M.A.T.H. Mummy Mayhem

Take a trip to Egypt in this wonderous world, where a mathematical mummy is said to roam the ancient sites. Created in partnership with Cambridge Mathematics (cambridgemaths.org).

Open in Minecraft

Submitted by: Minecraft Education

Updated: April 15, 2025

Learning objectives

By exploring M.A.T.H. Mummy Mayhem students will encounter key concepts in geometry including shape, symmetry, and spatial reasoning. Supporting materials provide jumping-off points and further ideas to help make the most of the game in your classroom.

Overview

In the Minecraft Agents of Time and History (M.A.T.H.) Mummy Mayhem world your class will take a trip to Egypt where a Mummy is said to roam the ancient sites. Students will use their mathematical skills to unlock the secrets of the past.

This world and the accompanying teacher materials were created in partnership with Cambridge Mathematics. 

Resources

  • M.A.T.H. Mummy Mayhem world
    • A sequential game-based learning experience available to all Minecraft Education users. To access the game world, click “Open in Minecraft”.
    • The M.A.T.H. Mummy Mayhem world contains 10 spatial reasoning activities and a final review:
      • Puzzle 1: 3D Block Jigsaw
      • Puzzle 2: Symmetry Spotter
      • Puzzle 3: Cryptex
      • Puzzle 4: Overlapping Shapes
      • Puzzle 5: Symmetry Grid
      • Puzzle 6: Rotational Symmetry
      • Puzzle 7: Nets and 3D Shapes
      • Puzzle 8: Reflecting Build
      • Puzzle 9: Tangram
      • Puzzle 10: Quadrilaterals
    • A full walkthrough of the gameplay can be found here: https://aka.ms/MummyMayhemVideoPlaythrough
  • Cambridge Mathematics teacher support materials
    • Three PDFs which contain suggestions and ideas for development in your classroom to complement your use of the M.A.T.H. Mummy Mayhem game world.
    • Concept areas considered are:
  • Cambridge Mathematics Espressos
  • Using Minecraft for Mathematics Instruction – White Paper https://aka.ms/MinecraftMathWhitepaper
    • Examine the effectiveness of Minecraft Education as a tool for delivering mathematics instruction, particularly in, but not limited to, the domain of geometry and spatial mathematics.

M.A.T.H. Mummy Mayhem is a single player game experience.

After logging into Minecraft Education, students will proceed to the game world located within the Library at the following location: https://aka.ms/MummyMayhemWorldMCEDU.

After loading the game world, students will experience a visual story and make their way through ten different puzzles in order.

If players need to stop in the middle, students are able to save and exit the world, export their own mcworld file to a stable location, and re-load at a later date from where they left off.

Transitions between puzzles include light Minecraft gameplay. If your students are brand new to Minecraft Education or you feel they need extra practice using the controls, you can find tutorials designed for both keyboard and touch devices inside the Library in the How to Play section.

For each puzzle, after determining the solution, players will interact with the green scarab to confirm their solutions.

Small lights will turn on above the puzzles to indicate successful completion and how many puzzles remain to be solved in the room.  

  • Puzzle 1: 3D Block Jigsaw. Key concept: Shape
    • Choose the correct blocks from around the room to complete the jigsaw puzzle on the wall.
  • Puzzle 2: Symmetry Spotter. Key concept: Symmetry
    • Observe the matching shapes on the wall and the ground. Interact with the gems on the ground to identify the line of symmetry for each shape.
  • Puzzle 3: Cryptex. Key concept: Spatial reasoning
    • Observe the clues around the room. Interact with the column of blocks so that the shapes around the outside of the column match the clues on the walls.
  • Puzzle 4: Overlapping Shapes. Key concept: Spatial reasoning
    • Observe the two large shapes at the top of the scarab sculpture. Use spatial reasoning to imagine the shapes overlapping such that the red dots align. Choose the shape that represents the overlap.
  • Puzzle 5: Symmetry Grid. Key concept: Symmetry
    • Observe the grid in the middle of the room. Interact with each of the tiles on the wall. Place the collected tiles in such a way that the overall pattern is symmetrical.
  • Puzzle 6: Rotational Symmetry. Key concept: Symmetry
    • Observe the shape on the left. Interact with it to see how it looks in different orientations. Choose the answer that matches the order of rotational symmetry for each shape.
  • Puzzle 7: Nets and 3D Shapes. Key concepts: Shape and spatial reasoning
    • Observe the shape on the scales in the middle of the room. Search for the opened-out version (net) of this shape and place it on the empty side of the scales.
  • Puzzle 8: Reflecting Build. Key concept: Spatial reasoning
    • Observe the arrangement of the blocks on the far side of the transparent wall. Use the blocks in your inventory to create the mirror image of the blocks you see on your side of the wall.
  • Puzzle 9: Tangram. Key concepts: Shape and spatial reasoning
    • Chase the scorpions to obtain tangram pieces. Rotate the pieces (either on the wall or in your inventory) and place them such that they all fit in the space provided on the wall.
  • Puzzle 10: Quadrilaterals. Key concepts: Shape and spatial reasoning
    • Observe the shape shown high on the wall. Interact with the mirrors in the room to move the beams of light into position to create the same shape. Once the sides of the shape are complete, walk up the stairs or use the teleporter to the upper platform and interact with the scarab to confirm your answer.

Intended Outcomes

By playing M.A.T.H. Mummy Mayhem students will encounter geometry concepts including shape, symmetry, and spatial reasoning.

The ideas in the teacher support materials provided by Cambridge Mathematics include opportunities for students to describe their experiences and where appropriate begin to use some of the key vocabulary terms related to shape, symmetry, and spatial reasoning.

Throughout their engagement with the ideas (whether individually within the game or outside of it in collaboration with others) students are encouraged to develop their skills in reasoning, pose questions to test their ideas, consider different interpretations, and generate examples and non-examples to support/disprove their conjectures. 

Cambridge Mathematics M.A.T.H. Mummy Mayhem Resources
Resources from the Cambridge Mathematics website.
Using Minecraft for Mathematics Instruction
Examine the effectiveness of Minecraft Education as a tool for delivering mathematics instruction.

Skills

  • Critical thinking
  • Durable Skills

Estimated time

1 hour