Addition Game

Addition Game is a dino math game for kids in kindergarten to grade 3 that teaches the strategies behind adding, not just the answers. Feed a hungry dinosaur the right number of berries, hatch eggs by matching facts to their sums, or race a friendly dino up a volcano. It’s a free addition game you can play online in your browser, with no download or sign-up, on a computer, tablet or phone.

How to play

Start by picking a skill, then pick a game. There are nine skills, from the first sums a kindergartner learns up to adding two-digit numbers with regrouping:

• Within 5 and Within 10: small sums such as 2 + 3 and 6 + 4.
• Make 10: find the missing number, such as 7 + ? = 10.
• Doubles: doubles such as 6 + 6 and near doubles such as 6 + 7.
• Within 20: sums that cross ten, such as 8 + 5.
• Add 10s: add tens to a number, such as 34 + 20.
• 2-digit: two-digit sums that never need regrouping, such as 32 + 45.
• Regroup: two-digit sums where the ones add up to 10 or more, such as 38 + 27.
• 3 numbers: three addends such as 3 + 7 + 5, where half the problems hide a pair that makes 10.

The three games

• Feed the Dino: the dino asks for a sum. Drag berries into the bowl, which is two ten-frames, then tap Feed the dino. For two-digit skills you build the answer with base-ten blocks instead: drag tens rods and ones cubes into the bowl. If you end up with 10 or more ones, drag a cube onto the Tens column or tap Trade 10 ones for a ten. If the amount is wrong, the dino tells you whether it wants more or fewer. After two tries, it shows the right amount. Each round has 8 sums.
• Egg Match: six fact eggs and six sum eggs sit in a nest. Tap a fact egg and then its sum, or drag one egg onto the other. A right match hatches a baby dino. For Make 10, you match each fact to the number that makes 10.
• Volcano Race: a gentle timed mode. Each right answer moves your dino one step up the volcano, and Rex, a friendly blue dino, climbs at a steady pace. A wrong answer doesn’t move you back. It just shows the right sum. Reach the top in 10 steps to win. Choose Gentle or Speedy pace on the menu.

Visual helpers

Pick a helper on the menu and it appears above every problem. Ten-frames fill one frame to 10 before starting the next, which shows the make-a-ten idea: for 8 + 5, two of the 5 fill the frame and 3 are left over. Number line draws the jumps, such as from 8 to 10 and then on to 13, or jumps of ten for two-digit sums. Blocks shows each number as tens rods and ones cubes. When there are 10 or more ones, you can trade them for a ten. Each helper has a short strategy tip.

Stars and the fact tracker

Each skill has its own stars in each of the three games, 81 in all. The best result is saved in this browser. The Fact tracker shows every fact from 0 + 0 to 10 + 10. A fact turns green when it’s solid, which means three right answers in a row. Facts being learned are yellow and facts missed last time are pink. It also shows the first-try score for each skill.

Tips

• Learn the bonds of 10 first. Once 7 + 3 and 6 + 4 are automatic, sums within 20 get much easier.
• Use doubles. If you know 7 + 7 = 14, then 7 + 8 is just one more.
• Trade before you count. In Regroup, turn 10 ones into a ten, then read the tens and ones.

FAQ

Is the Addition Game free?

Yes. It’s free with no account and nothing to install.

What grades is it for?

The skills follow the usual path from kindergarten (within 5 and 10) through grade 1 (make 10, doubles, within 20) to grades 2 and 3 (two-digit sums and regrouping).

Is there a time limit?

Only in Volcano Race, and even there a wrong answer never costs you a step. Feed the Dino and Egg Match are untimed.

Where can I practice other math?

Try our math games for kids for counting and patterns, or the Number Line to draw your own jumps. When adding is solid, move on to the Multiplication Game.