Race to 20
Your turn
You reached 20 first!
Good race. Want another one?
Well played! Now try the real one.
Ten squares drawn on paper, a bottle cap and a folded spinner do this job better. Your child moves the counter with their own hand, and that is how the game was played in the study.
The Great Race →Play it together
Take turns spinning and say the number of each square out loud as the counter lands on it. On 6 with a 2, say “seven, eight”, not “one, two”, and gently start the move again if your child counts the hops instead.
What it practises
Knowing where numbers sit in order. That is all we claim for it. The real version,The Great Race, does the same job with things from your kitchen, and does it better.
Five minutes on the screen is plenty. No sign-up, no sound, no ad networks, and nothing your child types leaves this page. More games in the Play corner.
Questions parents ask
Why is the board a straight line and not a snake like Snakes and Ladders?
In the study this game comes from, the board was a straight line of numbers. On a straight line, a bigger number means the counter has gone further, taken more moves and had more numbers said out loud. That is what builds a feel for how big a number is. A track that turns back or goes round in a circle loses most of that.
Why does it matter that my child says the numbers?
Naming the squares is the part that made the game work in the study. On 6 with a 2, your child says seven, eight, not one, two. The game cannot hear them, so if they count their hops instead, gently start the move again with them. The paper version, The Great Race, is played the same way.