BIZZ BUZZ BANG

The final lesson of our eleventh year was my version of a game called BIZZ BUZZ BANG.

This is a game of multiples. It takes incredible concentration. In fact, if someone talks during the game except to answer their number, other players will get confused

RULES

1. sit in a circle

2. start with one player and begin counting in ascending consecutive whole numbers (in other words, 1, 2, 3, 4, .....)

3. when you get to a multiple of 3, instead of saying the number, you say, "BIZZ"

(multiples of 3 are numbers into which three is evenly divisible like 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 .....; remember the special rule for testing for multiples of 3 -- you add the digits of the number and if the sum is a multiple of 3 itself, then the original number was a multiple of 3; for example, we test 51 by adding 5 and 1; the resulting sum of 6 tells us that 51 is a multiple of 3; in fact, 3 x 17 is 51)

4. when you get to a multiple of 7, instead of saying the number, you say, "BUZZ"

(multiples of 7 are numbers into which seven is evenly divisible like 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49 ......)

5. when you get to a multiple of 3 and 7, instead of saying BIZZ, BUZZ, or the number, you say, "BANG" (multiples of 3 and 7 are numbers into which both three and seven are evenly divisible like 21, 42, 63, 84, 105, 126.....; essentially, multiples of 21)

6. when your number is neither a multiple of three nor seven, just say the number.

7. the hardest part of the game other than knowing your multiples is remembering your number; pay close attention to the players as they go around the circle; every time they say BIZZ, BUZZ, or BANG, it is difficult to remember the number they would have said; so stay focused.

8. when you get the number wrong, you sit outside the circle, and the next person has to answer what you "should have" said. 

I have created many variations to this game by adding the complexity of Squares, Cubes, and Prime numbers. I have done this variation with my 6-8th graders and they find it challenging. We will do this next year when they become masters of squares, cubes, and prime numbers.

Play Bizz Buzz Bang all summer. The attached worksheets allow them to fill in the solutions from 1-138. Answers are in the second pdf.