Rules for Multiplication Pathways

The default initial board for multiplication pathways.

This is a cooperative two-player game. The players work together to find a pathway across the game board from left to right.

To begin, players drag the paperclips onto two different numbers at the bottom of the board, trying to make a product shown in the first column on the left. (Allowed numbers are highlighted on the board in blue.)

Here the players have dragged the two paperclips onto the factors 2 and 4.

Once the paperclips have been placed, the legal numbers will be bolded. This means that they can now be clicked. The players should click on the number they believe two be the product of the two numbers selected at the bottom.

And the players have correctly determined that 2x4 is 8. They can now continue to the next column.

If the players choose the correct number, that number will be highlighted in green. The board will automatically highlight the next available numbers in blue. After the first move, the legal numbers are only those numbers one column to the right, either straight or diagonal.

The players can only move one paperclip now, so they move 4 to 5.

For all further moves, the players can now move only one paperclip each turn to try to form a valid product. They continue to click on correct products to continue across the board. The goal is to get to the right column.

The game will not let you pass if you pick an incorrect product. However, you can continue to move paperclips or click other numbers as long as valid targets remain.

There is no possible way to progress in this situation. The only choice is to restart.

If it is ever impossible to form one of the valid targets by moving a single paperclip, you must reset the game to restart.