Block tower
Two towers grow side by side on the interactive whiteboard, one per team. Each team solves calculations on its own number pad: a right answer places a block, a wrong one knocks off the last block. The first tower to reach the finish line wins, so accuracy matters as much as speed.
What children practise
- Calculate additions and subtractions mentally, with and without carrying.
- Secure times tables: first the 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10, then all of them.
- Multiply by one and two digits and divide by one digit in Years 3 and 4.
- Put accuracy before haste, because every mistake undoes a right answer.
- Compare heights and work out how many blocks are still needed.
Levels and settings
Year 1
Adding and subtracting to 10; to 20 without carrying on medium and to 99 without carrying on hard.
Year 2
Adding and subtracting with carrying to 99, numbers up to 999 and the 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 times tables.
Year 3
All times tables, adding and subtracting up to 9,999 and one-digit multiplication with simple division.
Year 4
Three digits by one, two digits by two and division by one digit.
Tower height
6, 10 or 14 blocks; easy, medium and hard each suggest one of these heights.
How to play it in class
- Choose the year group and difficulty on the settings screen.
- Name the teams and decide how tall the tower should be.
- After the countdown, each team keys in its answers on its half of the screen.
- A right answer adds a block; a wrong one removes a block and locks the pad for a second.
- The first tower to reach the finish line wins.
Ways to play
In teams, at the same time
The screen splits in two and each team plays on its own half at the same time.
For one player
One child plays on the whole screen at their own pace: on the whiteboard, a computer or a tablet.
Frequently asked questions
What if a team gets it wrong with an empty tower?
It cannot go below zero: the answer is simply cleared and the pad locks for a second.
Can we play a short game?
Yes. Choose a 6-block tower in the settings, or the easy difficulty, which suggests it by default.
Can one child play alone?
Yes. In On my own mode there is one number pad and the child builds a tower to the finish line; mistakes still remove blocks.
Is it free?
You can play 5 free games without signing up. After that, a one-off payment of €9.99 unlocks all 78 games for ever, on all your devices. There is no subscription.
Do I need to install anything?
No. It opens in the browser of the interactive whiteboard, panel, computer, tablet or iPad. Once loaded, it also works offline.
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