10 Times Table Games for Kids

To learn the 10 times table, start by counting in tens, then link each fact to place value so the answers make sense, and practice until they come from memory. The 10s are often the first times table children learn, along with the 2s and 5s, and the one that helps most with the rest. Every answer is a number of tens: 6 × 10 is 6 tens, or 60.

Count in tens

Count 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 out loud, on a number line or down the last column of a hundred chart. Each step adds one more ten, so the fourth number is 4 × 10 = 40. Treat counting as a step: counting up to 10 × 8 every time is slow, and the goal is recall.

Say the answer in tens

6 × 10 means 6 groups of ten, or 6 tens, and 6 tens is sixty: 60. In the same way, 8 tens is eighty and 9 tens is ninety. A few names hide their tens, so practice them out loud: 2 tens is twenty, 3 tens is thirty, 5 tens is fifty. And 10 tens make one hundred, 100.

Multiplying by 10 on a Place Value Chart

Multiplying by 10 makes a number ten times bigger, so each digit moves one place to the left: ones become tens, and tens become hundreds. The ones place is left empty, and a 0 fills it. That is why the "add a zero" shortcut gives the right answer for whole numbers: 7 × 10 = 70, 12 × 10 = 120, 25 × 10 = 250. The zero is not added on; it holds the empty ones place. Teach the shortcut together with the reason.

Count fingers and dimes

Two hands hold 10 fingers, so each time your child holds up both hands, that is one more ten. For 4 × 10, hold up both hands four times and count 10, 20, 30, 40. Dimes work the same way: each dime is 10 cents, so 6 dimes are 60 cents, and 10 dimes make a dollar, 100 cents.

Use the 10s for other tables

Once the 10s are solid, they make harder tables easier. The 5s are half of the 10s: 10 × 8 = 80, so 5 × 8 = 40. The 9s are the 10s minus one group: 9 × 6 = 10 × 6 − 6 = 60 − 6 = 54.

Facts work both ways

3 × 10 and 10 × 3 are both 30: 3 tens, or 10 threes. When your child knows 10 × 7 = 70, they also know 7 × 10 = 70, and the games ask the facts both ways.

Common mistakes

• 1000 or 110 for 10 × 10. 1000 comes from writing too many zeros, and 110 from counting one ten too far. Ten tens make one hundred: 10 × 10 = 100. To check, start from 10 × 9 = 90 and add one more ten.
• 16 for 6 × 10. Adding 10 instead of multiplying gives 6 + 10 = 16. 6 × 10 means 6 tens, which is 60.
• "Add a zero" with decimals. Later, the shortcut breaks: 0.5 × 10 is 5, not 0.50. A child who learns now that each digit moves one place to the left will get decimals right too.

For the methods your child's class is probably using, see our guide on how to teach multiplication. Curious where times tables come from? Read who invented times tables.