How to play Number Runner

  1. Choose a world: Meadow for adding, Desert Sunset for taking away, Night Forest for times tables, Snow Peaks for dividing, or Volcano for all four. Then press Start.
  2. Run right with the arrow keys or the on-screen arrows, and jump with Space, the up arrow or the Jump button. Hold jump to go higher.
  3. At each sign, read the sum. Jump up under the block with the answer to bump it, and the gate opens.
  4. A wrong block, a creature or a fall costs a heart; you start with five, and every 50 coins win one back. Jump on a slime or a bat to squash it.
  5. Answer all six questions and reach the flag to clear the world.

For parents and teachers

Number Runner asks the number facts while the child is busy playing, which is when a known fact shows: a child who has to count on their fingers will slow down at every gate, and one who knows it will run straight through. Each wrong block costs a heart but the gate still waits for the right one, so every question ends with the correct answer. Each world keeps the same map, so the platforms soon stop being the hard part and the sums take over. Let a younger child stay in the Meadow until the adding facts come quickly, then move on.