Properties of 2D Shapes Top Cards

Instructions
Students play in pairs or groups of three. One set of cards will need to be cut out per group.
This game should be played with all 18 cards.

The cards are dealt out evenly between the players and placed in piles face down. Player 1 picks
up their top card. They then look at the properties of their cards and choose one that they think
will be higher than the other player(s), then announce that category along with their score, e.g.
‘The number of equal sides is 3’. The aim is to achieve a higher score than their opponent for that
category.
Player 2 then picks up their top card and announces their score for the same category. Whoever
has the highest score wins the cards from the other player(s) and puts them face down at the
bottom of their pile. Any defined value for exterior angle beats an answer that varies. For equal
sides or equal angles, 4 beats 2 pairs.
If the scores are a tie then each player keeps their own card.
The game continues with player 2 picking their uppermost card.
The winner is the first person to claim all the cards.

There are three versions of the game included:

• Bronze: This has all the values given on the card, and is designed to help pupils associate the
properties with the shape.
• Silver: This has some of the values given, with others missing. The pupils should calculate the
missing values for each card as they are picked.
• Gold: None of the defined values are given. This is designed to help pupils practise working
out all the properties of a 2D shape.

When using a set of cards that requires calculations, students should check their partners’
calculations after each turn.

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