• Card deck: Junior Card
• Prerequisites:
  • Play arena: Standard
  • Number of players: 4

The objective of the game is to make players familiar with the cards by identifying the card number (counting the dots/bindis) and their suit (tactile shapes). The game starts with the players all being dealt 1 or 2 cards each. Players then identify their card number, card suit and then whoever has the highest number card/lowest number card wins the game.

SESSION 1

• Place board on the floor and ask children to sit one facing each of the four sides of the board.
• Ask them to say who is on their left and who is on their right and who is on their front. Reach out and hold hands with that child as they say the name.
• Deal one card to each of them from 1 to 4 of the same suit in their slots.
• Ask them to pick up their card and examine the cards. Ask one child at a time to say what they find interesting in their card. Direct their finger to the suit and tactiles if needed. Distinguish between the front and back (face up and face down).
• Give each card the proper name such as “4 spades” or “3 diamonds” etc. When everyone knows what card they have. Ask them to put their card to the slot of the child to their right.
• Ask them to pick up and repeat the above two more times, till all the four have seen all the four cards.
• Play 2-3 times more rounds of the game.
• Ask them to put their cards in the discard slot on the centre of the board face up.

SESSION 2

• Ask the children if they remember the game.
• If there are any students who were absent from the previous session, ask the children to explain to him/her what the game is all about.
• When you think the children are clear about the cards (suit and number), start playing.
• This time deal same card of four different suits to each of them in their slots.
• Similar to the first session, give each card the proper name “4 spades”, “4 diamonds” etc. When everyone knows what card they have. Ask them to put their card to the slot of the child to their right.
• Ask them to pick up and repeat the above two more times, till all the four have seen all the four cards of different suits.
• Give one more round with the 2 from all 4 suits.
• Ask them to put their cards in the discard slot face up.

SESSION 3

• In this session, start playing ‘identify your card’ game.
• Deal a random card to each child and ask them to identify it.
• Circulate it to the next person and repeat identification. Help those who are not being able to do so.
• After the first round, introduce one more part to the game, whoever has the ‘biggest number’ wins.
• Play 2-3 more rounds and now introduce a small change in the game as ‘whoever has the lowest number, wins the game’.

SESSION 4

• Today, play the same game and let the children deal the cards themselves. Ask the first child to deal one card to each of the four slots starting from the person on the left and stop when she deals a card to her own slot.
• Let them identify their cards and whoever has the highest number card wins the game.
• In the next round, the next child deals the card and the game continues but this time deal two cards at a time and whoever has the biggest card among the two wins the game.
• After the winner is decided, both cards can be dumped on the discard pile in the centre.

Card deck: Children’s cards or standard cards (as per the child’s play level)
Prerequisites: Counting, number recognition, card game 0, card identification
Play arena: Standard
Number of players: 3

Each player is dealt 13 cards. The remaining cards are placed in a face down stack in the middle, forming the draw pile. The objective of the game is to be the first to form a hand consisting of valid combinations of sequences and/or sets. A set consists of at least three cards of the same rank, for example 4♥ 4♦ 4♠ or K♥ K♦ K♠ K♣. A run consists of at least three consecutive cards of the same suit J♣ Q♣ K♣ or 4♥ 5♥ 6♥ 7♥.
For a winning hand to be valid, the following rules should be observed:

1. A randomly picked card will be selected as the joker before game-play begins. Cards of the same rank as the selected card, as well as the jokers of the pack can be used in lieu of any other card to form a sequence or set.
2. Cards in each category rank from low to high: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen and King. Ace can be used as 1 or a face card when forming the sets.
3. A winning hand will contain 4 sets/sequences, one of which will be a set/sequence of 4 cards each and all the others will contain 3 cards each.
4. There should be one true sequence (a sequence with no joker) of not less than 3 cards of the same suit.
5. There can be up to 2 sets in the winning hand, which are either sets of 3 or sets of 4 cards.

SESSION 1:

• Before the session: Keep the card pack (after removing the kings, queens and jacks), and the play arena at hand. Now you are ready for the session.
• Since the game has many intricacies, it is advisable to introduce the children to the game in an orderly, step-by-step manner. In the first session, explain the first part of the game to the children, how to order numbers and create a sequence. In this session, the children will play only with 3 cards. They will identify the numbers on the card, and draw and discards cards to create a sequence. For this session, ignore the suits on the cards.
• Now explain to the children that the game is all about making sequences. A sequence is a set of numbers in order, such as 2, 3, 4 and 8, 9, 10. Their aim in this session is to identify which card they need to complete their sequence and play the game until they do so.
• Once you are sure the children have understood, hand the pack to one of the children and ask him/her to deal 3 cards each to all participants.
• Gently guide and prompt the children to figure out which cards they need to create a sequence.
• Some children might be comfortable with the idea of making sequences already and will not need help, while some others will need prompts.
• Tell children that they should now discard their unwanted card (the card that does not fit the pattern) and pick up another card from the draw pile. The next child should now first check if the top card in the discard pile is one they want, and pick another card from the draw pile only if they do not.
• Allow the children to get familiar with the game as well as the draw and discard process.
• Play until a child has a sequence.
• If time permits, play 2-3 more rounds of the game.

SESSION 2:

• Ask the children if they remember the game.
• If there are any students who were absent from the previous session, ask the children to explain to him/her what the game is all about.
• When you think the children are clear about the rules, start playing. This time sit back and only help where absolutely necessary. Let the children figure out on their own.
• After 2 rounds of play, explain to them that you are now going to make the game a little more challenging this time.
• Tell the children that, from the next round, 6 cards will be dealt to each child instead of 3, and that they should make 2 sequences to win.
• Help the children where necessary.
• Play some more rounds of the game, while ensuring that you are more of an observer than a teacher.

SESSION 3:

• This time, after playing 2 rounds of the game as played in the previous session, add 3 more cards to the hand each child is dealt.
• Each child will now have 9 cards and will have to make 3 sets of sequences to win.

SESSION 4:

• Play 2-3 rounds of the game as before.
• Now, introduce the face cards to the children. By this time, the children should be using the standard deck of braille cards and not the junior cards. Explain the names of the face cards and their positioning and order within a suit. Also explain the unique position of ace (that it can act as 1 as well as a face card above king).
• After you are certain the children have understood, also add and explain an additional 4 cards to the hand each child is dealt. Now, each child will be dealt 13 cards, and will have to make 1 set of 4 cards and 3 sets of 3 cards each.
• Play the game for another 2-3 rounds.

Session 5:

• Play the game for a couple of rounds as it has been played in the previous sessions.
• Now, explain to the child that they can no longer make a sequences with numbers of any suit. Instead, each sequence they make should consist only of numbers from 1 particular suit.
• Before the game play, also introduce the jokers to the children. Explain that the jokers are to be used as substitutes for a card they do not have. Also introduce the process of randomly picking one card in the beginning to be the joker.
• Now begin playing.
• The children will have many doubts and will need help in arranging their cards, figuring out where to put a card, etc. Help as and when necessary.
• Play at least a couple of rounds so that children get used to the game.

Session 6:

• Play 2-3 rounds of the game as before.
• Once you are sure the children have figured all the rules of the game explained to them so far, explain to them the concept of rummy. Tell them that they can make sets of rummy also as they play. However, they can make only up to 2 such sets. This could be a set of 3 or a set of 4.
• Now play the game with all the rules.

• Numeracy concept: Place value
• Card deck: Children’s cards or standard cards (as per the child’s play level)
• Prerequisites: Counting, number recognition
• Play arena: Standard
• Number of players: 4 or more

In order to reinforce the concept of place value concept, this game involves distributing the cards to the children and they have to form the 3 or 4 digit number and keep all the cards face down. The facilitator should call out numbers and their values. For example: “8 in ten’s place,” or “5 in hundreds place.” The child whose cards match the clue is out of the game. The game continues until there is only 1 person left in the game, who becomes the last man standing.

SESSION 1:

• Remove the face cards from the pack.
• Distribute 3 cards to each child.
• Ask the children to make any 3 digit number with the cards. For example, the cards 3, 5, and 8 can make the numbers 358, 853, 583, 385, 583, 385, etc.
• The facilitator should call out numbers and their place values. For example: “8 in ten’s place,” or “5 in hundred’s place.”
• Also ensure that they do not shuffle up their cards or get confused with the places.
• The child whose cards match the clue is out of the game.
• The game continues until there is only 1 person left in the game, who becomes the last man standing.

SESSION 2:

• In this session, facilitator should not be involved to call out the numbers, instead ask one of the child apart from participants who is in the game.
• Also make sure that the one who is calling out the number with its place value should not see the numbers.
• Session 3:
• The game can be modified to teach different place values. Distribute 4 cards to play with thousands place.
• Similarly, as per the grade and the number of digits they can play this game to reinforce the concept of place value.

• Card deck: Children’s cards or standard cards (as per the child’s play level)
• Prerequisites: card game 0, card identification
• Play arena: Standard
• Number of players: 4

The objective of the game is to be able to collect maximum sets of cards. A set is to collect all the four cards of different suites of a particular number.The game starts with the players all being dealt 5 cards each. The Player asks for a specific card from one of the other players by specifying their name and the card details. The player asking should already have at least 1 card with him of what number he asked. The person being asked, if they do have the cards requested, should hand them over. If a player does not have the cards being asked for, the player must say “go fish” and it’s now his/her chance to play/ask for a card. The Player who asked for the card, can now draw a card from the draw pile in the center. When all the sets have been made, the game is over. The sets of cards are counted at the end and the person with the most number of sets wins the game.

SESSION 1:

• Before the session: Remove all the kings, Queens and Jacks from the card packs and make sure the play arena is kept at hand. Now you are ready for the session.
• Place the board on the floor and ask children to sit one facing each of the four sides of the board.
• Deal 5 cards to each player.
• Explain to the children that their aim is to collect all 4 cards having the same number (for example, 5 of diamonds, 5 of clubs, 5 of hearts and 5 of spades). Whoever makes 2 sets first wins the game.
• Ask the children to start the game. Each child, when it is their turn, can ask any player for cards of a specific number. For example: “Aishwarya, give me all your 5s”. The person asking should already have at least one 5 with them.
• The person being asked, if they do have the cards requested, should hand them over. If they do not have the cards, the child who asked gets another turn as well, and gets a chance again to ask for a specific number.
• If a player does not have the cards being asked for, the child who asked must “go fish” or draw a card from the draw pile in the center. Then it is the next player’s turn. (The next player is the one who said ‘go fish’).
• The game ends when any player makes 2 sets first. This player is the winner of the game.
• Play some more rounds of the game, while ensuring that the children understand the game.

SESSION 2:

• Ask the children if they remember the game.
• If there are any students who were absent from the previous session, ask the children to explain to him/her what the game is all about.
• When you think the children are clear about the rules, start playing. This time sit back and only help where absolutely necessary. Let the children figure out on their own.
• After 2 rounds of play, tell them that they will now continue the play until the draw pile is over. Then each of them would count their sets of cards and the person with the most number of sets wins the game.
• Make sure the children are able to form sets correctly. Help those who are not being able to do so.
• Play some more rounds of the game, while ensuring that you are more of an observer than a teacher.

• Card deck: Children’s cards or standard cards (as per the child’s play level)
• Prerequisites: Counting, number recognition, card game 0, card identification
• Play arena: Standard
• Number of players: 4

There are 2 variants of the game. In the first version, the objective of the game is to be the first to finish the cards in your hand. The players are dealt 6 cards each, with the left over cards forming the draw pile. Each person then takes turns to open up one card from the draw pile and place it face up for all to see. All the players who have cards that, when paired with the card, add up to 10, can play their cards. The game continues until 1 player wins the game by finishing the cards in his hand.

In the second variant, the objective is to be able to make 3 pairs that add up to 10. Players are dealt 6 cards each. The remaining cards form the draw pile. One card is opened up to form the discard pile. The first player can take the face up card or one from the pile, and discard one card from their hand instead. The players take turns until one player wins the game by placing all their cards in pairs on the table.

SESSION 1:

• Before the session: Remove all the 10s from the card packs and make sure the play arena is kept at hand. Now you are ready for the session.
• In the first session, play the first variant of the game (as detailed above).
• Explain to the children that the aim of the game is to finish all the cards in their hands.
• Also explain that the game is all about making pairs (2 cards) that add up to 10. Ask them for some examples.
• Now ask one of the children to distribute 5 cards to each player.
• After distributing, the rest of the cards should be placed in the draw slot.
• Ask another child to open up a card from the draw slot and place it in the discard slot.
• Encourage the children to read out each card they discard.
• Now, all the children should compare the cards in their hand to the card in the discard slot to see if they add up to 10.
• Each child can play any card in their hand, which, when added with the card lying face up, makes 10. For example, if the card in the center is a 7, children can play any 3s in their hand, if the card is a 6, they can play a 4, etc.
• Since this is their first addition game, some children might have difficulties in making the pairs.
• Help those who are struggling with this. Encourage those who are struggling to count on their fingers.
• The first child to finish his/her cards wins the game.
• Play a few more rounds of the game.

SESSION 2:

• Before the session: Remove all the 10s from the card packs and make sure the play arena is kept at hand. Now you are ready for the session.
• Ask the children if they remember the game.
• When you think the children are clear about the rules, start playing. This time sit back and only help where absolutely necessary. Let the children figure out on their own.
• After 2 rounds of play, start playing the second variant of the game, which is more challenging.
• Tell the children that, this time, instead of discarding all their cards, they will be holding the pairs that add up to 10, and discarding those that don’t.
• Ask one of the children to deal 6 cards to each player.
• After distributing, the rest of the cards should be placed in the draw slot.
• Ask another child to open up a card from the draw slot and place it in the discard slot.
• The player sitting on the right of the player who opened up the card, should now check the cards they have, to see if it will be useful to them. Eg; if the card on top of the discard pile is a 3, the child should check if they have a 7 in their cards. If the card is useful, they can pick it up and add it to their cards. As they do so, they should also discard a card onto the discard pile.
• If they do not find the card on top of the discard pile useful, they can draw a card from the draw slot and check if they need it. If they do, they can pick it up and discard a card from their hand instead, and if they don’t they can drop it in the discard slot and forfeit their turn.
• The players take turns until one player wins the game by placing all their cards in pairs on the table.
• Make sure the children are able to add up their cards properly. Help those who are not being able to do so, but make sure that you are not adding up their cards for them.
• Play some more rounds of the game, while ensuring that you are more of an observer than a teacher.

Card deck: Children’s cards or standard cards (as per the child’s play level)
Prerequisites: Counting, Number recognition, identifying suits
Play arena: Standard
Number of players: 4

The objective of the game is to sort the cards into four different suits from 1 to 10 along with king, queen and jack. One child is then asked to distribute the entire card pack equally among the four children. Ask the children to place number 6 cards of whichever suits they have, in the given arena. So that we will have number 6 of all suits. Now, each of them will get their turns to play. Suppose if Player 1 is playing, he/she has to check for the preceding (previous) or succeeding (next) of number 6 of any suit and if it is the previous number they have to place it below the number 6 or if it is the next number they have to place it above number 6. Similarly, the game continues until all the cards are over with the players. Whoever empties their cards first will be the winner.

SESSION 1:

• Take a deck of cards and remove jokers from the pack.
• Ask the one of the children to shuffle and distribute equally among themselves. Let them arrange the cards in an order.
• Ask the children to place number 6 cards of whichever suits they have, in the given arena. So that we will have number 6 of all suits.
• Now, each of them will get their turns to play.
• Suppose if Player 1 is playing, they have to check for the preceding (previous) or succeeding (next) number 6 of any suit and if it is the previous number they have to place it below the number 6 or if it is the next number then they have to place it above number 6. So after number 10, the sequence continues like this, they have to place jack, queen then king at the end in the slots given in the arena.
• Similarly, the game continues until all the cards are over with the players.
• Whoever empties their cards first will be the winner.

• Card deck: Children’s cards or standard cards (as per the child’s play level)
• Prerequisites: Counting, number recognition, card game 0, card identification
• Play arena: Standard
• Number of players: 4

The objective of the game is to be the first to reach 27 (or any number that has been decided beforehand). The game starts with the players all being dealt 2 cards each. Players then take turns to draw cards from the draw pile in the center (if necessary), until a player reaches 27 without spilling over. This player is the winner of the game.

SESSION 1:

• Before the session: Remove all the 10s from the card packs and make sure the play arena is kept at hand. Now you are ready for the session.
• In this session, it is advisable to race only up to a smaller number like 10 since it is the children’s first time playing the game.
• Explain the game to the children. Tell them that they are going to add up the numbers on the cards they get until someone reaches 10. Whoever reaches 10 without crossing over wins the game.
• Now, hand the pack to one of the children and ask him/her to deal 2 cards each to all participants.
• Gently guide the children through adding up their cards to see what numbers they have.
• Some children might be comfortable adding up the cards on their own, while some others may need help to add. Help those who do not know how to add correctly. Show them different strategies such as counting on the fingers, adding verbally, etc. Let the child choose the strategy he/she is most comfortable with.
• Since you are only racing to 10 today, some of the children might have already reached there.
• If there are children who have gone over 10, explain that those who go above the number are out of the game.
• If nobody has exactly the number 10 without going over, encourage those who are still in the game to pick a card from the middle.
• Ask them to add the number they got to the total of the 2 cards they already have. Again, assist those who need some help in adding.
• If time permits, play 2-3 more rounds of the game.

SESSION 2:

• Ask the children if they remember the game.
• If there are any students who were absent from the previous session, ask the children to explain to him/her what the game is all about.
• When you think the children are clear about the rules, start playing. This time sit back and only help where absolutely necessary. Let the children figure out on their own.
• After 2 rounds of play, tell them that they will now be racing to 20. That is, the person who reaches 20 first, without spilling over, wins the game.
• Make sure the children are able to add up their cards properly. Help those who are not being able to do so, but make sure that you are not adding up their cards for them.
• Play some more rounds of the game, while ensuring that you are more of an observer than a teacher.

SESSION 3:

• Today, play the same game but set 27 as the number to race towards.
• This time, do not help children with their addition. Encourage them to use the strategies mentioned previously, to add up their cards.

SESSION 4:

• Play 2-3 rounds of the game as before.
• Now, introduce a small change in the way the game is played. After dealing 2 cards each, instead of all the children picking up 1 card each from the draw pile, the children can be given an option of whether or not to pick up another card. After every child has decided and picked cards (some children will also pick up cards, go over 27 and be out of the game), the child whose cards are closest to 27 wins the game.

• Card deck: Children’s cards or standard cards (as per the child’s play level)
• Prerequisites: Counting, number recognition, identifying suits
• Play arena: Standard
• Number of players: 4

The objective of the game is to collect all cards of the same type (suit). One child is then asked to distribute the entire card pack equally among the four children. Then out of the 4 children in the group, 1 is assigned diamonds, another hearts, one club and the last spades. The players are provided one turn to ask for a missing card in their suite. The game ends when each child has collected all the cards (ace to 10) of the suite they had been assigned.

SESSION 1:

• Before the session: Take Junior cards and remove all the Jokers, King, Queen and Jack from the pack.
• Children are grouped into 4 and will be seated as per the standard arena.
• Introduce all 4 different suits Diamond, Club, Heart and Spade to the children.
• Then give one particular suit to each of them from ace to 10 which are shuffled.Keep those cards on each of their respective slots given in an arena.
• Then they have to count and identify the number on the card, through Braille or by counting the tactile dots on the cards.
• Let them arrange all the cards in an order.
• So, by the end of session 1, they should be able to arrange the cards based on the numbers and have to identify which particular suit they got.

SESSION 2:

• Use the same junior cards. let one of the children distribute equally among all 4 children in the arena.
• Then explain to the children that they have to collect all cards of the same type (or suite).
• Assign a child for each suit such that, out of the 4 children in the group, 1 is assigned diamonds, another hearts, one club and the last spades.
• The children are provided one turn to ask for a missing card in their suite. The child who has the card hands it over to the child who had asked, and that child now asks for a card that he/she doesn’t have.
• The game continues till the first child makes all the numbers (1-10) in the particular suit. Who is the winner and the game continues.
• The game ends when each child has collected all the cards (ace to 10) of the suite they had been assigned.
• If they have a card another person is asking for, it is mandatory for them to hand it over.
• Then after getting all the cards of the same suit, they need to arrange the cards in an ascending order.

SESSION 3:

• In this session, use the standard cards and also introduce king, queen and jack.
• So, in addition to these 3 cards. Follow the same instructions there in session 2 and play with the children.

SESSION 4:

• The game can be modified such that each child collects 5 cards of a particular suite (either 1-5 or 6-10).
• One of the participants will distribute 5 cards to each of them. Let all 4 of them select a particular suit that they have to collect.
• Then each of them will get their turns to pick from and discard the cards from the respective slots of the board which is kept in the centre.
• Whoever collects all 5 cards of the same suit will win the game. I.e. they can have either hearts from 1 to 5 or 3 to 8 or 6 to 10 etc.