Teachers should explain to the class that they will play a simple counting game where the aim is to count from 1 to 40, sounds easy right? Well there are a few twists which make it interesting.

All multiples of 5 should be replaced by a word such as ‘fizz’ (any word you want to use here is fine) and all multiples of 7 should be replaced by the word ‘buzz’ (again, any word you decide to use will be fine). A multiple of both 5 and 7 (i.e. 35) should be replaced by ‘fizz-buzz’ (or a combination of whatever two words you decided to use). Make the students think fast and see if your class can get all the way to 40 without making a mistake.

To make the game a little more difficult you can require that any number featuring a 5 or a 7 (i.e. 17) also require the words ‘fizz’ or ‘buzz’ as a replacement. Trying counting all the way to 100, changing the multiples to something different like 3 and 4 or reversing the order every time ‘fizz’ or ‘buzz’ is said.

The game can also be enjoyed with smaller groups of as little as 3 or 4 students.

Here’s a rundown of how the game should go following the basic rules up to 40:

1, 2, 3, 4, fizz, 6, buzz, 8, 9, fizz, 11, 12, 13, buzz, fizz, 16, 17, 18, 19, fizz, buzz, 22, 23, 24, fizz, 26, 27, buzz, 29, fizz, 31, 32, 33, 34, fizz-buzz, 36, 37, 38, 39, fizz.

Good luck and have fun!