My family had the privilege of trying the Sunya - The Magic and Wonder of Math and Science Adding & Subtracting from Sunya Publishing for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum. This is a Schoolhouse Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.
Sunya Publishing is a brand new educational publisher that has so far developed two card games for fun and learning. The two card games are: Sunya the Magic and Wonder of Math and Science Adding & Subtracting - Ages 7 to Adult and Sunya the Magic and Wonder of Math and Science Multiplying & Dividing - Ages 9 to Adult. Both of these games are great for math supplement and math practice for both homeschoolers and game lovers. Sunya is a word from the ancient and classical language called Sanskrit from India. The u in it is pronounced "oo" as in the word book. The word Sunya means being empty or without quantity and the player from the games exclaims this word as he or she runs out of cards and wins the game. These games are so new that they are not available to the public yet because they are still being developed. We, as Crew members, were very fortunate to get an advanced copy of our choice one of the games to receive a sneak peak and let you know all about it before it is supposed to air on May 27, 2016 for purchase on their website where the two games will be sold separately.
My family received the Sunya the Magic and Wonder of Math and Science Adding & Subtracting. It is a physical educational card game that is is unique as it reinforces adding and subtracting skills with math and science facts and riddles. Ages 7 and up can play this card game comfortably. In the game, addition goes up to 9+9=18 and subtraction goes up to 18-9=9. This game builds math skills in addition and subtraction. Seven and eight year old children can choose to play the game with older siblings or adults until they get their math facts memorized.
Sunya the Magic and Wonder of Math and Science Adding & Subtracting - Ages 7 to Adult includes:
Game Book for Sunya Adding & Subtracting
60 Sunya Adding & Subtracting Playing Cards: number cards 0-9 (three 0s, four 1s, six 2s, six 3s, six 4s, six 5s, six 6s, six 7s, six 8s, six 9s, two wilds, and operation cards (1 minus sign, 1 plus sign, and 1 equal sign).
The Sunya Adding & Subtracting Number Line Tool
30 Math and Science Fact and Riddle Cards (all different facts and riddles than those with Sunya Multiplying & Dividing)
The game book is basically a school and homeschool teacher/parent guidebook that includes the instructions for the games in great detail. This softcover, comb bound booklet is 25 pages and goes into depth about the directions and rules of the game. Inside the contents are as follows: Introduction, Hindu-Arabic Numeral System, Home and School, Sunya Adding and Subtraction, Math Activities for Young Children, and Math and Science Facts and Riddles. These instructions can be a little intimidating at first, but once you have played the game the first time you will get the hang of it quickly. I believe that the book would be easier understood if it were entirely printed all in color instead of black and white.
HOW TO PLAY
There are three different modes of play: Basic Game, Game II and Game III. These modes increase with difficulty. We only played the Basic version for this review. You set all the games up and deal the cards the same for all modes of play.
Players can sit in a circle or semicircle around or facing the cards in a forward view of the number sentences that will be made.
One player begins as the dealer and sets up the number sentence framework (+ for addition or - for subtraction operation and an = sign) with space in between for numbers that players will put in play to make correct number sentences.
The Math and Science Fact and Riddle Cards are placed face down in a pile. These are put into play when a player wins.
The dealer makes the first correct number sentence made up of three single digit whole numbers with their choice of the number cards 2-9 (no 0s, 1s, or wild cards) on the table, face up for all to see.
Then the dealer shuffles the rest of the deck of number cards and deals one card to each player clockwise/to the left until 4 cards are dealt to each player. The remaining cards (0-9s and wilds) are placed face down in a pile to draw from. It doesn't matter if another player sees your cards so they can be in your hand or set out on the table.
The player to the dealers left plays next.
Turns proceed clockwise, turns at dealing also proceed clockwise/left.
Basic Game
Set up game.
Once it is your turn draw a card so that you have 5 to start with in your hand.
Use 1, 2, or 3 of your cards to make a new number sentence on top of the one that was played last. This new number sentence can be made all from cards from your hand or a combination of cards from hand and in play. Don't play more than one card to a number sentence position within the same turn.
The top cards on the number sentence are in play.
If the player cannot make a number sentence, he/she draws one card at a time until he/she can.
A card may not be played on top of the same number card, this goes for wilds too (so be sure to remember what the wild is). There are other rules in the Game Book as well that are also very important to follow, so make sure to read the guidebook carefully so you understand them.
The first player to be without cards wins the game exclaiming, "Sunya!".
The winning player gets to pick a Math and Science Fact or Riddle Card from the deck and ask the other players the questions about the fact or to solve the riddle.
How We Used This and Our Thoughts:
Teela playing Sunya The Magic and Wonder of Math and Science Adding & Subtracting. Bottom Left is an example of an incorrect math sentence for the game because the Wild Card represents a double digit number. Only single digit numbers can be played.
I played the Basic version of Sunya - The Magic and Wonder of Math and Science Adding & Subtracting game with my daughter, Teela, who is 8 years old. We had a lot of fun with this game and she was really good at it. I was very happy she was getting addition and subtraction practice. We first played without the wild cards just to get a feel for how the game played. Then we added the wild cards later and played with them as well.
We had a great time playing Sunya - The Magic and Wonder of Math and Science Adding & Subtracting together. I love this math game! Game II and Game III get progressively more difficult with more rules to follow and are great to play with my older kids. Zari, Teela's younger sister can play with the cards as a matching game, go fish, sequencing game, flash cards, and making equations.
Teela telling a riddle from the Sunya Math and Science Fact and Riddle Cards.
The Math and Science Fact or Riddle Cards were my daughter's favorite and she tried to beat me in the game just so she would be able to read one to me and make me think. The riddles made us laugh. It would be great though if they could label these facts or riddles because the fact that asks, "Which is longer the Mississippi River or the Missouri River?" threw me off and I thought it was a riddle...I got it wrong thinking that Mississippi has more letters in it. We loved all the math fact fun and riddles, but also wish there were more.
We recommend Sunya - The Magic and Wonder of Math and Science Adding & Subtracting to everyone that loves card games. This one is both super fun and educational, so it is a win win. We will look forward to getting the Sunya the Magic and Wonder of Math and Science Multiplying & Dividing later on to play too.
BUY IT
Look for these two games on the Sunya Publishing Website around May 27, 2016 to purchase. Both products will be available in limited quantities so don't forget to bookmark their website and mark your calendars!
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