Blog · October 23, 2026

Multiplication facts: an order that makes them easier to learn (and a free game to practice)

A 12 × 12 times table has 144 facts in it, which sounds like a lot to memorize. The good news is that kids don't have to learn 144 separate things. If you learn the facts in the right order, almost every new fact can be worked out from one your kid already knows.

First, the shortcut that halves the work

Multiplication works in either order: 3 × 7 and 7 × 3 are both 21. Mathematicians call this the commutative property; many teachers call them turn-around facts. Once a kid knows one, they know both. That shrinks the 144 facts in a 12 × 12 table to 78 different pairs of numbers.

The Common Core standards for grade 3 use this exact idea: if 6 × 4 = 24 is known, then 4 × 6 = 24 is also known. By the end of grade 3, the standards expect kids to know all products of two one-digit numbers from memory.

Step 1: zeros and ones

Any number times 0 is 0, and any number times 1 is itself. These are rules more than facts, so there is very little to memorize.

Step 2: twos, tens and fives

• Times 2 is doubling: 2 × 8 is 8 + 8 = 16.
• Times 10 puts a zero on the end of a whole number: 10 × 7 = 70.
• Times 5 is half of times 10: 5 × 8 is half of 80, which is 40. Answers in the 5 times table always end in 0 or 5.

These three tables have the clearest patterns, which is why Times Table Dash starts with them in level 1.

Step 3: threes, fours and sixes

• Times 4 is doubling twice: 4 × 7 is double 14, which is 28.
• Times 3 is a double plus one more group: 3 × 7 is 14 + 7 = 21.
• Times 6 is times 5 plus one more group: 6 × 7 is 35 + 7 = 42.

Step 4: nines, elevens and twelves

• Times 9 is times 10 minus one group: 9 × 6 is 60 − 6 = 54. In 9 × 2 up to 9 × 10, the digits of the answer also add up to 9 (5 + 4 = 9).
• Times 11 is times 10 plus one more group. From 11 × 1 to 11 × 9 the answer is the digit written twice: 11 × 4 = 44.
• Times 12 is times 10 plus times 2: 12 × 7 is 70 + 14 = 84.

Step 5: sevens and eights

Here's the reward for learning in this order: by now almost every 7 and 8 fact has already turned up in another table. 7 × 6 is the same as 6 × 7, and 8 × 9 is the same as 9 × 8. If a kid knows every other table up to 12, the only new facts left are 7 × 7 = 49, 7 × 8 = 56 and 8 × 8 = 64.

For those, the building tricks still work. Times 8 is doubling three times: 8 × 7 is 7 → 14 → 28 → 56. Times 7 is times 5 plus times 2: 7 × 8 is 40 + 16 = 56. The grade 3 Common Core standards use that very example to show how to split a fact into easier parts.

How to practice

• Keep it short: a few minutes a day rather than a long weekly session.
• Mix in the turn-arounds, so 3 × 8 and 8 × 3 both feel familiar.
• Say the whole fact out loud ("seven eights are fifty-six"), not just the answer.
• Spend most of the time on the facts that are still slow, not the ones that are already easy.

Practice with Times Table Dash