correct, the other player keeps the three cards. To start the next round, all previously exposed cards (except those kept by a student) are put on the bottom of the deck, five more are turned up, and a new target is turned over. The game continues until all cards are used. The player with the most cards is the winner. As a second example, suppose the five cards which are laid out are 4, 2, 7, 10, 4 and the Target is 8. One student may call "Target" and announce that his solution is 2 x 4. He gets to keep those two cards. The unused cards and the target are put on the bottom of the deck and the game continues.
An alternate for older students is to turn over two cards as the target. These two cards become a two digit number. For example, suppose the five cards which are laid out are 4, 2, 7, 10, 4 and the two Target cards are 3 and 8 (which makes 38). One student may announce that his solution is 4 x 7 + 10. In this game, it is certainly possible that no combination of the five cards will make the target. If this is the case, the cards are placed back on the bottom of the deck and play continues.