This is a free multiplication facts game for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade: a five-minute detective case you put on the board and solve as a class. It practices 3.OA.C.7 (fluently multiply within 100) and 4.OA.B.4 (multiples). There are no logins, no student accounts and nothing to print unless you want the full case afterwards.
Why it works for multiplication facts
Every clue is a fact the class has to check against six badge numbers. Is 56 in the 6 times table? Is 42 greater than 5 × 8? That is twenty or thirty quick multiplication facts in five minutes, and the students who are still counting on their fingers show up straight away.
How to run it
- Put it on the board. Tap Put it on the board above the case and it fills the screen. Six suspects, each wearing a badge number. One of them did it.
- Read clue 1 out loud. The class works out which badges the clue rules out. Tap each suspect it clears; a correct tap stamps them CLEARED, a wrong one just wobbles.
- Clues 2 and 3 unlock as you go. Keep clearing until one suspect is left, then tap them to close the case. The reveal explains every clue.
- Play it again. New lineup keeps the clues and shuffles the suspects. New clues gives you a fresh case. Round 2 and Round 3 are waiting in the tabs.
Three tips from the classroom
- Ask for the fact before anyone taps. Who can tell me 7 × 8? Then the class decides which badges that clears.
- Hand the hint button to a student who is sure. If they are wrong, the badge wobbles and nobody loses anything.
- Round 2 and Round 3 are different cases. Save them for Wednesday and Friday, or run all three with a timer and keep the best time on the board.
Making it easier or harder
For a class that is still learning the facts, read each clue twice and write the times table on the board before they tap. For a fast class, give them thirty seconds of silent thinking per clue and let one student tap all the suspects it clears.
Questions teachers ask
Which times tables does it use?
Badges are products from the 2 to 12 times tables and the clues use multiples, comparisons like greater than 6 × 7, digit sums and odd and even. Every lineup is different.
Does it work on an interactive whiteboard?
Yes. Tap Put it on the board and the case fills the screen. Suspects are big enough to tap from the board, and there is nothing to install.
Is there a printable version?
The packs below are the printable version of the same idea: a page of multiplication problems, a lineup of suspects, every right answer crosses one off. Answer keys included.
