Pedals around the Rose

I played Petals around the Rose with my students. I explained we were going to play a game with dice. The rules of the game were very simple, but they had to discover them. All I would tell them would be the result of the dice rolls. They had to tell me how I was getting that result. I reminded them of the details of the game as they poured over their data again and again.

The problem with these particular students was their inability to look at the numbers and eliminate the theories that didn't follow their rules. They were given the chance to see around forty or more dice rolls, and I even gave them data from other classes. If they really thought about the numbers alone, they should have been able to crack it.

I know when I was first confronted with the puzzle I couldn't narrow down the answers very quickly at all. I had actually forgotten about this game and rediscovered it a few weeks ago. I had to take a few rolls before I got the rules straight again.

I told them I would play the game next week with the same rules, and if they couldn't figure it out we'd do it again. I wanted to build up the secret so that when the finally do get it, they feel some satisfaction for finding it on their own. The worst thing you can do after spending time with this particular puzzle is telling them the answer. I tried to give them some good hints, but I wonder how long it will take for these kids to crack it.

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