Leapfrog Logic Puzzle (with freebie!)

So, my team met yesterday to get some planning done and now I think I might be back on track.  I was loving summer so much, I just hadn't done much of anything related to school.  But, today, I was ready to get creating.  Go me!

One of our favorite back to school activities, is teaching the kids a game called Leapfrog.  Have you ever played? It is a simple (in design) logic puzzle game that is actually pretty tough. There are tons and tons of online versions. Like this one or this one. 

Did you click and go play?  If not, you should.  Just real quick. It's fun and pretty addictive. How'd you do?

There is also no doubt an app. But we play the old school way. We use a paper game board and 8 two-sided counters.

Here is the cute game board I created today.  Thank you My Cute Graphics for helping me spruce it up!

To set up your game board, you need 8 game pieces of 2 different colors. I like to use the two-sided math counters. Put one color on one side the other on the other side. The counters represent the frogs - red frogs and yellow frogs. 

It should look like this.

Your objective is to move all the red counters to where the yellow counters are and vice versa.

To play, you can move any counter you want, but you must follow these rules.

• You can only move each frog forward - never backward.
• You can leap over 1 frog at a time.

The puzzle has been solved when both colors on the board have switched places and the rules have been followed. 

Want a hint?!?  

Never move two frogs of the same color next to each other. Keep the colors alternating. And if you get really desperate, there is a YouTube video that shows you the solution.

Every year I have to relearn the solution to the puzzle before my kids get started.  Some get frustrated but we talk about how to break a harder problem down into smaller steps.  First, just get one of each counter switched.  Then, get two counters switched.  Etc.  Eventually you will swap all four counters.  It all comes back to that old saying - How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.  :) Ahh...life lessons.

I plan on having students glue the game board in their math journals, so they have access to it anytime they want.  The game is a great for fast finishers or as a center - just copy on cardstock. If you are interested in the version I created, you can download it for FREE at my TPT store. Feedback and comments much appreciated!

Enjoy!