Man Home is an educational math board game that employs both chance and strategy.
Number of Players: 2+
What you will need:
1x 6-sided die
1x 12-sided die
6x men for each player
1x game board
You can print your own game board on legal-sized paper: PDF
Overview: Each player has 6 "men". A roll of the dice sends them to random numbers on the board. The goal is to bring your men Home (land on 1) while avoiding 0 and being killed by other men, all while getting to know the prime factors of numbers along the way. The first player to bring 3 of their men home wins the game.
Setup: Place the gameboard on a table. Each player places their 6 men in front of them. Any number of people may play as long as they each have 6 matching pieces. Outside of the gameboard, designate a "Winners' Circle" for those who made it home.
About the board: The prime numbers are slightly larger than the composite numbers. The diagonal lines are multiples of 5 and 7. Under the columns, there are labels for 2 and 3, indicating a common factor for every number in that column.
Start: Each player rolls the 12-die. The player who rolled the largest number goes first. Play continues counter-clockwise. Thereafter, the winner of the previous game goes first. Each player rolls out a "new man" on their first turn (see option 3 below).
Turn: Choose one of the 2 options below. Then, your turn normally ends and play passes to the player on the right. But, if you bring a man home or kill an opponent, take another turn immediately.
[1] Roll a new man: If you have no men on the board, this is your only option. Roll the 12 and 6 dice to determine where your man lands. The 12-die goes up in multiples of six (12=0). The 6-die goes right in increments of one (6=0). Place your new man there. If the space is occupied, see "Collisions".
[2] Roll an action: The 6-die determines what action you will take. See "Actions".
Actions: Roll an action with the 6-sided die. You must choose one of your men to perform the action, even if it results in death. Take the action on the number that the man currently occupies to take you to your destination.
1 or 5 = subtract by one
2 or 4 = subtract by a prime factor
3 or 6 = divide by a prime factor
Subtraction example: If your man is on 18, your unique prime factors are 2 and 3. Subtract 2 to place your man on 16, or subtract by 3 to place your man on 15.
Division example: If your man is on 44, you may divide by 2 and place your man on 22, or you divide by 11 and place your man on 4.
Collisions: Only one man can occupy a given number. If you move to a number that is occupied by one of your own men, remove the man from the board and place it in front of you for reincarnation. If it is occupied by an opponent, possession of the space is decided by a face-off. The attacker first rolls the 6-sided die, then the defender of the space rolls the 6-sided die. Whoever rolls the largest number, takes the space, whilst the loser dies and is removed from the board and placed in front it's player for reincarnation. The defender of the space always wins a tie.
Home "1": This is where you want to be. Upon arrivng Home, place your man in the Winners' Circle.
Death "0": Landing on zero results in death. Place the deceased man back in front of it's player for reincarnation.
The End: The first player to take 3 of their men home (the Winners' Circle) wins the game!
I designed this game to help us all be more mindful of the primes that hide in everyday numbers. I also wanted to showcase the number line in a senary (base six) fashion. Notice how all the primes greater than 3 are some multiple of six plus or minus one. Notice how each of those primes' mulitples traverse up the senary number line either to the right or left in elegant diagonal moves, like chess knights with super powers.
-David James Call