How to Slow Down the Game of Speed!

Speed! is a great game for learning to skip-count, which leads directly into learning multiplication and helps kids to develop an excellent mathematical foundation. But, what do you do if the child gets intimidated by the "speed" of the game?

While most kids love the game Speed! because if its intense pace, this can have the opposite effect on some children. (Click here to see a video of the game Speed! being played.) One thing that can be done is to institute turns into the standard Speed! game. This can be done in one of two ways. The simplest way is for each player to play one card and then let the other person have a turn to play one card passing only when the player does not have a playable card. The second way to institute turns into the game of Speed is to allow one player to play cards until he/she runs out of moves, and then let the other player play all cards until running out of moves. Taking turns will greatly slow the pace of the game allowing more processing time and calming the nerves of children who need it.