About MathBird
MathBird is a free online maths practice game from epotli, for children aged about 5 to 10: a sum on a card, four answers to tap. It covers addition, subtraction, times tables and division.
The first three levels have no clock on them at all. That is deliberate — a six-year-old who is still counting on their fingers gets to finish counting, with nobody standing over them. The timer only turns up at level 4, once adding has stopped being hard work.
What makes it stick, in our house at least, is that the level is remembered. A child who reached level 8 last week does not have to grind back through adding 1 to get there again. Starting from zero every visit is what killed most of the practice apps we tried before building this one. For a gentler, no-numbers-required starting point, try building numbers with blocks.
What each level covers
Seconds are per question, not per level. The ladder does not stop at 12.| Level | Maths | Numbers | Questions | Seconds |
|---|
| 1 | Addition | Add 1 | 5 | No timer |
| 2 | Addition | Add 2 or 3 | 6 | No timer |
| 3 | Addition | Totals to 10 | 7 | No timer |
| 4 | Add, subtract | To 10 | 8 | 8s |
| 5 | Add, subtract | To 20 | 8 | 7s |
| 6 | Add, subtract | To 30 | 9 | 6s |
| 7 | Multiply | Tables to 5 | 9 | 5s |
| 8 | Add, subtract, multiply | To 30, tables to 6 | 10 | 5s |
| 9 | Add, subtract, multiply | To 50, tables to 8 | 10 | 4s |
| 10 | Add, subtract, multiply | To 99, tables to 10 | 10 | 3s |
| 11 | Divide | Answers stay whole | 10 | 3s |
| 12+ | All four | Plus and minus hold at 99 until 17, then grow; tables reach 15, division 50 | 10 | 3s, then 2s |
How to play
- Tap Play. The level runs 5 to 10 questions.
- Read the sum on the card, then tap one of the four answers.
- Answer several in a row to build a streak — it is worth bonus points.
- Get 60% right to move up a level. Below that, the level runs again.
What it teaches
Mostly one thing, properly: recall. Knowing that 7 + 6 is 13 without stopping to work it out frees a child up to handle the harder question wrapped around it, and that comes from having done the sum enough times that it stops being a sum.
Addition first, then subtraction, then the times tables: broadly the order an Indian child meets those three over Class 1 and Class 2. Division comes later here, at level 11, and runs ahead of them. That is a family resemblance, not a syllabus map. The sequence your child is actually being taught is the one in their school’s NCERT maths book. There is no chapter order here, no worksheet and no report.
There is a second thing it teaches that we did not plan for: the trade-off between speed and accuracy. Answering fast is worth extra points, and plenty of kids work that out quickly and start rushing. If a level keeps repeating, rushing is worth ruling out first — saying so out loud once was enough with ours. If it keeps repeating after that, the maths itself is probably the harder part. For maths with money attached instead of sums — and a clock on the whole shop instead of each question — try Smart Shopper; for open-ended number play with no scoring at all, there is Block Builder.
Frequently asked questions
What is MathBird?
MathBird is a maths drill on epotli — free, in a browser, no sign-up. A session is 5 to 10 questions, each one a sum with four tiles to choose from. It begins with the simplest sums and works up through subtraction, times tables and division, and whatever level your child reaches is kept on the device.
What age is MathBird for?
Best from about 5 to 10. A five-year-old who recognises digits can start at level 1 and take as long as they like. The upper end is open — there is no last level, so a ten-year-old drilling times tables still has somewhere to go.
How do you play MathBird?
Tap Play, and the level runs between 5 and 10 questions. Each question shows a sum like 4 + 3 = ? with four answer tiles underneath; tap the one you think is right. A correct tap says "Nice!" and moves on. A wrong tap turns that tile amber, lights the right answer up in green, and also moves on — no question can end the round early.
What maths does MathBird cover?
Addition from level 1, subtraction from level 4, multiplication from level 7, division from level 11. The numbers grow as they climb — small sums at first, into the nineties and the full times tables by level 10 — and the level table on this page lists it level by level. Past level 11 all four mix together. Adding and subtracting start stretching again at level 17, and they keep stretching after the times tables and the division have stopped growing.
Is MathBird timed? When does the timer start?
It starts at level 4, with 8 seconds a question, and tightens as the levels climb — 5 seconds at level 7, 3 at level 10, 2 past level 25. Before that there is no clock at all. Running out of time does not end the round: it shows the answer, says "Almost!", and moves on. It does count as a missed question, though, and it is the accuracy — not the points — that decides whether the level goes up.
Does MathBird follow the NCERT syllabus?
No. MathBird is not built to a syllabus and there is no chapter map behind it. Its own order is addition first, then subtraction at level 4, then times tables at level 7 — roughly the order most Indian children meet those three across Class 1 and Class 2. Division comes later, at level 11, and is ahead of where most Class 2 children are. It sits alongside the school book rather than replacing it.
What happens if my child gets a lot wrong?
The level just runs again — with a gentler message, "One more try!" rather than anything about failing. There are no lives to lose and no game-over screen, and a weak session never drops the level your child has already reached.
How does the scoring work?
Each right answer is worth 10 points, plus up to 5 more for answering quickly and up to 15 more for a run of correct answers in a row — 30 at most. Stars come at the end of a level: 3 for every question right, 2 from 80%, 1 from 60%. Score and stars add up across sessions, which is usually what a child wants to show you.
Does MathBird adapt to my child?
Not in the way "adaptive" usually means, and we would rather say so plainly. Difficulty depends on which level your child is on, and the game does not watch which sums they get wrong to feed them more of those. What it does do is hold them on a level until they can get 60% of it right, so they cannot race ahead of the maths.
Is MathBird the same as Redbird Math?
No — different thing entirely. Redbird Math is McGraw Hill's paid school programme; the version at redbirdlearning.com was retired in July 2025, though schools on my.mheducation.com still have it. MathBird is a free browser game made in India by a small team, with no licence and no classroom setup behind it. The bird is just the mascot; the game itself is a four-choice sum quiz.
Does it save my child's progress?
Yes — the level, the lifetime score, the stars and a best score per level, all saved in the browser on your own device. There is no account to make and no sign-in. Site analytics records that a game page was opened; nothing from inside a game is recorded — not the answers, not the score, not the level. "Start over" in the pause menu clears all of it; "Reset progress" on the start screen resets the level, score and stars, and leaves the per-level bests.
Is MathBird free? Any ads?
Free, with no ads and no sign-up. It runs in any browser on a phone, tablet or computer, and can be added to the home screen like an app. There is nothing to buy and nothing locked behind a payment — every level is reached by playing it.
More ways to practise? Read how to teach addition without flashcards, see our games for 6 year olds, or check what each game teaches.
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