Sadly the world learned that mathematician John H. Conway succumbed to COVID-19 last week at the age of 82. He was an English mathematician who contributed to many areas of mathematics. I knew him mostly for his influence on recreational mathematics and he was well-known for the Game of Life. Another game he co-created, and I have used with students, is a called Sprouts. The only supplies needed are a pencil and paper or dry-erase pen and whiteboard surface.

Today’s post is in honour of John Conway and I hope you consider playing Sprouts for the fun and its mathematical beauty.

NRICH has a page called Sprouts Explained where you can learn  about the background and the rules for this simple game and you can find the instructions for Sprouts here. If you are an educator and would like to see the teacher resources related to this game, head to this page.

Here are a few photos of some Sprout games I captured a few years ago.