Drac Attack
How it works
Drac Attack is a 2 player game — Dracula vs. the townspeople. Here's how to play:
- The game is played on a board like the one below. Dracula starts at the top of the board, and the townspeople are at the bottom.
Dracula can move down and to the left or down and to the right, but not side to side.
The townspeople can't move at all, but they have pieces of garlic that they can place on the board, and Dracula can't move to a space where there is garlic.
Dracula wins if he reaches any of the townspeople, and the townspeople win if they can block Dracula so he can't move.
The townspeople always go 1st, but Dracula makes 2 moves per turn, while the townspeople can only place 1 piece of garlic per turn.
Can you find a way to guarantee that you win if you play as the townspeople, no matter what Dracula does?
In this activity, students work together to figure out how to beat a facilitator at this game if the facilitator is Dracula and they are the townspeople. If they're able to do this, they explore more complex variations of the game.
Why we like this activity
It’s fun! Students enjoy playing the game and figuring out how to beat the facilitator.
It helps students develop game-theoretic reasoning.
It requires students to engage in mathematical habits of mind:
- Finding and using strategies when trying to beat the facilitator
It has a low floor and a high ceiling: Students can start playing the game by trial and error, but figuring out how to beat the facilitator is more challenging!
This activity was developed in collaboration with the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival.