Opposite Eight: A New Game to Play with Your Absolute Zero Card Deck
One of my favorite things about a simple card deck is how many different games you can play with it.
If you already own the Absolute Zero card game, here is a new way to use the deck: Opposite Eight.
Opposite Eight is a quick 2–4 player game that feels a little like a math version of golf. Players try to end the round with the lowest score, but there is a fun twist: opposite integers can cancel each other out.
That means a -7 and a 7 in the same column score 0 points.
It is a great way for kids to practice integer addition, opposites, absolute value, and mental math while playing a real game.
You can read the rules below, or download the printable rules PDF to keep with your Absolute Zero deck.
Opposite Eight Game Rules
Players
2–4 players
Setup
Deal 8 cards face down to each player.
Each player arranges their cards in a 2 x 4 grid:
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Each player looks at 2 of their own cards and turns those 2 cards face up.
Place the rest of the deck face down in the center as the draw pile.
Turn over the top card to start the discard pile.
Goal
The goal is to have the lowest total score after all cards are revealed.
How to Play
On your turn, draw one card from either:
the top of the draw pile, or
the top of the discard pile.
After looking at the card, choose one of these actions.
Option 1: Replace a Card
Use the drawn card to replace one of your 8 cards.
You may replace:
a face-up card, or
a face-down card.
The card you replace goes into the discard pile face up.
Important: If you replace a face-down card, you do not look at it first. Flip it over and discard it.
Option 2: Discard the Drawn Card
If you drew from the draw pile and do not want the card, discard it.
Then you must flip over one of your face-down cards.
You cannot draw from the discard pile and immediately discard that same card.
The Opposite Cards Scoring Rule
This is what makes Opposite Eight fun.
At the end of the round, each column is scored separately.
If the two cards in a column are opposite values, they cancel each other out and score 0 points.
To find the value of a column, add the two integers together. Then record the absolute value of the sum.
In other words, the score for each column is its distance from zero, so it is always counted as a positive number.
Example
A player’s final cards are:
[ -7 ] [ 12 ] [ 4 ] [ 9 ]
[ 7 ] [ -3 ] [ -11 ] [ -9 ]
Now score each column:
-7 + 7 = 0, so that column scores 0.
12 + -3 = 9, so that column scores 9.
4 + -11 = -7, so that column scores 7.
9 + -9 = 0, so that column scores 0.
Final score:
0 + 9 + 7 + 0 = 16
Ending the Round
The round ends when one player has all 8 cards face up.
After that player finishes their turn, each other player gets one final turn.
Then everyone flips over any remaining face-down cards and scores their hands.
Winning the Game
You can play 9 rounds, like 9 holes of golf.
For a longer game, play 18 rounds
The player with the lowest total score at the end wins.
Why This Game Is Great for Math Practice
Opposite Eight gives kids meaningful practice with:
positive and negative integers
opposites
adding integers
absolute value
mental math
strategy and decision-making
Best of all, it feels like a game, not a worksheet.
Kids have to think about which cards to keep, which cards to replace, and how to create columns that cancel out. That makes the math practice more natural and more fun
And if you try Opposite Eight with your family, homeschool group, or classroom, I would love to hear how it goes!
Looking for a fun way to help kids practice integers? Absolute Zero turns positive and negative number practice into a game kids actually want to play.
