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Puzzles enable instant autocorrection, which is great for practicing place value, as children often make mistakes with place value – it is not that the principles of place value are that difficult, but they are confusing for beginners.
Because of this, I only included here puzzles that have an autocorrection mechanism built-in, which I consider a must.
Two different ways of doing the autocorrection are proposed according to the game:
- Puzzle pieces that match when assembled if they represent the same number (else they just do not match). This achieved by varying either the shapes or the position of the matching part of the pieces.
- A drawing on the back of each puzzle enables to do the checking
Criteria for Comparing Place Value Puzzles
Each autocorrection method has advantages so that I do not particularly recommend one specifically over the other:
- Puzzle piece shape matching is quicker (you do not need to turn the pieces upside down for checking), but there is a risk that the children check the matching visually (by comparing the shapes of the matching parts of the pieces) before comparing the representations of the numbers, because this visual checking might be easier for them
- Drawing on the back eliminate the risk of visual matching, but autocorrection is more cumbersome
Number representations: the common feature of all these games is that they include a number of small puzzles. Each puzzle represents a unique number, each piece of a given puzzle representing a different representation of that number among the 6 following ones (the example in each case is for the number 27):
- Digit (27)
- Base ten blocks (two “ten blocks” and 7 blocks of ones)
- Word (twenty-seven)
- Expanded (20+7)
- Place value chart (chart with the left column with 2 tens and the right column with 7 ones)
- Ten frames (two frames with 10 dots and one frame with 7 dots)
All the games I found include the “digit” and the “base 10 block” representations, which makes sense.
I prefer games with more representations (better for learning).
The number of puzzles (numbers represented): the number of puzzles corresponds to the different numbers that are proposed. I prefer the games with 30 different numbers proposed (less than 20 is really small in my opinion).
Digits: the maximum number of digits of the numbers that are featured. This of course relates to the grades for which the puzzle is intended: 2 digits for Kindergarten, 3 & 4 digits for grades 1 & 2.
Place Value Puzzles Comparison Table
| Game | Grade | Digits | Puzzles | Pieces | Auto-check | Representations | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Numbers to 100 Matchups | K-1 | 2 | 30 | 60 | Shape matching | digit, block, ten-frames, chart | ★★★★☆ |
| Find-A-Pair Puzzles | 1-2 | 2-3 | 18 | 36 | Back drawing | digit, block | ★★★☆☆ |
| Number Match Puzzles | 1-2 | 3-4 | 12 | 48 | Back drawing | digit, block, word, expanded | ★★★☆☆ |
| Self-Checking Place Value Puzzles | 1-2 | 2-3-4 | 30 | 90 | Shape matching | digit, block, word, expanded | ★★★★★ |
| Place Value Equivalency Puzzles | 2 | 3-4 | 12 | 48 | Shape matching | digit, block, word, expanded | ★★★☆☆ |
| Snap Math Place Value Puzzles grade 2 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 48 | Shape matching | digit, block, word, expanded | ★★★☆☆ |
All games are in the $$ price range.
Most puzzles can be played alone (in this case they are more an activity than a game), which makes them great at home or for classroom learning stations.
They can also be played like a real game with 2 to 5 players, using classical rules based on matching.
Place Value Puzzles for Kindergarten to Grade 1 Children
Numbers to 100 Matchups (Lakeshore Learning)
★★★★☆
For Home and School | Age 6-8 | Grade 1-2 | 1-5 Players
Numbers to 100 Matchups
is composed of 30 two-piece puzzles where one side contains the numbers while the other side displays the quantities in different ways:
- Place value chart
- Base ten blocks
- Ten-frames
I like the inclusion of the place value chart because it strengthens children’s understanding of tens and ones. It is also helpful to visualize the quantities using ten-frames and base ten blocks.
The pieces have nice colors, which is also a good point.
Place Value Puzzles for Children in Grade 1-2
Find-A-Pair Puzzles-Place Value into Hundreds (Really Good Stuff)
★★★☆☆
For Home and School | Age 5-7 | Grade 1-2 (my recommendation) | 1-5 Players | Author: Dr. Seuss
In Find-A-Pair Puzzles, children match the number on one side of the 18 puzzles to its corresponding base ten block representation.
Children can check their answers by looking at the picture formed at the back of the pieces. (If it is correct, it should form a shape like star, triangle and more)
Numbers are up to 3 digits.
Number Match Puzzles-Place Value into Thousands (Really Good Stuff)
★★★☆☆
For Home and School | Age 6-8 | Grade 1-2 | 1-5 Players
Number Match Puzzles has 12 place value puzzles (4 pieces each) that feature 4 different representations for up to 4 digits:
- Standard or digit form
- Word form
- Expanded form
- Base ten blocks
A correct puzzle forms a picture at the back that enables to check that the associations are correct.
Self-Checking Place Value Puzzles (Oriental Trading)
★★★★★
For Home and School | Age 6-8 | Grade 1-2 | 1-5 Players | Author: Dr. Seuss
In Self-Checking Place Value Puzzles, the 30 puzzles have each 3 pieces that express the same value for up to 4 digit numbers in 4 possible representations:
- Digit form (top piece)
- Expanded form or word form (down left piece)
- Base ten representation (down right piece)
I find that the base ten illustrations are small but apart from that the game is very good, especially because it has 30 puzzles and numbers from 2 to 4 digits.
Place Value Equivalency Puzzles (Lakeshore Learning)
★★★☆☆
For Home and School | Age 7-8 | Grade 2 | 1-5 Players
Place Value Equivalency Puzzles consists of 12 puzzles with 4 pieces each, featuring 4 number representations:
- Digit form
- Word form
- Expanded form
- Base ten blocks
The largest puzzle piece contains a 3 or 4-digit number.
Snap Math Place Value Puzzles Grade 2 (EAI Education)
★★★☆☆
For Home and School | Age 7-8 | Grade 2 | 1-5 Players
Snap Math Place Value Puzzles includes 12 puzzles with 4 pieces each using 4 representations (only 3 digit numbers):
- Digit form
- Word form
- Expanded form
- Base ten blocks
Other Types of Place Value Games
If you are interested in more place value games, you might want to check the following posts:
- 11 Place Value Card Games and Flashcards for Schools and Families
- 12 Place Value Board Games for Schools and Families
- 11 Place Value Dice Sets for Schools and Families
- 24 Place Value Manipulatives with Cubes, Blocks and Disks
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