One More One Less Game

One More, One Less is a number game you can play anywhere! A grownup says a number. You say the number that is one more AND the number that is one less. If they say 5, you say 6 (one more) and 4 (one less). It is fast, fun, and makes you super quick at counting.

One more than a number means add 1. One less means subtract 1. If the number is 7, one more is 8 and one less is 6. The number in the middle is the one the grownup says. The two numbers next to it are one more and one less.

Round 1: grownup says 3. You say 4 (more) and 2 (less). Round 2: grownup says 8. You say 9 (more) and 7 (less). Round 3: grownup says 10. You say 11 (more) and 9 (less). If they say 0, you can say 1 (more) and — ooh! — there is no less than 0 when counting basic numbers. Tricky!

Knowing one more and one less builds your number sense. It helps you count fast without starting over. If someone asks what comes after 14, you can just say 15 without going back to 1. This is how good counters think. Your brain gets lightning-quick at jumping to neighbors.