Target Chain: Mental Math Game for Grades 3‑8
Link neighboring numbers with operations to hit the target.
A 5x5 board of number tiles and a target number. Chain touching tiles together, choosing +, -, x or / between them (worked out left to right), so the chain equals the target. Longer chains score more, used tiles are replaced, and every board is guaranteed to have a solution. Four levels unlock subtraction, multiplication and division.
Play Target ChainFree. No signup. About 5 minutes per round.
What kids practise
Target Chain gives students repeated, low-pressure practice with mental math, number sense, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and order of operations. It is written for grades 3-8, with levels that let younger and older players start at the right difficulty. Every question is generated fresh, so a replay is never the same, and a wrong answer shows the correct one so the round teaches as well as tests.
How it plays
Controls: Mouse or touch: tap tiles that touch to build a chain, pick an operation button, then press Check. Keyboard: arrow keys move, Space picks a tile, + - x / choose the operation, Enter checks, Backspace undoes, Esc clears, H hint, N new board, P pause, M mute.
It works with a keyboard, a trackpad or a touch screen, so it runs on school Chromebooks, tablets and phones.
Standards
Common Core State Standards for Mathematics this game supports:
- 3.OA.D.8
- 3.NBT.A.2
- 4.OA.A.3
- 5.OA.A.1
- 6.NS.B.2
For teachers
- Time: about 5 minutes per round, good for a warm-up or a center.
- Works on Chromebooks. No login, no accounts, and no personal data is collected.
- Share the page link
https://mathschools.net/play/target-chain.htmlwith your class.
