The Case of the Vanished Cup
At halftime, the golden championship cup sat shining on its stand. When the whistle blew for the second half, both the cup and team captain Maya were gone. You are the ball kid who saw it all, and now it is up to you to track down the Pitch Phantom.
Possible suspects
Cross off a row as each clue rules it out. On screen, tap a row.
| Name | Signature Move | Special Skill | Player Type | Cleat Color | Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Felix | fast dribble | rainbow flick | girl | yellow cleats | muddy fields |
| Mila | sliding tackle | long throw in | boy | red cleats | loud whistles |
| Leo | bicycle kick | no look pass | girl | blue cleats | muddy fields |
| Cleo | curving free kick | no look pass | boy | yellow cleats | loud whistles |
| Bruno | curving free kick | diving save | girl | yellow cleats | muddy fields |
| Zoe | bicycle kick | speed sprint | boy | red cleats | bright lights |
| Sofia | bicycle kick | long throw in | girl | red cleats | muddy fields |
| Maya | bicycle kick | rainbow flick | boy | red cleats | loud whistles |
| Lola | powerful header | speed sprint | girl | red cleats | muddy fields |
| Kira | fast dribble | long throw in | girl | yellow cleats | muddy fields |
| Ruby | fast dribble | speed sprint | girl | blue cleats | bright lights |
| Jonas | powerful header | rainbow flick | girl | yellow cleats | loud whistles |
| Omar | fast dribble | rainbow flick | girl | yellow cleats | bright lights |
| Hugo | curving free kick | speed sprint | girl | yellow cleats | muddy fields |
| Ana | curving free kick | long throw in | girl | yellow cleats | loud whistles |
| Marco | sliding tackle | speed sprint | boy | yellow cleats | bright lights |
| Sam | fast dribble | speed sprint | girl | yellow cleats | muddy fields |
| Andre | curving free kick | diving save | boy | red cleats | bright lights |
| Priya | powerful header | rainbow flick | boy | yellow cleats | loud whistles |
| Tess | bicycle kick | rainbow flick | boy | yellow cleats | muddy fields |
| Nina | fast dribble | no look pass | girl | red cleats | loud whistles |
Rounding
The stadium scoreboard only shows numbers rounded to the nearest ten, so you must round the clues to read what the screen flashed about the thief's skills.
Solve each problem to learn its letter. Then write that letter in every box that shows the same number, and read the secret clue.
Addition
You hurry to the equipment room and count up the gear left behind, adding the piles together to learn if the thief was a boy or a girl.
Solve each problem to learn its letter. Then write that letter in every box that shows the same number, and read the secret clue.
Subtraction
A trail of dropped jersey numbers leads away from the field, and you subtract to figure out how the players fought the thief off.
Solve each problem to learn its letter. Then write that letter in every box that shows the same number, and read the secret clue.
Multiplication facts (1-12)
Outside the locker rooms, muddy cleat prints sit in neat rows, so you multiply the rows to match the color of the thief's cleats.
Solve each problem to learn its letter. Then write that letter in every box that shows the same number, and read the secret clue.
Division facts (1-12) — the last clue
Back in the trophy hall, you share the last clues evenly among your teammates, dividing them up to finally name the Pitch Phantom.
First solve each problem. Then find each answer in the list below and cross that sentence out. One sentence will be left — that's exactly what the villain did!
Name the culprit
Choose the one suspect left standing.
Answer Key — The Case of the Vanished Cup
- Clue 1 (Rounding): "THE VILLAIN CANNOT MAKE A DIVING SAVE"Round 4,042 to the nearest thousand = 4000 (T) · Round 379 to the nearest hundred = 400 (K) · Round 61 to the nearest ten = 60 (O) · Round 3,485 to the nearest thousand = 3000 (S) · Round 4,554 to the nearest thousand = 5000 (D) · Round 89 to the nearest ten = 90 (C) · Round 74 to the nearest ten = 70 (M) · Round 8,723 to the nearest thousand = 9000 (G) · Round 8,334 to the nearest thousand = 8000 (L) · Round 5,872 to the nearest thousand = 6000 (A) · Round 2,243 to the nearest thousand = 2000 (I) · Round 522 to the nearest hundred = 500 (H) · Round 6,993 to the nearest thousand = 7000 (E) · Round 911 to the nearest hundred = 900 (V) · Round 569 to the nearest hundred = 600 (N)
- Clue 2 (Addition): "A GIRL DASHED OFF THE SOCCER FIELD"423 + 546 = 969 (A) · 392 + 574 = 966 (I) · 127 + 272 = 399 (H) · 95 + 223 = 318 (O) · 345 + 299 = 644 (F) · 413 + 443 = 856 (L) · 148 + 204 = 352 (T) · 304 + 443 = 747 (E) · 424 + 342 = 766 (D) · 248 + 441 = 689 (G) · 514 + 463 = 977 (S) · 255 + 293 = 548 (C) · 437 + 376 = 813 (R)
- Clue 3 (Subtraction): "GUARDS SPLASHED MUD TO SLOW THE THIEF"940 - 48 = 892 (G) · 1005 - 293 = 712 (W) · 179 - 18 = 161 (T) · 557 - 397 = 160 (L) · 703 - 140 = 563 (O) · 934 - 56 = 878 (R) · 800 - 277 = 523 (F) · 784 - 139 = 645 (E) · 1036 - 397 = 639 (M) · 394 - 132 = 262 (D) · 930 - 349 = 581 (I) · 884 - 247 = 637 (P) · 756 - 78 = 678 (H) · 364 - 10 = 354 (A) · 332 - 17 = 315 (U) · 306 - 26 = 280 (S)
- Clue 4 (Multiplication facts (1-12)): "YELLOW CLEAT PRINTS LED FROM THE GOAL"3 × 11 = 33 (Y) · 4 × 4 = 16 (G) · 10 × 4 = 40 (C) · 10 × 5 = 50 (W) · 9 × 3 = 27 (D) · 2 × 10 = 20 (O) · 1 × 2 = 2 (R) · 10 × 9 = 90 (E) · 1 × 5 = 5 (I) · 3 × 1 = 3 (A) · 1 × 6 = 6 (N) · 9 × 8 = 72 (F) · 9 × 5 = 45 (T) · 1 × 1 = 1 (H) · 10 × 1 = 10 (L) · 10 × 3 = 30 (P) · 8 × 1 = 8 (S) · 6 × 3 = 18 (M)
- Clue 5 (Division facts (1-12)): surviving statement (box 10) → Kira132 ÷ 12 = 11 · 36 ÷ 12 = 3 · 49 ÷ 7 = 7 · 12 ÷ 2 = 6 · 18 ÷ 9 = 2 · 72 ÷ 9 = 8 · 18 ÷ 2 = 9 · 4 ÷ 4 = 1 · 32 ÷ 8 = 4 · 25 ÷ 5 = 5 · 60 ÷ 5 = 12
About this mystery
- Grade level
- Grade 3 math
- Math topics
- Rounding, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division
- Reading level
- grades 3-4
- Theme
- The Case of the Vanished Cup — set in the Riverside Soccer Stadium during the big championship match
- Format
- Interactive online & printable worksheet with answer key
- Solution
- One unique, verified culprit among 21 suspects