What counts as a mathematical game? Primary teachers’ judgements across Australia, Indonesia, and Italy

Abstrak

Mathematical games are widely used in primary mathematics classrooms internationally, yet there remains limited conceptual clarity about what features define a mathematical game, and whether teachers' understandings align with definitions articulated in the research literature. This study examined how primary teachers across Australia (n=193), Indonesia (n=225), and Italy (n=107) prioritised eight characteristics commonly used in the literature to define mathematical games. Using an anonymous online questionnaire, descriptive analysis revealed strong overall alignment between teachers' judgements and the research-articulated definition. At least 90% of teachers in each country rated enjoyment, clear rules, explicit mathematical objectives, player choice, and interactivity as at least somewhat important. However, teachers weighted characteristics unevenly: enjoyment was consistently the most strongly prioritised feature, functioning less as one criterion among many and more as a threshold condition for whether an activity counts as a game at all. In contrast, features tied to mathematical integrity, particularly the expectation that mathematical knowledge should meaningfully shape gameplay outcomes, were endorsed less consistently, especially among Italian teachers—24% of whom rated this as very important compared with 62% and 61% of Australian and Indonesian teachers respectively. These findings highlight productive tensions between affective engagement and mathematical rigour in how teachers conceptualise games.