9 Times Table Games for Kids

To learn the 9 times table, start from the multiplication facts your child already knows, learn the few new ones with a strategy, then practice until the answers come from memory. Most children reach the 9s already knowing the 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s and 10s, and those facts work both ways: 9 × 3 is 3 × 9. Add 9 × 1 = 9, and six of the ten facts are done. Only four are new: 9 × 6, 9 × 7, 9 × 8 and 9 × 9.

Take one group away from ten

Nine groups are one group less than ten groups. To find 9 × 6, start from 10 × 6 = 60 and take away one group of 6: 60 − 6 = 54. The same step works for every new fact: 9 × 7 = 70 − 7 = 63, 9 × 8 = 80 − 8 = 72, and 9 × 9 = 90 − 9 = 81. It uses the 10s, which most children already know.

The digits add up to 9

Up to 9 × 10, the digits of each answer add up to 9: 1 + 8 = 9, 5 + 4 = 9, and 9 + 0 = 9. The tens digit is one less than the number you multiply by. For 9 × 7, that is 6 tens, and 6 + 3 = 9, so the ones digit is 3 and the answer is 63. For 9 × 4, it is 3 tens, and 3 + 6 = 9, so the answer is 36. If the digits add up to anything but 9, the answer cannot be right. A sum of 9 does not prove it either: 72 and 81 both pass, so check the tens digit too.

Tens go up, ones go down

From 9 × 1 to 9 × 10, the tens digits go up 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 while the ones digits go down 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. The answers run 9, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54, 63, 72, 81, 90. The first one, 9, is 0 tens and 9 ones. Saying the list a few times makes the order stick. Counting the whole way each time is slow, and the goal is recall.

The 9 Times Table Trick With Your Hands

This trick works for every fact from 9 × 1 to 9 × 10. Hold both hands up, palms facing you, and number the fingers from 1 to 10 starting at the left. For 9 × 4, fold down finger 4.

1. Count the fingers to the left of the folded one: 3. Those are the tens, so 30.
2. Count the fingers to the right of it: 6. Those are the ones.
3. Put the two parts together: 30 + 6 = 36.

Common mistakes

• 62 or 64 for 9 × 7. Both are one away from 63, and neither passes the digit check: 6 + 2 = 8 and 6 + 4 = 10. The tens digit is one less than 7, so the answer starts with 6, and 6 + 3 = 9, which gives 63.
• Subtracting the wrong amount. 9 × 6 is 60 minus one group of 6, not minus 9 and not minus 10. 60 − 9 = 51 and 60 − 10 = 50, but 60 − 6 = 54.
• 81 instead of 72 for 9 × 8. 81 is 9 × 9, one step further. For 9 × 8, start from 80 and take away 8: 80 − 8 = 72. Both 72 and 81 have digits that add up to 9, so also check the tens digit: one less than 8 is 7, and the answer starts with 7.

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.